Net power output and pressure drop behavior of PEM fuel cells with serpentine and interdigitated flow fields
Date
2014
Authors
Ruan, Fang
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Experiments were conducted with proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) incorporating two different anode and cathode flow field designs to carry the reactants and products to and from the cell. The net performance of the PEMFC was experimentally measured for each case. The net power output from two conventional flow fields: (i) serpentine flow fields on both anode and cathode (ASCS), and (ii) interdigitated flow fields on both anode and cathode (AICI) were compared with two alternate combination flow fields: (i) serpentine on the anode and interdigitated on the cathode (ASCI), and (ii) interdigitated on the anode with serpentine on the cathode (AICS). A fuel cell test stand was used to record the gross power generated by the PEMFC at fixed currents and voltages. The parasitic power consumed by the air compressor was obtained by employing pressure transducers to measure the pressure drop across the cathode flow field. It was found that the pressure drop in the interdigitated channel was much lower than that in the serpentine channel, so the parasitic power loss incurred by the use of the compressor was much lower when the interdigitated flow field is used on the cathode side. The effect of operating conditions including temperature, relative humidity, oxygen flow rate and current density on the pressure drop and net power output is also explored. ANOVA analysis was performed to suggest confidence levels for the results obtained. Results show that the ASCI cell has the best net power output out of the four sets of flow field combinations under all the operating conditions applied. Energy efficiency is calculated for each case, and the influence of the flow field combination and operating conditions on energy efficiency is presented.