Modeling and Experimental Investigation of the Anode Inlet Relative Humidity Effect on a PEM Fuel Cell

Abstract

External humidification has been used as a flexible water management strategy for the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). To study the anode inlet relative humidity (ARH) effect on the performance of PEMFC, the anode inlet water content (AIWC) model is established, including condensation rates and water activity. A comparable analysis between the AIWC model, Fluent model and experiment is conducted at 60 °C operating temperature, four different anode relative humidities (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%), and 100% cathode relative humidity (CRH). The species distributions of water content and hydrogen concentration are presented and analyzed. The results show the relative error of the voltage results derived from the AIWC model has been reduced by 3.2% (the original is 4.6% in the Fluent model) especially at 240 mA·cm−2 for 50% ARH. An increase in hydrogen humidity can improve the PEMFC output at low ARH (25% and 50%). Meanwhile, at high ARH (100%), the excess water produced does not play a positive role. At 50% ARH, the water content and hydrogen distribution are more uniform all over the anode channels.