Design and Modelling of 3D Bionic Cathode Flow Field for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been utilized as a promising power source for new energy vehicles. Their performances are greatly affected by the structural design of the flow field in the bipolar plate. In this paper, we present a novel three-dimensional (3D) bionic cathode flow field, inspired by the small intestinal villi. The structural design and working principle of the 3D bionic flow field units are first described. A 3D numerical model is developed to study the mass transfer and distribution of the reactants and products, as well as the polarization performances of the PEMFC with the 3D bionic cathode flow field. The simulation results indicate that the proposed 3D bionic flow field can significantly improve the reaction gas supply from the flow field to porous electrodes, and thus would be beneficial for the removal of liquid water in the cathode. The mass transfer of gas in the PEMFC can be enhanced due to the increasing contact areas between the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and the cathode flow field, and the distribution of currents in the membrane would be more uniform. The obtained results demonstrated the feasibility of using the 3D bionic flow field for the development of highly efficient PEMFCs with high power density.

Continuum Modeling of Porous Electrodes for Electrochemical Synthesis

“…Of course, true 3-D models are needed to model multicomponent mass transfer comprehensively in the flow plates (Figure d), as 1-D + 2-D models cannot capture relevant transport phenomena such as under-the-land flow common in interdigitated and serpentine flow channels. ,, However, these models are generally too computationally intensive to bridge with device-scale models for electrochemical synthesis without sacrificing significant physics. Laminar flow is often assumed for gas transport within the flow field, but for low kinematic viscosity of gases this assumption can break down and turbulent flow may need to be considered. 3-D models also need to be selected carefully to model flow in the channels and within the porous adjacent domains.…”

“…340,342,343 However, these models are generally too computationally intensive to bridge with device-scale models for electrochemical synthesis without sacrificing significant physics. Laminar flow is often assumed for gas transport within the flow field, 344 but for low kinematic viscosity of gases this assumption can break down and turbulent flow may need to be considered. 3-D models also need to be selected carefully to model flow in the channels and within the porous adjacent domains.…”

Bipolar Plate Design Assessment: Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell and Water Electrolyzer

“…Although recent studies have shifted toward research on biomimetic [51][52][53][54][55][56][57], novel geometric designs [58][59][60][61], and 3D designs [62][63][64][65][66], both conventional and modified serpentine still showed dominance as the best design through uniform fluid dynamics, greater contact surface area, and efficient liquid water drainage [67][68][69][70]. Despite the high electrochemical performance, serpentine flow fields are notorious for its high pressure drop that promotes greater parasitic power [71].…”

Effects of Different Channel Geometries of Metallic Bipolar Plates on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Performance

“…Reactivity of the fuel cell is based on the ability of hydrogen to diffuse towards the membrane; thus, this implies that increasing the contact area between the channel and the GDL will improve performance [15,17,18]. Another parameter that seems to have an influence on the fuel cell performance is velocity, or in other words, the generation of turbulence to improve diffusivity [6,16,17].…”

“…Inspired by small intestinal villi, Xuan et al [18] introduced a novel three-dimensional (3D) bionic cathode flow field for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs). Simulation results showed that the proposed 3D bionic flow field significantly improved gas supply and water removal in the cathode, enhanced gas mass transfer by increasing contact areas with the gas diffusion layer, and lead to a more uniform distribution of currents in the membrane.…”