Experimental and numerical investigation on effects of cathode flow field configurations in an air-breathing high-temperature PEMFC

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 44; no. 45; pp. 25010 - 25020
• Main Authors: Xu, Xinhai, Yang, Weikun, Zhuang, Xiaoru, Xu, Ben
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 20-09-2019
• Subjects: Air-breathing; Cathode flow field; High temperature; Open ratio; PEMFC; PEMFC; Cathode flow field; High temperature; Open ratio; Air-breathing
• ISSN: 0360-3199
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.07.237

Air-breathing high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) gets rid of the cumbersome air supplying systems and avoids the water flooding problem by directly exposing the cathode to air and operating the fuel cell at elevated temperature. Performance of the air-breathing HT-PEMFC is dependent on many factors particularly the cathode flow field configurations. However, studies about air-breathing HT-PEMFCs are quite limited in the literature. In the present study, an experimental testing system was setup for the performance measurement of the air-breathing HT-PEMFC. A 3D numerical model was established and validated by the experimental data. Effects of the cathode flow field configurations including the opening shape, end plate thickness, open ratio and opening direction on performance of the air-breathing HT-PEMFC were experimentally and numerically investigated. It was found that the cathode end plate thickness and upward or sideways orientation have the least effect on the performance. The maximum power density of 160 mW/cm2 at the current density of 394 mA/cm2 can be achieved for the cathode flow field with slot holes and an open ratio of 75%.
•An air-breathing HT-PEMFC was experimentally and numerically studied.•Effects of the cathode configurations were investigated.•The cathode flow field with slot holes was proved the best.•The optimized open ratio was 75%.•A peak power density of 160 mW/m2 was achieved at 394 mA/cm2.