CFD Analysis of Spiral Flow Fields in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are largely used in various applications because of their pollution-free products and high energy conversion efficiency. In order to improve the related design, in the present work a new spiral flow field with a bypass is proposed. The reaction gas enters the flow field in the central path and diffuses in two directions through the flow channel and the bypass. The bypasses are arranged incrementally. The number of bypasses and the cross-section size of the bypasses are varied parametrically while a single-cell model of the PEMFC is used. The influence of the concentration of liquid water and oxygen in the cell on the performance of different flow fields is determined by means of Computational fluid dynamics (COMSOL Multiphysics software). Results show that when the bypass number is 48 and its cross-sectional area is 0.5 mm 2 , the cell exhibits the best performances.

Optimization of Cooling Channel Structure of Bipolar Plate for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Based on CFD Analysis

“…In recent decades, many scholars around the world have been conducting research on the development of new energy sources to address issues, such as energy shortages and environmental pollution [1]. Due to the advantages of high energy and cleanliness of hydrogen energy, it has become the "ideal clean energy of the 21st century".…”