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Design and Manufacturing Challenges in PEMFC Flow Fields—A Review

Author

Listed:
  • Prithvi Raj Pedapati

    (Automotive Research Center, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India)

  • Shankar Raman Dhanushkodi

    (Dhanushkodi Research Group, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India)

  • Ramesh Kumar Chidambaram

    (Automotive Research Center, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India)

  • Dawid Taler

    (Department of Thermal Processes, Air Protection and Waste Management, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland)

  • Tomasz Sobota

    (Department of Thermal Processes, Air Protection and Waste Management, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland)

  • Jan Taler

    (Department of Energy, Cracow University of Technology, 31-864 Cracow, Poland)

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are a prime choice for substitute electricity producers. Membrane electrode assembly (MEA), bipolar electrodes, and current collectors belong to only a limited number of primary parts of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Bipolar plates are among the most famous elements in the fuel cell; they are responsible for the electrochemical reaction, as well as the flow of gases from one bipolar plate to another. A bipolar plate is to be a good electro-conducting, non-corrosive, and a high mechanical strength product. The attainability of the specification is achieved by graphite and metallic materials, each one having its own merits and demerits that are discussed in this article. Likewise, making the second pass for the flow pattern is equally important for the cell to have good performance and efficiency. The emergence of innovative and new bipolar plate designs has caused the achievement of high performance of these plates. The present review article principally focuses on the experimental study of diverse flow fields in the design of PEMFC and on the influence of various geometrical properties on the general operation of fuel cells made of PEMFC, and also on the manufacturing procedure utilized for building contemporary fuel cells.

Suggested Citation

  • Prithvi Raj Pedapati & Shankar Raman Dhanushkodi & Ramesh Kumar Chidambaram & Dawid Taler & Tomasz Sobota & Jan Taler, 2024. "Design and Manufacturing Challenges in PEMFC Flow Fields—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-34, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:14:p:3499-:d:1436707
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James Chilver-Stainer & Anas F. A. Elbarghthi & Chuang Wen & Mi Tian, 2023. "Power Output Optimisation via Arranging Gas Flow Channels for Low-Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) for Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Yulin Wang & Xiangling Liao & Guokun Liu & Haokai Xu & Chao Guan & Huixuan Wang & Hua Li & Wei He & Yanzhou Qin, 2023. "Review of Flow Field Designs for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-54, May.
    3. Arun Saco, S. & Thundil Karuppa Raj, R. & Karthikeyan, P., 2016. "A study on scaled up proton exchange membrane fuel cell with various flow channels for optimizing power output by effective water management using numerical technique," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 558-573.
    4. Chiu, Han-Chieh & Jang, Jer-Huan & Yan, Wei-Mon & Li, Hung-Yi & Liao, Chih-Cheng, 2012. "A three-dimensional modeling of transport phenomena of proton exchange membrane fuel cells with various flow fields," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 359-370.
    5. Guodong Zhang & Zhen Guan & Da Li & Guoxiang Li & Shuzhan Bai & Ke Sun & Hao Cheng, 2023. "Optimization Design of a Parallel Flow Field for PEMFC with Bosses in Flow Channels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-26, July.
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