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Effect of the Flow Field Design and Gas Flow Configuration on the Performance of the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell - An Experimental Analysis


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15866/ireme.v7i5.3862

Abstract


Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy in fuels into electrical energy directly, promising power generation with high efficiency and low environmental impact. The most predominantly used fuel cell is proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell because of its wide range of applications. The performance of PEM fuel cells strongly depend on many factors including operating conditions, transport phenomena in the cells, electrochemical reaction kinetics, flow field design and manufacturing process. This experimental research aims to study the effect of different gas flow field designs on the PEM fuel cell’s performance. A new flow field design was established and its performance was compared with the serpentine flow field and convection enhanced serpentine flow field. It was observed that at lower reactant flow rates, the new design showed better performance. Different reactant flow configurations were also studied and the results reveal that the gas flow configuration has a significant effect on the cell performance.
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Keywords


PEM Fuel Cell; Water Management; Flow Field Design; Gas Flow Configuration; Under Rib Convection

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References


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