Synergistic mass transfer and performance stability of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with traveling wave flow channels

Xinning Zhu, Rongkang Liu, Liang Su, Xi Wang, Xuyang Chu, Yao Ma, Linjing Wu, Guangji Song and Wei Zhou

Energy, 2023, vol. 285, issue C

Abstract: As one of the critical components of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the flow channel design in the bipolar plate is crucial to improve the mass transfer performance and stability. In this study, the effect of the structural characteristics and location arrangement of traveling wave flow channels, with a concave surface as the mass transfer surface, on the fuel cell performance is investigated, and the evaluation indexes, such as oxygen mass flux, net power density, synergistic coefficient, and unevenness coefficient, are established to evaluate the flow law of fluid, distribution law of pressure, synergistic mass transfer, and performance stability of the fuel cell. Results show that the synergistic mass transfer performance is better in the traveling wave channels with identical structural characteristics and uniform arrangement. Furthermore, a 21.20 % increase in the average fluid flow velocity can enhance oxygen and liquid water flux at the bipolar plate (BP)/gas diffusion layer (GDL) interfaces by about 198.48 % and 207.94 %, respectively, resulting in an 87.13 % increase in net power density and 70.95 % improvement in the performance stability of the fuel cell.

Keywords: Proton exchange membrane fuel cell; Traveling wave flow channel; Synergistic mass transfer effect; Unevenness coefficient; Net power density (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:285:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223027548

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.129360

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