Impact of Distribution Zone Geometry on Flow Distribution and Pressure Drop in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells Technical University Munich, Chair of Sustainable Mobile

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Author/Creator:

Schuckert, Maximilian, author.

Contributor:

Hartl, Martin

Jaensch, Malte

Prager, Maximilian

Conference Name:

Automotive Technical Papers (2025-01-01 : Warrendale, Pennsylvania, United States)

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource cm

Place of Publication:

Warrendale, PA SAE International 2025

Summary:

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are a promising technology for renewable power generation within various sectors, such as stationary power generation and heavy-duty mobile applications, due to their high energy conversion efficiency and lack of pollutant or carbon emissions. Despite these advantages, fuel cell adoption remains limited, partly due to the low durability, falling behind regulatory targets. With advancements being made across all components in fuel cell design in recent years, uniform flow distribution was identified as a key parameter for the longevity of fuel cells, requiring only small deviations within a few percent to prevent reactant shortages, localized hot spots, and cell failures. In commercially sized fuel cells, gas distribution zones using different architectures such as circular dots, shunts, or guide vanes are employed to optimize flow distribution. This study investigates circular dot matrix gas distribution zones using a newly developed parametric CFD model incorporating 20 design parameters. Through the elementary effects method, the distribution zone height is identified as a key parameter for optimizing the flow distribution. A full factorial analysis reveals that optimizing the distribution zone height can achieve similar improvements in flow distribution as increasing the zone length, while also reducing pressure drop, leading to reduced parasitic losses on system level. Specifically, raising the distribution zone height by 0.25 mm is as effective as extending its length by 10 mm in achieving uniform flow distribution, but with the added benefit of a 15 mbar lower pressure drop. Further comparisons with established parameters, such as dot count and spacing, are conducted. Interactions between active area size, current density, flow uniformity, and pressure drop are examined, revealing that larger active areas can improve flow distribution. These findings highlight the potential for adopting fuel cells in high-power applications and demonstrate the versatility of the developed parametric CFD model

Notes:

Vendor supplied data

Publisher Number:

2025-01-5077

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license