Analysis of Flow Maldistribution of Fuel and Oxidant in a PEMFC

Abstract

The flow of fuel and oxidant through a PEMFC is analyzed for prediction of maldistribution. Flow distribution of both fuel and oxidant from the port to the individual cells critically control the performance of a PEMFC stack in combination. The distribution of fluids was simulated by analytical approach utilizing flow channeling model of a manifold. A detailed numerical modeling is also carried out considering flow in each cell between the electrodes as flow through an equivalent porous medium offering identical resistance. The results show a close match between the analytical and numerical results. The parametric study reveals that flow rate and port size plays major role determining maldistribution of the fluids, which can be considerably skewed when large numbers of cells are stacked for larger power output.