Parametric study of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance using CFD modelling

Abstract

A comprehensive three-dimensional, isothermal, steady-state, straightchannel proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell model was developed to investigate the transport limitations of fresh reactants at high current densities. The model is created based on the existing models in literature to predict the reactant's transport limitations at higher current densities using three-dimensional framework. A user-defined function (UDF) code was developed considering source terms for porous zones, effective diffusivity models for species transport inside cells and electrochemistry algorithm to predict cell voltage at an average current density. Water transport through membrane was implemented considering electroosmotic drag and back diffusion inside PEM fuel cell. Simulation-predicted cell performances for different average current densities were validated with experimental results, and the effect of design parameters on cell performance is obtained using parametric studies. Parametric studies were performed to determine the best possible operating and geometrical design parameters of PEM fuel cell.