Premium
Effects of the humidity and the land ratio of channel and rib in the serpentine three‐dimensional PEMFC model
Author(s) -
Yang WooJoo,
Wang HongYang,
Kim YoungBae
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of energy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.808
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1099-114X
pISSN - 0363-907X
DOI - 10.1002/er.2935
Subject(s) - proton exchange membrane fuel cell , overpotential , relative humidity , inlet , mechanics , humidity , computer simulation , current density , current (fluid) , environmental science , chemistry , fuel cells , thermodynamics , engineering , electrical engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , chemical engineering , electrode , quantum mechanics , electrochemistry
SUMMARY The construction of a reliable numerical model and the clarification of its operational conditions are necessary for maximizing fuel cell operation. Numerous operating factors, such as mole fractions of species, pressure distribution, overpotential, and inlet relative humidity, affect the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Among these operational parameters, geometrical shape and relative humidity are investigated in this paper. Specifically, the land ratio of the gas channel and rib is an important parameter affecting PEMFC performance because current density distribution is influenced by this geometrical characteristic. Three main variables determine the current density distribution, namely, species concentration, pressure, and overpotential distributions. These distributions are considered simultaneously in assessing fuel cell performance with a given PEMFC cell‐operating voltage. In this paper, three different land ratio models are considered to obtain better PEMFC performance. Similarly, three different inlet relative humidity variations are studied to achieve an enhanced operating condition. A three‐dimensional numerical PEMFC model is developed to illustrate the current density distribution as the determining factor for PEMFC performance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.