Performance improvement of proton exchange membrane fuel cells with wavy flow channels: An experimental study

Abstract

Summary The gas flow field design plays a vital role in the cell performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, especially at high current densities. In this study, wavy flow channels are designed and adopted on the cathode side to enhance the mass transport process. Results demonstrate that the wavy flow channels proposed in this paper significantly improve cell performance at high current densities. The power density is improved from 0.121 to 0.314 W/cm2 at the maximum current density used in this present study. Effects of operating temperature (333.15, 343.15 and 353.15 K), humidification temperature (313.15, 333.15 and 353.15 K), anode volumetric flow rate (0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 L/min), and cathode volumetric flow rate (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 L/min) on the performance of fuel cells with the novel wavy flow channels are deeply studied. In addition, the influence of the amplitude (0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 mm) and number (5, 7 and 9) of the wavy configurations on performance are illustrated and compared in detail. Furthermore, fuel cells with gradient wavy channels are also designed and experimentally investigated.