Dynamic Modeling of the Water Balance in the Cathode Gas Diffusion Layer of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

摘要

Development of PEMFC for use as a portable devices like mobile phones, computer notebooks, digital cameras, etc and transport devices are receiving more coverage in recent research due to their low cost-per kW, fast start-up, lower operating temperature and zero pollution. The operation in these applications is generally dynamic. So the development of dynamic models is highly important. During fuel cell operation, management of water produced is crucial to enhance PEMFC performance. Generally, water is produced at the cathode/membrane interface due to the electrochemical reactions. Also, due to the humidification of gas at the anode and cathode inlets to supply water to the membrane, condensation takes place in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) preventing the diffusion of gas tothe reactive sites.