An Open-Source Toolbox for PEM Fuel Cell Simulation

Abstract

In this paper, an open-source toolbox that can be used to accurately predict the distribution of the major physical quantities that are transported within a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is presented. The toolbox has been developed using the Open Source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM) platform, which is an open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. The base case results for the distribution of velocity, pressure, chemical species, Nernst potential, current density, and temperature are as expected. The plotted polarization curve was compared to the results from a numerical model and experimental data taken from the literature. The conducted simulations have generated a significant amount of data and information about the transport processes that are involved in the operation of a PEM fuel cell. The key role played by the concentration constant in shaping the cell polarization curve has been explored. The development of the present toolbox is in line with the objectives outlined in the International Energy Agency (IEA, Paris, France) Advanced Fuel Cell Annex 37 that is devoted to developing open-source computational tools to facilitate fuel cell technologies. The work therefore serves as a basis for devising additional features that are not always feasible with a commercial code.Computation 2018, 6, 38 2 of 17 making them a suitable choice for automotive power systems, as well as power generation devices for portable electronics and stationary units [1].Nonetheless, the high manufacturing and performance test costs associated with PEM fuel cell systems constitute a major hurdle for their rapid development in terms of experimental studies. Therefore, many researches on PEM fuel cells have focused on improving the cell performance by maximizing its efficiency while minimizing manufacturing and test costs through CFD techniques [1][2][3][4][5]. Most of the current state of the art work is concerned with the effects of modelling parameters on cell polarization [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].As for open-source modelling of PEM fuel cells using OpenFOAM, this paragraph is intended to examine most of the literature's models, though it is likely that it may not include all the published models. Therefore, only the most pertinent issues that are relevant in the context of the present work are examined. Barreras et al. [18] and Lozano et al. [19] developed two dimensional (2-D) OpenFOAM CFD models for investigating the performance of bipolar plates in PEM fuel cells. Besides being 2-D, these models only consider a single fuel cell component (e.g., bipolar plate). It has been shown that transport in PEM fuel cells is three dimensional (3-D) in nature and requires the coupling of multiple regions in the fuel cell. Mustata et al. [20], Valino et al. [21] and Imbrioscia and Fasoli [22] subsequently presented 3-D OpenFOAM CFD models of bipolar plates. Although their models are 3-D, they are also limited to the bipolar plates, and they do not consider the coupling of transport pheno...

Flow Analysis Based on Cathodic Current Using Different Designs of Channel Distribution In PEM Fuel Cells

“…The scalar equations are listed in Table 3. Table 4 details boundary conditions , and the data came from the literature [11,12], including the molar diffusion volumes [13], the exchange current density [14], and the gas diffusion layer thickness Equation (2). The Navier-Stokes Equation (1) was solved first in order to determine the gas velocity field in the channels.…”

Effect of the corrugated bipolar plate design on the self‐humidification of a high power density PEMFC stack for UAVs

“…where ε = 0.70 is the porosity of the GDL [122], λ GDL = 0.5 W m −1 К −1 is the heat conductivity of carbon [8], and λ H2 = 0.183 W m −1 К −1 and λ air = 0.0276 W m −1 К −1 are the heat conductivities of H 2 and air. Additional parameters and assumptions were used according to the standard practices in PEMFC modeling [123,124].…”

CFD Analysis in the Mesh Modified Gas Diffusion Layer of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)

“…Despite these disadvantages, open-source CFD tools are an excellent option that provides advantages such as collaboration between members of the users' community, access to source codes, possibility of customizing the software, and decreasing acquisition costs in research projects. One of the most popular open-source CFD tool for the modeling of fuel cells is OpenFOAM, as evidenced by the works by Lozano et al, [24], Novaresio et al, [22], Beale et al, [25], Imbrioscia et al, [26], Wang et al, [27], Kim et al, [28], and Kone et al, [29].…”

“…Kim et al, [28] performed VOF simulations to study the effects of channel cross section (rectangular and trapezoidal) on water removal in a straight gas channel. Kone et al, [29] developed an open-source toolbox for predicting the distribution of physical quantities in a complete proton exchange membrane fuel cell using OpenFOAM. They adapted the model of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), presented by Beale [25], to a PEM fuel cell.…”