A numerical study on liquid water behaviours in PEM fuel cell cathode.

摘要

A numerical study investigating different air-water flows in both fuel cell stacks and Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL) in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell cathode was performed by use of the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software package FLUENT. Both the parallel-serpentine and parallel-straight PEM fuel cell stacks were studied, different designs of micro-structures of the GDL were also studied to indicate the best GDL, then the best GDL is studied with different wettabilities to test the effects of the material properties on liquid water transport. Different air-water flow behaviours were investigated and described. Some water management problems related to PEM fuel cells were identified and recommendations were given through investigating the flow patterns.