SIMULATION STUDY ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION OF PEMFC COMBINED FLOW FIELD

Fu Lirong; Lin Huadong; Gong Penghua; Liu Jinyi; Xiao Mingwei

doi:10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-1029

PDF(1938 KB)

Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (10) : 147-153. DOI: 10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-1029

SIMULATION STUDY ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION OF PEMFC COMBINED FLOW FIELD

Fu Lirong, Lin Huadong, Gong Penghua, Liu Jinyi, Xiao Mingwei

Author information +

History +

Abstract

This study developed a three-dimensional model of a composite flow field in proton exchange membrane fuel cells （PEMFCs） to investigate the effects of operating conditions and geometric parameters of the flow field on cell performance. The findings reveal that oxygen distribution and current density in the inclined flow field are more uniform compared to the parallel and serpentine flow fields. The cell’s power density output is improved by 7.43% and 12.05% in the inclined flow field relative to the serpentine and parallel configurations, respectively. Higher operating pressures increase oxygen concentration within the channels, leading to enhanced cell output performance, while temperature shows a relatively minor influence due to the structural limitations of the flow field. A reduced number of channels in the flow field leads to uneven oxygen distribution, thereby diminishing the cell's performance. Increasing the rib-to-channel width ratio improves output performance, while changes in the channel aspect ratio show minimal impact on performance.

Key words

proton exchange membrane fuel cells / flow field / numerical model / structural optimization

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Fu Lirong, Lin Huadong, Gong Penghua, Liu Jinyi, Xiao Mingwei. SIMULATION STUDY ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION OF PEMFC COMBINED FLOW FIELD[J]. Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica. 2025, 46(10): 147-153 https://doi.org/10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2024-1029

References

[1] 邵明标. 燃料电池的发展趋势及应用前景综述[J]. 山东化工, 2019, 48(23): 71-73.
SHAO M B.Development trend and application prospect of fuel cell[J]. Shandong chemical industry, 2019, 48(23): 71-73.
[2] 王万腾, 李楠, 许宏鹏, 等. 基于鹦鹉螺仿生结构的流道对PEMFC性能提升研究[J]. 太阳能学报, 2022, 43(6): 448-453.
WANG W T, LI N, XU H P, et al.Study on improving performance of PEMFC by flow channel based on nautilus bionic structure[J]. Acta energiae solaris sinica, 2022, 43(6): 448-453.
[3] LI W K, ZHANG Q L, WANG C, et al.Experimental and numerical analysis of a three-dimensional flow field for PEMFCs[J]. Applied energy, 2017, 195: 278-288.
[4] 武生威, 付丽荣, 刘维峰, 等. 新型拓展流道PEMFC传质模拟与性能研究[J]. 太阳能学报, 2023, 44(5): 74-79.
WU S W, FU L R, LIU W F, et al.Mass transfer simulation and performance study of PEMFC with new extended flow channel[J]. Acta energiae solaris sinica, 2023, 44(5): 74-79.
[5] 张拴羊, 杨其国, 徐洪涛, 等. 不同流场结构对PEMFC性能影响的模拟研究[J]. 太阳能学报, 2023, 44(8): 62-67.
ZHANG S Y, YANG Q G, XU H T, et al.Numerical simulation on effect of different flow fields on performance of PEMFC[J]. Acta energiae solaris sinica, 2023, 44(8): 62-67.
[6] 赵富强, 祁慧青, 范晓宇, 等. PEMFC新型压差流道传质与电化学性能研究[J]. 电源学报, 2023, 21(4): 148-158.
ZHAO F Q, QI H Q, FAN X Y, et al.Study on mass transfer and electrochemical performance of PEMFC with novel differential pressure flow channel[J]. Journal of power supply, 2023, 21(4): 148-158.
[7] KANG D G, LEE D K, CHOI J M, et al.Study on the metal foam flow field with porosity gradient in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell[J]. Renewable energy, 2020, 156: 931-941.
[8] GHASABEHI M, ASHRAFI M, SHAMS M.Performance analysis of an innovative parallel flow field design of proton exchange membrane fuel cells using multiphysics simulation[J]. Fuel, 2021, 285: 119194.
[9] 李政翰, 涂正凯. 质子交换膜燃料电池仿真模型研究进展[J]. 化工进展, 2022, 41(10): 5272-5296.
LI Z H, TU Z K.Research progress of simulation models of proton exchange membrane fuel cell[J]. Chemical industry and engineering progress, 2022, 41(10): 5272-5296.
[10] DENG M L, ZHANG Q W, HUANG Y K, et al.Integration and optimization for a PEMFC and PSA oxygen production combined system[J]. Energy conversion and management, 2021, 236: 114062.
[11] UBONG E U, SHI Z, WANG X.Three-dimensional modeling and experimental study of a high temperature PBI-based PEM fuel cell[J]. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 2009, 156(10): B1276.