A comprehensive overpotential analysis of high‐power density fuel cell: channel/rid width design. (12th April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Huize; Hu, Zunyan; Li, Jianqiu; Xu, Liangfei; Zhao, Yang; Ding, Yujie; Ouyang, Minggao
• Other Names: Bicer Yusuf guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: International journal of energy research. Volume 46:Number 8(2022)
• Page Start: 10998
• Page End: 11010
• Publication Date: 2022-04-12
• Subjects: channel/rib width -- fuel cell -- gas distribution -- mass transfer loss -- power density; Power resources -- Periodicals; Power (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Research -- Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1002/er.7901
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0363-907X

Abstract

Summary: Reducing the channel/rib width is a possible approach to improve the performance of fuel cells. However, few experiments were conducted to verify this claim, especially for channel/rib width of below 0.4 mm. In this study, we conducted quantitative analysis to investigate the influence of channel/rib geometries on the performance of fuel cells through experiments and model simulations. As the channel/rib width reduced from 1.0 to 0.2 mm, the fuel cell power density increased by 31% under high humidity condition. The influence of channel/rib width on overpotentials has also been revealed. Notably, narrow channels/ribs can lead to a significant reduction in mass transfer loss under high current density. Three‐dimensional simulation results suggest that the reduction of channel/rib width improves the uniformity of gas and water distribution under channels and ribs by 95%. This research provides a concrete foundation for the design of bipolar plates with high‐density flow channels for high‐power density fuel cells. Abstract : Polarization curves of fuel cells with different channel/rib width.