Structure optimization of anode parallel flow field for local starvation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Abstract

The structure of the flow field can directly affect the gas distribution in the fuel cell. The uneven distribution of gas can lead to local starvation, which might cause cell performance degradation, cell reversal, and seriously affect the cell durability. This paper proposes two structure optimization schemes of parallel anode flow field through simulation, and chooses the better optimization scheme to conduct an experiment. The results show that, with the same operating conditions, the anode current density distribution uniformity of the optimized parallel flow field single cell is significantly better than that of the original parallel flow field single cell. And in deep starvation, the vacuum effect of optimized parallel flow field single cell occurs under lower hydrogen stoichiometry. It further demonstrates that the structure optimization of anode flow field can improve performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell when starvation happens.