Flow field configuration design for a large-scale hydrogen polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Abstract

To maximize the power performance of a 108 cm2 hydrogen polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a newly modified parallel flow field configuration (MPFFC) is presented. The new MPFFC has double inlets and outlets as well as a partially boarded flow section downstream of the channel. The various structural parameters for the new MPFFC with respect to the arrangement of inlet and outlet positions, the number of branching channels, and the width of the boarded flow section are optimized by a 3D multiphase physical PEMFC model. The local physical parameter distributions within the PEMFC are investigated and evaluated by a homogeneity index. Moreover, an entropy weighting method is employed to estimate the overall PEMFC performance of various MPFFCs. Results demonstrate that the new MPFFC has superior power performance, uniformity of parameter distribution and decreased pressure loss along the channel compared to a conventional parallel (CP) FFC. Specifically, compared with a CPFFC, the new optimal MPFFC increases the maximum power density, uniformity of reactant and current density distribution by 4.4%, 8.5% and 31.8%, respectively, while reducing pressure drop by 73.6%. Overall, the optimal MPFFC improves the comprehensive evaluation index for overall PEMFC performance from 0.0095 to 0.1671 compared with a CPFFC.