IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v220y2018icp47-58.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of operational parameters on transport and performance of a PEM fuel cell with the best protrusive gas diffusion layer arrangement

Author

Listed:
  • Wu, Horng-Wen
  • Shih, Gin-Jang
  • Chen, Yi-Bin

Abstract

The proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is regarded as the best choice in the next power generation source in recent years due to its high fuel conversion efficiency, low noise, no emissions, and so on. The performance of the PEM fuel cell is dominated by the flow field design. The authors first numerically explore how the changed flow field design by the arrangement pattern of the protrusive gas diffusion layer (GDL) affects the cell performance for a full-scale serpentine channel. The best arrangement pattern of the protrusive GDL is then used to find the optimal combined factors by Taguchi design of experiments. The optimal energy conversion and conservation for this arrangement can upgrade the PEM fuel cell performance about 12% while decreasing pressure drop is approximately 35%. In addition, employing experimental data validates the calculation results of the flow channel design. Both the numerical and the experimental results can contribute to a better comprehension of the flow phenomenon that occurs in the energy process device.

Suggested Citation

  • Wu, Horng-Wen & Shih, Gin-Jang & Chen, Yi-Bin, 2018. "Effect of operational parameters on transport and performance of a PEM fuel cell with the best protrusive gas diffusion layer arrangement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 47-58.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:220:y:2018:i:c:p:47-58
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.03.030
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191830360X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.03.030?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vasile, Nicolò S. & Doherty, Ronan & Monteverde Videla, Alessandro H.A. & Specchia, Stefania, 2016. "3D multi-physics modeling of a gas diffusion electrode for oxygen reduction reaction for electrochemical energy conversion in PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 435-450.
    2. Wu, Horng-Wen, 2016. "A review of recent development: Transport and performance modeling of PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 81-106.
    3. Sasmito, Agus P. & Kurnia, Jundika C. & Shamim, Tariq & Mujumdar, Arun S., 2017. "Optimization of an open-cathode polymer electrolyte fuel cells stack utilizing Taguchi method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1225-1232.
    4. Bose, Probir Kumar & Deb, Madhujit & Banerjee, Rahul & Majumder, Arindam, 2013. "Multi objective optimization of performance parameters of a single cylinder diesel engine running with hydrogen using a Taguchi-fuzzy based approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 375-386.
    5. Wu, Horng-Wen & Ku, Hui-Wen, 2011. "The optimal parameters estimation for rectangular cylinders installed transversely in the flow channel of PEMFC from a three-dimensional PEMFC model and the Taguchi method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 4879-4890.
    6. Park, Jaeman & Oh, Hwanyeong & Lee, Yoo Il & Min, Kyoungdoug & Lee, Eunsook & Jyoung, Jy-Young, 2016. "Effect of the pore size variation in the substrate of the gas diffusion layer on water management and fuel cell performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 200-212.
    7. Ferreira, Rui B. & Falcão, D.S. & Oliveira, V.B. & Pinto, A.M.F.R., 2017. "1D+3D two-phase flow numerical model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 474-495.
    8. Ismail, M.S. & Hughes, K.J. & Ingham, D.B. & Ma, L. & Pourkashanian, M., 2012. "Effects of anisotropic permeability and electrical conductivity of gas diffusion layers on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 50-63.
    9. Perng, Shiang-Wuu & Wu, Horng-Wen, 2015. "A three-dimensional numerical investigation of trapezoid baffles effect on non-isothermal reactant transport and cell net power in a PEMFC," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 81-95.
    10. Jiao, Kui & Park, Jaewan & Li, Xianguo, 2010. "Experimental investigations on liquid water removal from the gas diffusion layer by reactant flow in a PEM fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(9), pages 2770-2777, September.
    11. Ouyang, Kwan & Wu, Horng-Wen & Huang, Shun-Chieh & Wu, Sheng-Ju, 2017. "Optimum parameter design for performance of methanol steam reformer combining Taguchi method with artificial neural network and genetic algorithm," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 446-458.
    12. Afshari, E. & Mosharaf-Dehkordi, M. & Rajabian, H., 2017. "An investigation of the PEM fuel cells performance with partially restricted cathode flow channels and metal foam as a flow distributor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 705-715.
    13. Park, Jae Wan & Jiao, Kui & Li, Xianguo, 2010. "Numerical investigations on liquid water removal from the porous gas diffusion layer by reactant flow," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(7), pages 2180-2186, July.
    14. Wang, Yongxin & Al Shakhshir, S. & Li, Xianguo, 2011. "Development and impact of sandwich wettability structure for gas distribution media on PEM fuel cell performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(6), pages 2168-2175, June.
    15. Peng, Linfa & Mai, Jianming & Hu, Peng & Lai, Xinmin & Lin, Zhongqin, 2011. "Optimum design of the slotted-interdigitated channels flow field for proton exchange membrane fuel cells with consideration of the gas diffusion layer intrusion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1413-1420.
    16. Huo, Sen & Cooper, Nathanial James & Smith, Travis Lee & Park, Jae Wan & Jiao, Kui, 2017. "Experimental investigation on PEM fuel cell cold start behavior containing porous metal foam as cathode flow distributor," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 101-114.
    17. Perng, Shiang-Wuu & Wu, Horng-Wen, 2010. "Effect of the prominent catalyst layer surface on reactant gas transport and cell performance at the cathodic side of a PEMFC," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 1386-1399, April.
    18. Kim, Ah-Reum & Shin, Seungho & Um, Sukkee, 2016. "Multidisciplinary approaches to metallic bipolar plate design with bypass flow fields through deformable gas diffusion media of polymer electrolyte fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 378-389.
    19. Hu, Junming & Li, Jianqiu & Xu, Liangfei & Huang, Fusen & Ouyang, Minggao, 2016. "Analytical calculation and evaluation of water transport through a proton exchange membrane fuel cell based on a one-dimensional model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 869-883.
    20. Perng, Shiang-Wuu & Wu, Horng-Wen & Shih, Gin-Jang, 2015. "Effect of prominent gas diffusion layer (GDL) on non-isothermal transport characteristics and cell performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 126-138.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yan, Xiaohui & Lin, Chen & Zheng, Zhifeng & Chen, Junren & Wei, Guanghua & Zhang, Junliang, 2020. "Effect of clamping pressure on liquid-cooled PEMFC stack performance considering inhomogeneous gas diffusion layer compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    2. Chen, Huicui & Zhao, Xin & Qu, Bingwang & Zhang, Tong & Pei, Pucheng & Li, Congxin, 2018. "An evaluation method of gas distribution quality in dynamic process of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 26-35.
    3. Yu, Rui Jiao & Guo, Hang & Ye, Fang & Chen, Hao, 2022. "Multi-parameter optimization of stepwise distribution of parameters of gas diffusion layer and catalyst layer for PEMFC peak power density," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    4. Dong, Pengcheng & Xie, Gongnan & Ni, Meng, 2020. "The mass transfer characteristics and energy improvement with various partially blocked flow channels in a PEM fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    5. Ren, Peng & Meng, Yining & Pei, Pucheng & Fu, Xi & Chen, Dongfang & Li, Yuehua & Zhu, Zijing & Zhang, Lu & Wang, Mingkai, 2023. "Rapid synchronous state-of-health diagnosis of membrane electrode assemblies in fuel cell stacks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(PA).
    6. Hui Guo & Shaopeng Tian & Long Wang & Congda Xiao & Yuxin Pan & Wenlong Xie & Shujin Yang, 2024. "Influence of Structural Parameters of Tesla Valve Flow Field on Performance of Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-20, September.
    7. Chen, Ke & Chen, Wenshang & Zou, Guofu & Chen, Ben, 2024. "Intelligent optimization: Novel application of PCC, MCDM, and ANN + NSGA-III in integrated optimization of the flow field and porous layer structures for unitized regenerative fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    8. Xing, Shuang & Zhao, Chen & Liu, Wei & Zou, Jiexin & Chen, Ming & Wang, Haijiang, 2021. "Effects of bolt torque and gasket geometric parameters on open-cathode polymer electrolyte fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    9. Qiao, Jia Nan & Guo, Hang & Ye, Fang & Chen, Hao, 2024. "A nonlinear contraction channel design inspired by typical mathematical curves: Boosting net power and water discharge of PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    10. Jiang, Wei & Zhang, Kai & Huang, Xing & Cai, Zhen & Zheng, Jinjin & Kai, Yue & Zheng, Bailin & Song, Ke, 2024. "Influence of clamping pressure on contact pressure uniformity and electrical output performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PA).
    11. Chen, Wenshang & Meng, Kai & Zhou, Haoran & Zhang, Ning & Deng, Qihao & Chen, Ke & Chen, Ben, 2024. "Mass transfer and round-trip efficiency evaluation of unitized regeneration proton exchange membrane fuel cell during bi-directional mode switching cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    12. Abdollahipour, Armin & Sayyaadi, Hoseyn, 2022. "A novel electrochemical refrigeration system based on the combined proton exchange membrane fuel cell-electrolyzer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    13. Mingzhang Pan & Chengjie Pan & Jinyang Liao & Chao Li & Rong Huang & Qiwei Wang, 2021. "Assessment of Sensitivity to Evaluate the Impact of Operating Parameters on Stability and Performance in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-23, July.
    14. Niu, Zhiqiang & Bao, Zhiming & Wu, Jingtian & Wang, Yun & Jiao, Kui, 2018. "Two-phase flow in the mixed-wettability gas diffusion layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 443-450.
    15. Lin, Rui & Tang, Shenghao & Diao, Xiaoyu & Zhong, Di & Chen, Liang & Froning, Dieter & Hao, Zhixian, 2020. "Detailed optimization of multiwall carbon nanotubes doped microporous layer in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for enhanced performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    16. Chen, Huicui & He, Yuxiang & Zhang, Xinfeng & Zhao, Xin & Zhang, Tong & Pei, Pucheng, 2018. "A method to study the intake consistency of the dual-stack polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system under dynamic operating conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 1050-1058.
    17. Liu, Dengcheng & Lin, Rui & Feng, Bowen & Han, Lihang & Zhang, Yu & Ni, Meng & Wu, Sai, 2019. "Localised electrochemical impedance spectroscopy investigation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells using Print circuit board based interference-free system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    18. Wu, Ziyao & Pei, Pucheng & Xu, Huachi & Jia, Xiaoning & Ren, Peng & Wang, Bozheng, 2019. "Study on the effect of membrane electrode assembly parameters on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance by galvanostatic charging method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Shahgaldi, Samaneh & Ozden, Adnan & Li, Xianguo & Hamdullahpur, Feridun, 2020. "A scaled-up proton exchange membrane fuel cell with enhanced performance and durability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhao, Jian & Shahgaldi, Samaneh & Alaefour, Ibrahim & Xu, Qian & Li, Xianguo, 2018. "Gas permeability of catalyzed electrodes in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 203-210.
    2. Wu, Horng-Wen, 2016. "A review of recent development: Transport and performance modeling of PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 81-106.
    3. Baricci, Andrea & Mereu, Riccardo & Messaggi, Mirko & Zago, Matteo & Inzoli, Fabio & Casalegno, Andrea, 2017. "Application of computational fluid dynamics to the analysis of geometrical features in PEM fuel cells flow fields with the aid of impedance spectroscopy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 670-682.
    4. Niu, Zhiqiang & Bao, Zhiming & Wu, Jingtian & Wang, Yun & Jiao, Kui, 2018. "Two-phase flow in the mixed-wettability gas diffusion layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 443-450.
    5. Rostami, Leila & Haghshenasfard, Masoud & Sadeghi, Morteza & Zhiani, Mohammad, 2022. "A 3D CFD model of novel flow channel designs based on the serpentine and the parallel design for performance enhancement of PEMFC," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    6. Wang, Qianqian & Tang, Fumin & Li, Bing & Dai, Haifeng & Zheng, Jim P. & Zhang, Cunman & Ming, Pingwen, 2022. "Investigation of the thermal responses under gas channel and land inside proton exchange membrane fuel cell with assembly pressure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    7. Xiong, Kangning & Wu, Wei & Wang, Shuangfeng & Zhang, Lin, 2021. "Modeling, design, materials and fabrication of bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cell: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    8. Vasile, Nicolò S. & Doherty, Ronan & Monteverde Videla, Alessandro H.A. & Specchia, Stefania, 2016. "3D multi-physics modeling of a gas diffusion electrode for oxygen reduction reaction for electrochemical energy conversion in PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 435-450.
    9. Qiu, Diankai & Janßen, Holger & Peng, Linfa & Irmscher, Philipp & Lai, Xinmin & Lehnert, Werner, 2018. "Electrical resistance and microstructure of typical gas diffusion layers for proton exchange membrane fuel cell under compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 127-137.
    10. Lin, Chen & Yan, Xiaohui & Wei, Guanghua & Ke, Changchun & Shen, Shuiyun & Zhang, Junliang, 2019. "Optimization of configurations and cathode operating parameters on liquid-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks by orthogonal method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    11. Yan, Xiaohui & Lin, Chen & Zheng, Zhifeng & Chen, Junren & Wei, Guanghua & Zhang, Junliang, 2020. "Effect of clamping pressure on liquid-cooled PEMFC stack performance considering inhomogeneous gas diffusion layer compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    12. Ismail, M.S. & Hughes, K.J. & Ingham, D.B. & Ma, L. & Pourkashanian, M., 2012. "Effects of anisotropic permeability and electrical conductivity of gas diffusion layers on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 50-63.
    13. Mo, Jingke & Kang, Zhenye & Yang, Gaoqiang & Retterer, Scott T. & Cullen, David A. & Toops, Todd J. & Green, Johney B. & Zhang, Feng-Yuan, 2016. "Thin liquid/gas diffusion layers for high-efficiency hydrogen production from water splitting," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 817-822.
    14. Bai, Fan & Quan, Hong-Bing & Yin, Ren-Jie & Zhang, Zhuo & Jin, Shu-Qi & He, Pu & Mu, Yu-Tong & Gong, Xiao-Ming & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2022. "Three-dimensional multi-field digital twin technology for proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    15. Wu, Horng-Wen & Ho, Tzu-Yi & Han, Yueh-Jung, 2021. "Parametric optimization of wall-mounted cuboid rows installed in interdigitated flow channel of HT-PEM fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    16. Wu, Horng-Wen & Ku, Hui-Wen, 2011. "The optimal parameters estimation for rectangular cylinders installed transversely in the flow channel of PEMFC from a three-dimensional PEMFC model and the Taguchi method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 4879-4890.
    17. Perng, Shiang-Wuu & Chien, Tsai-Chieh & Horng, Rong-Fang & Wu, Horng-Wen, 2019. "Performance enhancement of a plate methanol steam reformer by ribs installed in the reformer channel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 588-601.
    18. Perng, Shiang-Wuu & Horng, Rong-Fang & Wu, Horng-Wen, 2017. "Effect of a diffuser on performance enhancement of a cylindrical methanol steam reformer by computational fluid dynamic analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 312-328.
    19. Ye, Lingfeng & Qiu, Diankai & Peng, Linfa & Lai, Xinmin, 2022. "Microstructures and electrical conductivity properties of compressed gas diffusion layers using X-ray tomography," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    20. Yanzhou Qin & Xuefeng Wang & Rouxian Chen & Xiang Shangguan, 2018. "Water Transport and Removal in PEMFC Gas Flow Channel with Various Water Droplet Locations and Channel Surface Wettability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:220:y:2018:i:c:p:47-58. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.