Numerical study of Land/Channel flow-field optimizations in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFCs)

초록

The performance and durability of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFCs) are strongly influenced by the uniformity of current density, temperature, species distributions inside a cell In order to obtain uniform distributions in them, the optimal design of flowfield must be a key factor. In this paper, the numerical study of land/channel flowfield optimizations is performed, using a multi-dimensional, multi-phase, non-isothermal PEFC model. The simulation results indicate the effects of contact resistance variation along the in-plane direction and oxygen depletion near the land region considerably alter the uniformity of current density and oxygen distributions.