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Impact of the flow-field distribution channel cross-section geometry on PEM fuel cell performance: Stamped vs. milled channel

Abstract

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM FCs) represent an essential part of the emerging hydrogen economy. Metallic bipolar plates (BPs) allow high speed and capacity production using established industrial technologies, like mechanical stamping. Stamping, however, leads to different cross-sectional shapes of flow-field (FF) channels as compared to milled or compression-moulded bipolar plates. The impact of these changes on the resulting fuel cell performance is not yet fully understood. This study employs an experimentally validated three-dimensional, isothermal, steady-state, continuum-mechanics based mathematical model to gain a deeper insight into this issue and to identify optimal stamped BP channel cross-sectional shapes for parallel and serpentine FF. The uniformity of the local distribution of the physico-chemical quantities and the resulting load curves are analysed. The results obtained confirm that stamped BPs with channels of the trapezoidal cross-section are a viable alternative to the traditional milled or moulded BPs with channels of the rectangular cross-section. The observed differences in performance of FC with stamped and milled channels can be mitigated by optimization of the channel cross-section geometry parameters. As an optimal rib width 0.4 mm and an optimal channel ground width 1 mm for milled and 0.2 mm for stamped BPs are suggested.
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Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Industry / Sustainable Energy Technology
  • University of Chemistry and Technology Prague

Year

2024

Published in

Fuel

ISSN

0016-2361

Volume

373

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository