Modeling the effect of rib and channel dimensions on the performance of high temperature fuel cells-parallel configuration

Balaji Krishnamurthy,Vikalp Jha

doi:10.5599/jese.907

Balaji Krishnamurthy, Vikalp Jha

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5599/jese.907

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Abstract

This work investigates the effect of rib width, channel width and channel depth on the performance of a high temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cell with parallel flow field configuration. Simulation results indicate that the rib width has the maximum impact on the performance of the fuel cell. The lower the rib width, the better is performance of HT-PEM fuel cell. Changing the channel width seems to have a moderate effect, while changing the channel depth seems to have very limited impact on the fuel cell performance. The effect of various rib width and channel dimensions on the pressure drop across the channel is also studied. The concentration profile of the oxygen across the cathode gas channel is modeled as a function of the channel width and depth. Modeling results are found to be in well agreement with experimental data.

Highlights

Improving the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) through modification of the flow field design has already been studied in literature for low temperature fuel cell systems
This analogy can be extended to high temperature fuel cells for the removal of water vapor
The authors postulated that a smaller channel width and smaller rib width enables better hydration of the membrane and easier discharge of water, leading to better fuel cell performance

Summary

Introduction

Improving the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) through modification of the flow field design has already been studied in literature for low temperature fuel cell systems. Shimpalee and Van Zee [2] have studied the impact of channel path length on 200 cm cells. The authors postulate that the effect of varying the flow channel path length on the reaction area can affect the performance of the cell. Shimpalee et al [3] have developed a model to study the impact of cross section dimension of channel and rib on the performance of low temperature PEMFCs. Hsieh and Chu [4] have experimentally investigated the effect of channel and rib widths with an aspect ratio 0.5 to 2 for the serpentine flow field PEMFC.

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