Performance study on a large-scale proton exchange membrane fuel cell with cooling

Abstract

The output performance of PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is limited by the operating conditions of the fuel cell, including the control temperature, gas concentration distribution and working pressure. In order to simplify the calculation process, the existing literatures mostly use single channel to study the output indexes of batteries. Initially, based on 3D (three-dimensional) CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation, a method to optimize the gas distribution in the flow field by using the distribution area is proposed for a commercial large-scale PEMFC with an activation area of 107.44 cm2. The uniformity of gas concentration distribution in anode and cathode flow field is taken into consideration to test the influence of flow field. The relationship between liquid saturation and gas velocity in the flow field is also analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of anode and cathode gas flow direction on gas concentration in CL (catalytic layer) and water content in PEM (proton exchange membrane) is studied, and both methods have little effect on PEMFC. Additionally, the performance of PEMFC is obviously improved by increasing operating pressure, and the reactant gas molar concentration and membrane water content are increased significantly. Finally, study proves that it is more beneficial to the performance of PEMFC when cooling flow direction is consistent with oxygen.