Numerical Analysis on Impact of Thickness of PEM and GDL with and without MPL on Coupling Phenomena in PEFC Operated at Higher Temperature Such as 363 K and 373 K

Akira Nishimura (), Kyohei Toyoda, Daiki Mishima, Syogo Ito and Eric Hu
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Akira Nishimura: Division of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu 514-8507, Mie, Japan
Kyohei Toyoda: Division of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu 514-8507, Mie, Japan
Daiki Mishima: Division of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu 514-8507, Mie, Japan
Syogo Ito: Division of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu 514-8507, Mie, Japan
Eric Hu: School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 16, 1-31

Abstract: The aim of this study is to clarify the impact of the thickness of a gas diffusion layer (GDL) and a micro porous layer (MPL) on the distributions of gas, H 2 O, and current density in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) which is operated at 363 K and 373 K and with various thicknesses of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) as well as a relative humidity (RH) of supply gas. These investigations are carried out by numerical simulation using the 3D model with COMSOL Multiphysics. In the case of Nafion 115, which is the thicker PEM, the change in the molar concentration of H 2 O from the inlet to the outlet with MPL is larger than that without MPL irrespective of the thickness of GDL, T ini and RH condition. In the case of Nafion NRE-212, which is the thinner PEM, the change in the molar concentration of H 2 O from the inlet to the outlet is larger with MPL than that without MPL in the case of TGP-H-060 (the thicker commercial GDL), while that is smaller with MPL than that without MPL in the case of TGP-H-030 (the thinner commercial GDL). These results exhibit the same tendency as the results of the numerical simulation on the current density.

Keywords: PEFC; higher temperature; numerical simulation; thickness of PEM and GDL; MPL; relative humidity; current density distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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