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Investigation of oxygen and water distributions in the modified parallel-serpentine cathode channels of a unit polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

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Abstract

In this paper, the measurement of water and oxygen distributions along the modified parallel serpentine cathode flow channels has been performed using a gas chromatograph (GC). Generally, it is difficult to directly profile oxygen and water distributions where water concentration nearly reaches saturation levels. Here, the measurement of high levels of water saturation in cathode channels was carefully performed according to operating conditions such as cell voltage and air stoichiometry. GC measurement was also carried out to understand the oxygen and water distributions under channel flooding conditions. In addition, the oxygen and water vapor distributions by GC measurements for the base-line case were compared with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results. For the entrance of the flow channel, the simulated results show a good agreement with the measured results. However, some discrepancy between calculated and experimental results is found for the flow channels near the cathode outlet.

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Abbreviations

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

GC:

Gas chromatograph

GDL:

Gas diffusion layer

PEMFC:

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Research Program funded by the SeoulTech(Seoul National University of Science and Technology).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul, 01811, Korea

    Han-Sang Kim

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  1. Han-Sang Kim
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Correspondence to Han-Sang Kim.

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Han-Sang Kim received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University in 1989 and 1991, respectively. He then obtained his Ph.D. degree from Seoul National University in 2005. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology. His research interests include fuel cell system, thermal and energy management for eco-friendly powertrain.

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Kim, HS. Investigation of oxygen and water distributions in the modified parallel-serpentine cathode channels of a unit polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 5339–5349 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-1134-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-1134-z

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