A novel cathode flow field of proton exchange membrane fuel cell based on circular cylinder matrix

The cathode flow field design of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is critical for transporting oxygen, removing water and producing power. Herein, a novel cathode flow field based on circular cylinder matrix is proposed for PEMFC. First, a comparative study is carried out for six cathode flow fields (CFFs): the proposed circular cylinder matrix, 3D fine mesh, straight parallel-I and II, wavy parallel-I and II. The results present that the proposed model has best performance, larger contact area between channel and gas diffusion layer can enhance the oxygen transport and water removal, and CFF structure has a large effect on the cell performance, and the proposed circular cylinder matrix is a better design than other CFFs. Then, the characteristic of circular cylinder matrix is investigated. The results show that the excellent oxygen transport and water removal characteristics are certainly attributed to that the circular cylinder matrix can induce many vortices, then enhancing the flow convection around circular cylinder matrix and promoting the species exchange. Furtherly, an investigation on reaction rate presents that the circular cylinder matrix model has high stability with uniform reaction rate. Lastly, the effect of relative humidity on performance of PEMFC with circular cylinder matrix is carried out. The results show that relative humidity is key design parameter to optimize the performance of proposed PEMFC.