Optimization of the thickness of catalytic layer for HT-PEMFCs based on genetic algorithm

Abstract

In the design of High-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC), the thickness of the catalyst layer (CL) determines to some extent the strength of the electrochemical performance of the cell and its manufacturing cost. To achieve the goal of improving the cell performance and reducing the manufacturing cost, the genetic algorithm was employed to optimize the thickness of the cathode and anode catalytic layers. The thicknesses of the anode/cathode CLs were set as independent variables. The results showed that the best minimum adaptation value was determined as 0.03072. The thicknesses of the anode and cathode CLs are 0.0231 mm and 0.0315 mm, respectively. The performance improvement of the optimized model is approximately 6.8%. The optimization method used in the study can effectively improve the performance of HT-PEMFC and provide a reference for the design of HT-PEMFC.