Computational Analysis of Water Distribution in a PEM Fuel Cell Under Different Conditions

Abstract

A three-dimensional isothermal model has been developed to analyze the water distribution along the cathode catalyst layer(CCL)/membrane and the anode catalyst layer(ACL)/membrane interfaces of a PEM fuel cell. The cell temperature is fixed at 333 K and the cell voltages used are 0.7 V and 0.9 V. The simulation work is done with the straight channel, changing cell voltages, porosity, to investigate the water distribution in a PEM fuel cell and its effects on cell performance. It was observed that the cathode side was more susceptible to flooding than the anode one.