The effect of mother channel width on biometric flow field towards polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance

Abstract

Leaf shape biometric design shows promising potential as a flow field to supply air reactants in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell. However, studies that discuss the dimensions of biometric flow field in detail are rarely encountered. The channel width can affect the supply of reactants, the better the supply of reactants the better the cell performance can be achieved. In this study we investigated the effect of the mother channel width on the biometric flow field towards cell performance using numerical simulations. The model is composed of 9 layers with 25 cm² of active area. The channel dimension is varied by considering Murray’s theory. Simulation results show that the optimal width of the mother channel can increase power density by up to 6% compared to other variations. This increase can be achieved due to a more uniform distribution of oxygen concentration.

Review of Flow Field Designs for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

“…There is a growing trend to rebuild bipolar plates inspired by nature with higher performance. Common bionic flow field types include leaf-shaped [191][192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201][202][203], lung-shaped [191,[204][205][206][207][208][209][210][211], etc.…”

“…With this beginning, many researchers began to pay attention to the leaf-shaped flow field and investigated improvements to its structure. For example, the width of the main channel was improved [192][193][194], the number of branches was changed [195,196], the auxiliary channel was added [197][198][199], the fractal channel was explored [200], etc.…”

“…Leaf-shaped flow field with increased width of the main channel [192][193][194] More stable flow channel and more uniform velocity distribution.…”