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Unsteady 3D numerical modeling of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with pin-type flow field with bean-shaped pins

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Abstract

A dynamic model for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell with pin-type flow field with bean-shaped pins is presented to comprehensively investigate the performance of the fuel cell against the operating conditions (temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and stoichiometric flow ratio). A three-dimensional and multi-component numerical model, employing pin-type flow field with bean-shaped pins at the cathode side, is introduced to investigate the transient behavior of fuel cell. Governing equations including the mass, momentum, species, charge, and energy conservation coupled with electrochemical kinetics are solved. The post-processing associated results consist of species concentration and current density distributions in addition to velocity distributions; along with different pin-type flow field patterns, a detailed insight is provided into the transport phenomena within the PEM fuel cell. The results indicated that utilizing pin-type flow field can improve transportation of oxygen into the catalyst layer leading to an increase in the current density average value. Also, the transient time of a fuel cell is about few seconds; the start-up process of the PEM fuel cell is very quick.

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Abbreviations

a :

Water activity in the membrane (m2/m3)

C i :

Concentration of species i (mol/m3

C P :

Specific heat capacity (J/kg.K)

D k :

Diffusion coefficient of species k (m2/S)

F:

Faraday constant (C/mol)

H :

Enthalpy (J)

I:

Current density (A/m2)

J:

Transient current density (A/m3)

K:

Permeability (m2)

k eff :

Effective thermal conductivity (W/m.K)

k s :

Solid phase thermal conductivity (W/m.K)

P:

Pressure (Pa)

R:

General constant of gases (8.314 J/kg molK)

S:

Source term in the conservation equation

T:

Temperature (K)

U:

Velocity (m/s)

X k :

Molar fraction of component k

ɛ :

Porosity

µ :

Viscosity ( Pa.s)

η :

Added potential (V)

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

\(\Phi _{e}\) :

The electrical potential in the membrane (V)

\(\Phi _{s}\) :

The electrical potential in solid phase (V)

\(\lambda\) :

Constant activity in the membrane

\(\sigma _{k}^{{eff}}\) :

The membrane ionic conductivity coefficient (S/m

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

    E. Afshari

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

    N. Jahantigh

  3. Department of Mechanical & Aerospace, Malek Ashtar University, Shahin Shahr – Isfahan, Iran

    M. H. Khayyam & M. Adami

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  4. M. Adami
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Correspondence to E. Afshari.

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Afshari, E., Jahantigh, N., Khayyam, M.H. et al. Unsteady 3D numerical modeling of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with pin-type flow field with bean-shaped pins. Int J Energy Environ Eng 13, 671–682 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-021-00465-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-021-00465-2

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