IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v285y2023ics0360544223027548.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Synergistic mass transfer and performance stability of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with traveling wave flow channels

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, Xinning
  • Liu, Rongkang
  • Su, Liang
  • Wang, Xi
  • Chu, Xuyang
  • Ma, Yao
  • Wu, Linjing
  • Song, Guangji
  • Zhou, Wei

Abstract

As one of the critical components of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the flow channel design in the bipolar plate is crucial to improve the mass transfer performance and stability. In this study, the effect of the structural characteristics and location arrangement of traveling wave flow channels, with a concave surface as the mass transfer surface, on the fuel cell performance is investigated, and the evaluation indexes, such as oxygen mass flux, net power density, synergistic coefficient, and unevenness coefficient, are established to evaluate the flow law of fluid, distribution law of pressure, synergistic mass transfer, and performance stability of the fuel cell. Results show that the synergistic mass transfer performance is better in the traveling wave channels with identical structural characteristics and uniform arrangement. Furthermore, a 21.20 % increase in the average fluid flow velocity can enhance oxygen and liquid water flux at the bipolar plate (BP)/gas diffusion layer (GDL) interfaces by about 198.48 % and 207.94 %, respectively, resulting in an 87.13 % increase in net power density and 70.95 % improvement in the performance stability of the fuel cell.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, Xinning & Liu, Rongkang & Su, Liang & Wang, Xi & Chu, Xuyang & Ma, Yao & Wu, Linjing & Song, Guangji & Zhou, Wei, 2023. "Synergistic mass transfer and performance stability of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with traveling wave flow channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:285:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223027548
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.129360
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544223027548
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2023.129360?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jia, Fei & Tian, Xiaodi & Liu, Fengfeng & Ye, Junjie & Yang, Chengpeng, 2023. "Oxidant starvation under various operating conditions on local and transient performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    2. Zhao, Chen & Wang, Fei, 2023. "Optimal performance and modeling study of air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell with various bipolar plate structure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).
    3. Zhong, Di & Lin, Rui & Jiang, Zhenghua & Zhu, Yike & Liu, Dengchen & Cai, Xin & Chen, Liang, 2020. "Low temperature durability and consistency analysis of proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack based on comprehensive characterizations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    4. Bai, Xingying & Luo, Lizhong & Huang, Bi & Huang, Zhe & Jian, Qifei, 2021. "Flow characteristics analysis for multi-path hydrogen supply within proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    5. Zhang, Shuanyang & Liu, Shun & Xu, Hongtao & Liu, Gaojie & Wang, Ke, 2022. "Performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells with honeycomb-like flow channel design," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).
    6. Zhang, Yong & He, Shirong & Jiang, Xiaohui & Xiong, Mu & Ye, Yuntao & Yang, Xi, 2023. "Three-dimensional multi-phase simulation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance considering constriction straight channel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    7. Perng, Shiang-Wuu & Wu, Horng-Wen, 2015. "A three-dimensional numerical investigation of trapezoid baffles effect on non-isothermal reactant transport and cell net power in a PEMFC," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 81-95.
    8. Rahmani, Ebrahim & Moradi, Tofigh & Ghandehariun, Samane & Naterer, Greg F. & Ranjbar, Amirhossein, 2023. "Enhanced mass transfer and water discharge in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with a raccoon channel flow field," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    9. Pei, Pucheng & Meng, Yining & Chen, Dongfang & Ren, Peng & Wang, Mingkai & Wang, Xizhong, 2023. "Lifetime prediction method of proton exchange membrane fuel cells based on current degradation law," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    10. Awin, Yussef & Dukhan, Nihad, 2019. "Experimental performance assessment of metal-foam flow fields for proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    11. Li, Zheng & Wang, Yameng & Mu, Yongbiao & Wu, Buke & Jiang, Yuting & Zeng, Lin & Zhao, Tianshou, 2023. "Recent advances in the anode catalyst layer for proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    12. Cai, Genchun & Liang, Yunmin & Liu, Zhichun & Liu, Wei, 2020. "Design and optimization of bio-inspired wave-like channel for a PEM fuel cell applying genetic algorithm," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    13. Huang, Ying & Song, Jiangnan & Deng, Xinyue & Chen, Su & Zhang, Xiang & Ma, Zongpeng & Chen, Lunjun & Wu, Yanli, 2023. "Numerical investigation of baffle shape effects on performance and mass transfer of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    14. Son, Jonghyun & Um, Sukkee & Kim, Young-Beom, 2022. "Relationship between number of turns of serpentine structure with metal foam flow field and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 372-383.
    15. Guo, Hang & Zhao, Qiang & Ye, Fang, 2022. "An experimental study on gas and liquid two-phase flow in orientated-type flow channels of proton exchange membrane fuel cells by using a side-view method," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 603-618.
    16. Li, Yuehua & Pei, Pucheng & Ma, Ze & Ren, Peng & Wu, Ziyao & Chen, Dongfang & Huang, Hao, 2019. "Characteristic analysis in lowering current density based on pressure drop for avoiding flooding in proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 321-329.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Yong & He, Shirong & Jiang, Xiaohui & Wang, Zhuo & Wang, Yonggang & Gu, Meng & Yang, Xi & Zhang, Shuanyang & Cao, Jing & Fang, Haoyan & Li, Qiming, 2024. "Performance and configuration optimization of proton exchange membrane fuel cell considering dual symmetric Tesla valve flow field," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    2. Sun, Yun & Lin, Yixiong & Wang, Qinglian & Yang, Chen & Yin, Wang & Wan, Zhongmin & Qiu, Ting, 2024. "Novel design and numerical investigation of a windward bend flow field for proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    3. Zhang, Yong & He, Shirong & Jiang, Xiaohui & Wang, Zhuo & Yang, Xi & Fang, Haoyan & Li, Qiming & Cao, Jing, 2024. "Investigation on performance of full-scale proton exchange membrane fuel cell: Porous foam flow field with integrated bipolar plate/gas diffusion layer," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    4. Xiong, Kangning & Wu, Wei & Wang, Shuangfeng & Zhang, Lin, 2021. "Modeling, design, materials and fabrication of bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cell: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    5. Zhang, Yong & He, Shirong & Jiang, Xiaohui & Xiong, Mu & Ye, Yuntao & Yang, Xi, 2023. "Three-dimensional multi-phase simulation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance considering constriction straight channel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    6. Chen, Xi & Yang, Chen & Sun, Yun & Liu, Qinxiao & Wan, Zhongmin & Kong, Xiangzhong & Tu, Zhengkai & Wang, Xiaodong, 2022. "Water management and structure optimization study of nickel metal foam as flow distributors in proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    7. Fan, Lixin & Tu, Zhengkai & Chan, Siew Hwa, 2022. "Technological and Engineering design of a megawatt proton exchange membrane fuel cell system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    8. Sadiq T. Bunyan & Hayder A. Dhahad & Dhamyaa S. Khudhur & Talal Yusaf, 2023. "The Effect of Flow Field Design Parameters on the Performance of PEMFC: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-62, June.
    9. Zhou, Yu & Chen, Ben & Meng, Kai & Zhou, Haoran & Chen, Wenshang & Zhang, Ning & Deng, Qihao & Yang, Guanghua & Tu, Zhengkai, 2023. "Optimal design of a cathode flow field for performance enhancement of PEM fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    10. Zhang, Xian-Wen & Wang, Xue-Jian & Cheng, Xiao-Zhang & Jin, Lei & Zhu, Jian-Wei & Zhou, Tao-Tao, 2020. "Numerical analysis of global and local performance variations of proton exchange membrane fuel cell with different bend layouts and flow directions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    11. Huang, Haozhong & Li, Xuan & Li, Songwei & Guo, Xiaoyu & Liu, Mingxin & Wang, Tongying & Lei, Han, 2023. "Evaluating the effect of refined flow channels in a developed biomimetic flow field on PEMFC performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    12. Rostami, Leila & Haghshenasfard, Masoud & Sadeghi, Morteza & Zhiani, Mohammad, 2022. "A 3D CFD model of novel flow channel designs based on the serpentine and the parallel design for performance enhancement of PEMFC," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    13. Xia, Zhifeng & Chen, Huicui & Zhang, Ruirui & Weng, Qianyao & Zhang, Tong & Pei, Pucheng, 2023. "Behavior analysis of PEMFC with geometric configuration variation during multiple-step loading reduction process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    14. Sarjuni, C.A. & Lim, B.H. & Majlan, E.H. & Rosli, M.I., 2024. "A review: Fluid dynamic and mass transport behaviour in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    15. Chen, Hao & Guo, Hang & Ye, Fang & MA, Chong Fang, 2022. "Cell performance and flow losses of proton exchange membrane fuel cells with orientated-type flow channels," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1338-1352.
    16. Lian, Yunsong & Zhu, Zhengchao & You, Changtang & Lin, Liangliang & Lin, Fengtian & Lin, Le & Huang, Yating & Zhou, Wei, 2023. "Structural optimization of fiber porous self-humidifying flow field plates applied to proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    17. Zhang, Yong & He, Shirong & Jiang, Xiaohui & Yang, Xi & Wang, Zhuo & Zhang, Shuanyang & Cao, Jing & Fang, Haoyan & Li, Qiming, 2024. "Full-scale three-dimensional simulation of air cooling metal bipolar plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack considering a non-isothermal multiphase model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    18. Zhou, Yu & Chen, Ben, 2023. "Investigation of optimization and evaluation criteria for flow field in proton exchange membrane fuel cell: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    19. Zhang, Shuanyang & Liu, Shun & Xu, Hongtao & Liu, Gaojie & Wang, Ke, 2022. "Performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells with honeycomb-like flow channel design," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).
    20. Li, Hong-Wei & Liu, Jun-Nan & Yang, Yue & Fan, Wenxuan & Lu, Guo-Long, 2022. "Research on mass transport characteristics and net power performance under different flow channel streamlined imitated water-drop block arrangements for proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:285:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223027548. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.