MODELING OF BIPOLAR PLATES FOR PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELLS

Fuel cell technology is one of the most economic and efficient ways to utilize hydrogen energy. Various types of fuel cells are present regarding the fuel type and amount of power produced. Among these, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are very promising. In this work, a 2D proton exchange membrane fuel cell unit cell was modeled using Comsol Multiphysics software. Cell section was taken parallel to flow direction. Obstacles with various geometries were placed in the flow channel in order to force more reactant species to react. The goal is to have current and power densities that approach ideal performance and to minimize losses. As boundary conditions, several inlet velocities were applied. Also, the effect of setting different pressure values at the outlet was investigated. Consequently, it was observed that increasing inlet velocity and outlet pressure, feeding more reactant at the cathode compared to the anode, and increasing the depth of the obstacles placed through the channel enhanced the fuel cell performance