Numerical study of serpentine flow field designs effect on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance
-
Venkateswarlu Velisala
and
Naga Srinivasulu Golagani
Abstract
The design of flow field greatly influences Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) performance, as it not only distributes the reactants, also removes the product (water) from the cell. Improper water removal blocks the reaction sites, which results in mass transport losses. A complete 3-D numerical model of PEMFC with a single serpentine (1-S), double serpentine (2-S),triple serpentine (3-S) and 3-2-1 serpentine flow fields with round corner was designed with the help of commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS FLUENT. Simulations were carried out to investigate the effect of four flow fields on distribution of pressure, mass fraction of H2, O2, current flux density distribution, water content of membrane, and liquid water activity in the flow channels as well as the functioning of cells. Performance properties of proposed four designs were evaluated and found that 3-2-1 serpentine flow field performance is better than the 1-S, 2-S, and 3-S flow fields for the given flow rates of reactants and this 3-2-1 serpentine flow field model was validated with literature experimental data. The results also show that the velocity in channels increases with a decrease in the number of flow passes, which improve the reactions in the catalyst layers, reaction product removal from the cell thus reduces the concentration losses and improves the cell performance.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Simulation of CO2 removal from pressurized natural gas stream contains high CO2 concentration by absorption process using membrane contactors
- Simplified tuning of IMC based modified smith predictor for UFOPDT processes
- Numerical investigation of heat and mass transfer during hydrogen sorption in a mixture of AB2 – AB5 metal hydride for hydrogen storage
- Numerical study of serpentine flow field designs effect on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance
- Statistical Modelling and Optimisation of the Biosorption of Cd(II) and Pb(II) onto Dead Biomass of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
- Numerical Modeling of Phenol Adsorption on Granular Activated Carbon Fixed Bed: Comparison of Two Numerical Methods to Solve the Advection-dispersion Equation
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Simulation of CO2 removal from pressurized natural gas stream contains high CO2 concentration by absorption process using membrane contactors
- Simplified tuning of IMC based modified smith predictor for UFOPDT processes
- Numerical investigation of heat and mass transfer during hydrogen sorption in a mixture of AB2 – AB5 metal hydride for hydrogen storage
- Numerical study of serpentine flow field designs effect on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance
- Statistical Modelling and Optimisation of the Biosorption of Cd(II) and Pb(II) onto Dead Biomass of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
- Numerical Modeling of Phenol Adsorption on Granular Activated Carbon Fixed Bed: Comparison of Two Numerical Methods to Solve the Advection-dispersion Equation
