Effect of channel and rib width on transport phenomena within the cathode of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

A two-phase, half cell, non-isothermal model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell has been developed. The model geometry includes a gas diffusion layer, a micro-porous layer and a catalyst layer along with the interfaces for channel, land and membrane. The effect of channel and rib width on transport phenomena has been examined. The model was run with saturated gas feed at different operating current densities and cell temperatures. The results show that increasing the channel to rib width ratio does not have any effect on the total amount of liquid saturation, however, its distribution is significantly affected under the channel and rib region within the porous layers. The degree of supersaturation and undersaturation extends, but, the supersaturation region shrinks and the undersaturation region extends with increase in channel to rib width ratio. It is concluded that the transport mechanism within the cathode is a highly coupled phenomena which interlinks local distribution of temperature, liquid saturation and the relative humidity. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.