CFD Simulation and Performance Investigation on a Novel Bionic Spider-Web-Type Flow Field for PEM Fuel Cells

Abstract

The products generated by the electrochemical reaction in the PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) are mainly concentrated in the flow field on the cathode side of the bipolar plate, and the oxygen introduced on the cathode has higher requirements to improve its diffusion performance by using the flow field structure. For this reason, the optimization of the cathode flow field of the PEMFC is essential. Inspired by the structure of a spider web, this paper proposes a novel spider-web-type flow field. In this kind of flow field, the shape of a polygonal structure and the number of layers of spiral flow channels are the two most crucial variables. In order to explore the impact of these two variables on the cathode flow field, complete three-dimensional PEMFC models with different values of the two variables were established, and the models were simulated by the method of CFD. By observing the results of oxygen distribution, the water removal performance and fuel cell output performance of different schemes, the optimal scheme of the polygonal structure and layer number are determined. Compared with the traditional flow field, it is proved that the optimization scheme is desirable in improving the performance of the cathode flow field in PEMFC.

Design and Analysis of Spider Bionic Flow Field for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

“…Unlike the former, such as Zhang [24] according to animals nest design a honeycomb type bionic structure flow channel, and exploring the gas diffusion layer (GDL) thickness and porosity affect the performance of PEMFC, the results show that honeycomb flow channel can improve the three-phase interface oxygen distribution uniformity, but too much of the branch, prone to "flooding" phenomenon. In contrast, although the bionic structure of the spider web proposed by Xie et al [25] has many branches, the phenomenon of "flooding" is not obvious through the reasonable setting of the side length and angle of the spiral flow channel. Zhang found that the fin-like partition method could improve the water removal capacity of the channel.…”

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

“…Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are advanced power supply device that requires air and hydrogen to be pumped through the cathode and the anode, respectively. Given that the only products are heat and water, the whereabouts of the subsequent products should not be a concern [7][8][9][10][11][12]. The power generation efficiency of PEMFCs is easily affected by the external environment and built-in parameters, such as the flow field layout [13][14][15].…”

Analysis of fluid flow behaviour in different proton exchange membrane fuel cell flow field configurations

“…The baffles increased the fluid retention time in the active area, while the wider ‘stem’ enhanced fluid drainage, thus raising the power density up to 18%. Xie et al combined a conventional radial pattern with a novel biomimetic spider‐web pattern 18 . The serpentine flow field still achieved 10.5% higher peak power density than the spider‐web flow field.…”