The flow field design of current collectors is a significant issue, which greatly affects the mass transport processes of reactants/products inside fuel cells. Especially for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, an appropriate flow field design is very important due to the water balance problem. In this paper, a wavy surface is employed at the cathode flow channel to improve the oxygen mass transport process. The effects of wavy surface on transport processes are numerically investigated by using a three-dimensional anisotropic model including a water phase change model and a spherical agglomerate model. It is found that the wavy configurations enhance the oxygen transport and decrease the water saturation level. It is concluded that the predicted results and findings provide the guideline for the design and manufacture of fuel cells.
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August 2017
Research-Article
Wavy Surface Cathode Gas Flow Channel Effects on Transport Processes in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell
Shian Li,
Shian Li
Department of Energy Sciences,
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Search for other works by this author on:
Jinliang Yuan,
Jinliang Yuan
Department of Energy Sciences,
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Search for other works by this author on:
Martin Andersson,
Martin Andersson
Department of Energy Sciences,
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Search for other works by this author on:
Gongnan Xie,
Gongnan Xie
Department of Mechanical
and Power Engineering,
Northwestern Polytechnical University,
Box 24,
Xi'an 710072, China
and Power Engineering,
Northwestern Polytechnical University,
Box 24,
Xi'an 710072, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Bengt Sundén
Bengt Sundén
Department of Energy Sciences,
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
e-mail: bengt.sunden@energy.lth.se
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
e-mail: bengt.sunden@energy.lth.se
Search for other works by this author on:
Shian Li
Department of Energy Sciences,
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Jinliang Yuan
Department of Energy Sciences,
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Martin Andersson
Department of Energy Sciences,
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
Gongnan Xie
Department of Mechanical
and Power Engineering,
Northwestern Polytechnical University,
Box 24,
Xi'an 710072, China
and Power Engineering,
Northwestern Polytechnical University,
Box 24,
Xi'an 710072, China
Bengt Sundén
Department of Energy Sciences,
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
e-mail: bengt.sunden@energy.lth.se
Lund University,
P.O. Box 118,
Lund SE-22100, Sweden
e-mail: bengt.sunden@energy.lth.se
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received December 10, 2016; final manuscript received April 20, 2017; published online June 21, 2017. Assoc. Editor: Matthew Mench.
J. Electrochem. En. Conv. Stor. Aug 2017, 14(3): 031007 (10 pages)
Published Online: June 21, 2017
Article history
Received:
December 10, 2016
Revised:
April 20, 2017
Citation
Li, S., Yuan, J., Andersson, M., Xie, G., and Sundén, B. (June 21, 2017). "Wavy Surface Cathode Gas Flow Channel Effects on Transport Processes in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell." ASME. J. Electrochem. En. Conv. Stor. August 2017; 14(3): 031007. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4036810
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