THREE DIMENSIONEL MODELLING AND PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS OF A PEM FUEL CELL WITH A SERPENTINE FLOW CHANNEL

Abstract

In this study, a mathematical model was created for chemical reactions in the fuel cell as wellas heat and fluid flow and this model was applied to a known serpentine type fuel cell forverification purposes. The flow and transfer processes were assumed as steady, threedimensional without phase change and the membrane, the catalyst as well as the gas diffusionlayers were taken as isotropic materials. The verified model and mesh structure were then usedfor a parametric analysis. Numerical solution of the model was performed under differentboundary and operational conditions by using Fluent CFD software. The results obtained arepresented in terms of concentration distributions of species, velocity and temperature variationsand fuel cell characteristic curve. The effects operating pressure, exchange coefficient andstoichiometric flow ratio on the fuel cell performance were investigated.