Numerical Investigation of Water Management in the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Cathode and Anode

The numerical investigation of a PEMFC (proton exchangemembrane fuel cell) is accounted for by assuming the flowto be steady, two-dimensional with liquid water transportand all cell layers including cathode and anode electrodesare simultaneously modeled. Also, the effect of gas crossoverthrough the membrane in waste of energy isinvestigated. The results show that when the effects ofliquid water is taken into account, both the polarization andcross-over efficiency curves show lower amounts. Thechoice of a hydrophobic gas diffusion layer (GDL) forcathode and the hydrophilic GDL for anode increases thecell efficiency. High current density leads to higher waterliquid saturation at both electrodes. It was observed that theamount of saturated liquid water on anode is considerablethat calls for further investigation of liquid water behaviorin this electrode.

کلیدواژه ها:

Numerical Investigation ، PEMFC ، WaterManagement ، Gas cross-over through membrane