Performance enhancement of proton exchange membrane fuel cells with bio-inspired gear-shaped flow channels

摘要

The flow channel design of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a key factor affecting the power output. This work proposes a planthopper gear-shaped flow channel (GFCH) to address the issues of oxygen starvation and reactant homogeneity in a PEMFC by strengthening oxygen transport from the flow channel to the electrode surface. Full-scale three-dimensional PEMFC based on the GFCHs is constructed to investigate and analyze the multi-phase mass transport process, flow velocity, pressure distribution and electrochemical per-formances, compared with the conventional serpentine flow channels (SFCHs). Results show that the GFCH remarkably boosts the oxygen transport to the electrode surface under the effects of bio-inspired strengthened structures. Due to the promoted mass transfer efficiency and reactant distribution homogeneity of the GFCHs, the peak power density of the optimized flow channel (1.04 W cm(-2)) is similar to 46% higher than that of the conventional SFCH (0.71 W cm(-2)). The optimal structural parameters for the GFCH with 0.4 mm for the rib width and combination of 0.6/0.4 mm for the channel height are obtained by simulation and experimental demonstration. We believe that using this novel channel shape provides a good solution for flow channel design of PEMFCs.

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