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The effects of porosity distribution variation on PEM fuel cell performance

Author

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  • Roshandel, R.
  • Farhanieh, B.
  • Saievar-Iranizad, E.

Abstract

Gas diffusion layers (GDL) are one of the important parts of the PEM fuel cell as they serve to transport the reactant gases to the catalyst layer. Porosity of this layer has a large effect on the PEM fuel cell performance. The spatial variation in porosity arises due to two effects: (1) compression of the electrode on the solid landing areas and (2) water produced at the cathode side of gas diffusion layers. Both of these factors change the porosity of gas diffusion layers and affect the fuel cell performance. To implement this performance analysis, a mathematical model which considers oxygen and hydrogen mass fraction in gas diffusion layer and the electrical current density in the catalyst layer, and the fuel cell potentials are investigated. The porosity variation in the GDL is calculated by considering the applied pressure and the amount of the water generated in the cell. The validity of the model is approved by comparing the computed results with experimental data. The obtained results show that the decrease in the average porosity causes the reduction in oxygen consumption, so that a lower electrical current density is generated. It is also shown that when the electrical current density is low, the porosity variation in gas diffusion layer has no significant influence on the level of polarization whereas at higher current density the influence is very significant. The porosity variation causes non-uniformity in the mass transport which in turn reduces the current density and a lower fuel cell performance is obtained.

Suggested Citation

  • Roshandel, R. & Farhanieh, B. & Saievar-Iranizad, E., 2005. "The effects of porosity distribution variation on PEM fuel cell performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 1557-1572.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:30:y:2005:i:10:p:1557-1572
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2004.11.017
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    Cited by:

    1. Kong, Im Mo & Choi, Jong Won & Kim, Sung Il & Lee, Eun Sook & Kim, Min Soo, 2015. "Experimental study on the self-humidification effect in proton exchange membrane fuel cells containing double gas diffusion backing layer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 345-353.
    2. Najjari, Mustapha & Khemili, Faycel & Ben Nasrallah, Sassi, 2008. "The effects of the cathode flooding on the transient responses of a PEM fuel cell," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1824-1831.
    3. Inamuddin, & Cheema, Taqi Ahmad & Zaidi, S.M.J. & Rahman, S.U., 2011. "Three dimensional numerical investigations for the effects of gas diffusion layer on PEM fuel cell performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 529-535.
    4. Lee, Yongtaek & Kim, Bosung & Kim, Yongchan & Li, Xianguo, 2011. "Degradation of gas diffusion layers through repetitive freezing," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 5111-5119.
    5. Zikhona Nondudule & Jessica Chamier & Mahabubur Chowdhury, 2021. "Effect of Stratification of Cathode Catalyst Layers on Durability of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Kong, Im Mo & Jung, Aeri & Kim, Young Sang & Kim, Min Soo, 2017. "Numerical investigation on double gas diffusion backing layer functionalized on water removal in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 478-487.
    7. Rakhshanpouri, S. & Rowshanzamir, S., 2013. "Water transport through a PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell in a seven-layer model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 220-231.
    8. Guo, Lingyi & Chen, Li & Zhang, Ruiyuan & Peng, Ming & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2022. "Pore-scale simulation of two-phase flow and oxygen reactive transport in gas diffusion layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Effects of nonuniform wettability and porosity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    9. Xing, Lei & Shi, Weidong & Su, Huaneng & Xu, Qian & Das, Prodip K. & Mao, Baodong & Scott, Keith, 2019. "Membrane electrode assemblies for PEM fuel cells: A review of functional graded design and optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 445-464.

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