Effect of Rotational Control for Accelerating Water Discharge on the Performance of a Circular Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

Ji-Seong Kim, Keon-Soo Kim, Do-Young Kim, Min Heo and Kap-Seung Choi
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Ji-Seong Kim: Graduate School of Mechanical System Engineering, Tongmyong University, 428 Sinseon-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48520, Korea
Keon-Soo Kim: Graduate School of Mechanical System Engineering, Tongmyong University, 428 Sinseon-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48520, Korea
Do-Young Kim: Graduate School of Mechanical System Engineering, Tongmyong University, 428 Sinseon-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48520, Korea
Min Heo: Transportation Pollution Research Center, National Institute of Environmental Research, 42 Hwangyeong-ro, Seo-gu, Inchon 22689, Korea
Kap-Seung Choi: Department of Automotive Engineering, Tongmyong University, 428 Sinseon-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48520, Korea

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are emerging as an important research topic owing to increasingly intensified environmental pollution. The flow field pattern of the fuel cell controls the electrochemically uniform distribution and water flooding in the reaction area between the anode and cathode. Water discharge management in the channel is an important factor influencing the efficiency of the fuel cell. In this paper, we propose a polymer electrolyte fuel cell with a rotatable circular spiral channel set to a constant size. The mass transfer behavior was analyzed numerically according to the number of channel passes. Numerical analysis showed that the production and behavior of water are closely associated with the performance of fuel cells. The circular spiral-pattern fuel cell with the greatest membrane water content was rotated through the experimental device to confirm the performance change of the fuel cell for each rotation speed. The performance improved as the internal water was ejected by the rotational centrifugal force. However, when excessive rotation was applied, the performance decreased because the water was forcibly drained out by a strong centrifugal force.

Keywords: PEM fuel cell; water discharge; water transport; rotational force control; flooding (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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