Design and Manufacturing Challenges in PEMFC Flow Fields—A Review

Prithvi Raj Pedapati, Shankar Raman Dhanushkodi (), Ramesh Kumar Chidambaram, Dawid Taler, Tomasz Sobota and Jan Taler
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Prithvi Raj Pedapati: Automotive Research Center, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
Shankar Raman Dhanushkodi: Dhanushkodi Research Group, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
Ramesh Kumar Chidambaram: Automotive Research Center, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
Dawid Taler: Department of Thermal Processes, Air Protection and Waste Management, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Tomasz Sobota: Department of Thermal Processes, Air Protection and Waste Management, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Jan Taler: Department of Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-864 Cracow, Poland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-34

Abstract: Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are a prime choice for substitute electricity producers. Membrane electrode assembly (MEA), bipolar electrodes, and current collectors belong to only a limited number of primary parts of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Bipolar plates are among the most famous elements in the fuel cell; they are responsible for the electrochemical reaction, as well as the flow of gases from one bipolar plate to another. A bipolar plate is to be a good electro-conducting, non-corrosive, and a high mechanical strength product. The attainability of the specification is achieved by graphite and metallic materials, each one having its own merits and demerits that are discussed in this article. Likewise, making the second pass for the flow pattern is equally important for the cell to have good performance and efficiency. The emergence of innovative and new bipolar plate designs has caused the achievement of high performance of these plates. The present review article principally focuses on the experimental study of diverse flow fields in the design of PEMFC and on the influence of various geometrical properties on the general operation of fuel cells made of PEMFC, and also on the manufacturing procedure utilized for building contemporary fuel cells.

Keywords: PEMFC; bipolar plates; plate material; micro-channel; flow pattern (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: 2024
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