Experimental and numerical Investigation on the design of a bioinspired PEM fuel cell

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising energy devices that directly convert chemical energy of fuels such as hydrogen to useful work with negligible environmental impact and high efficiency. The channel geometry of the Bipolar Plate (BP) has a considerably impact on the PEMFC performance. BP designs based on nature-inspired structures such as leaves, lungs or sponges have been explored to date with success but have not yet achieved their full potential. With the objective of researching new flow field designs with enhanced operation, this work presents an experimental analysis of a novel bioinspired design of the channels of a PEMFC. Starting from a CFD fluid flow analysis of different novel initial biomimetic designs, the most promising one was selected, manufactured and tested experimentally. Experimental results comprise polarization and power curves for a comprehensive set of operating conditions. Results were analysed and compared against a reference parallel-serpentine model. Results indicated that the proposed novel biomimetic design is particularly suited for improving water management at high reactants humidity reaching out a peak power a 6.0% higher in comparison with the reference design. Future research should further develop novel design variants and analyze water distribution within the channels.