Numerical Studies on the Effect of the Channel Width in PEM Fuel Cells with Leaf Channel Flow-Fields

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems have the ability to meet our energy demands in the near future. The PEMFC has a wide range of advantages such as low temperature operation, high energy efficiency, noise-free operation and zero emissions. One of the important factors influencing the PEMFC’s performance is the flow field configuration. The dimensions of the flow channel in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) have a profound effect on reactant distribution and water management within the fuel cell. The current study aims to ameliorate fuel cell (FC) performance, water management, and pressure drop (PD) across channels. To assess their impact on PEMFC performance, four distinct types of channel widths for a leaf design flow channel were chosen for this investigation. ANSYS FLUENT-18.2 was used for the numerical simulation of 3D PEMFC models. Under the same temperature and pressure, the leaf channel with four distinct types of channel widths was compared. The results showed that the fuel cell model with a 0.5 mm channel width performed better than the other configurations, generating a peak power density of 0.532 W/cm2 at 0.4 V cell voltage while also improving other FC parameters.