Relationship Between Stress Distribution and Current Density Distribution on Commercial Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The current density of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM-FCs) is directly linked to their electrochemical reaction. Its distribution over the active area can give the local performance of the cells, which is significant for exploration of internal process and optimization of performance. In this paper, segmented cell technology is applied to investigate the current density distribution for a commercial PEMFC with different clamping strategies. The stress distribution and current density distribution as well as the overall performance of the cell are tested under the same operating conditions. The results show that a more uniform stress distribution can lead to a more uniform reaction current density distribution and the good uniformity of the stress distribution and current density distribution has a positive impact on the improvement of the cell overall performance. Thus, it is significant to improve the clamping strategy in order to improve the uniformity of the stress distribution and reaction current density distribution, which ultimately improves the cell overall performance.