Parametric Study of Operation and Performance of a PEM Fuel Cell Using Numerical Method

Abstract

Output characteristics of fuel cells are affected by a large number of parameters such as geometry, dimensions, construction materials and conditions of supplying fluids. In this paper a mathematical model followed by a two-dimensional numerical approach has been presented to study the fuel cell parametrically. Effect of oxygen concentration at gas diffusion layer entrance, temperature and pressure of the fluid in channels and thickness of membrane for various current densities were studied. The results show that increasing pressure and input oxygen concentration as well as decreasing membrane thickness improve power density and raise limiting current density.

Keywords

• proton exchange membrane fuel cell
• parametric study
• numerical
• heat transfer
• mass transfer