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Pore‐scale analysis of a PEM fuel cell cathode including carbon cloth gas diffusion layer by lattice Boltzmann method
Author(s) -
Molaeimanesh Gholam Reza,
Dahmardeh Masoud
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
fuel cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1615-6854
pISSN - 1615-6846
DOI - 10.1002/fuce.202000191
Subject(s) - microstructure , cathode , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , lattice boltzmann methods , materials science , carbon fibers , composite material , current density , gaseous diffusion , chemical engineering , chemistry , catalysis , fuel cells , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , composite number , engineering
One of the parameters which can greatly affect (i.e., enhances or diminishes) the performance of a PEM fuel cell cathode is the GDL microstructure. In the present study, the role of carbon cloth GDL microstructure on the performance of a PEM fuel cell cathode is investigated, for the first time. In this regard, three carbon cloth GDLs with three different microstructures are reconstructed via merging bundles of carbon fibers with sinusoidal form; afterward, the passing reactive air through these GDLs is simulated at pore‐scale using lattice Boltzmann approach. The distributions of oxygen and water vapor through the carbon cloths and the distribution of current density on the catalyst layers are presented and analyzed. The results show that when the carbon cloth bundles consist of more fibers (i.e., having larger cross‐sections), the penetration of oxygen toward the catalyst layer is more difficult, and consequently, the average current density is smaller. Besides, the results reveal that the through‐plane compactness of carbon cloth microstructure does not bring a significant effect on the distribution of current density and species.