Design and Development of High Performance Scaled Up PEM Fuel Cell by Flow Channel Modifications

Abstract

World Health Organisation s (WHO) study on outdoor air quality states that about nine out of ten people live in places that do not adhere to WHO air quality guidelines. The usage of clean energy technologies such as Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) will lead the way to better air quality. However, durability issues in fuel cells including water management and scaling up are barriers to commercialisation of fuel cells. This work attempts to find ways of minimising the problems related to water management and scaling up through flow channel modifications. To achieve the same the properties of different flow channels designs were studied and the design most suitable for performance enhancement, water management and scaling up was opted for flow channels of cross section 2 mm x 2 mm with an active area of 25 cm2. The best combination was then scaled up to 50 cm2 and 100 cm2 active area. Considering better reactant dispersion and performance the serpentine pattern was considered at the anode. As the design of the cathode flow channel is important for water removal, the channel having better water removal characteristics is to be taken at the cathode side. The parallel flow field is capable of water removal but has lower reactant dispersion and reactant utilisation. Hence the parallel flow field was modified with funnelled inlet/outlet with various inlet/outlet angles for uniform flow distribution. The flow field capable of rendering uniform flow at the minimum size and electrical losses was considered for further analysis.