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ISSN Online: 2377-424X

ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-474-8

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-473-1

International Heat Transfer Conference 16
August, 10-15, 2018, Beijing, China

NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF CLAMPING SYSTEM EFFECTS ON THE COLD START POLYMER ELECTROLYTE FUEL CELL PERFORMANCE

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHTC16.ecl.023910
pages 4181-4194

Abstract

Many parameters influence the durability and overall performance of the fuel cell. The applied clamping pressure results in dimensional and physical changes on the fuel cell components, but it is essential to decrease the contact resistance between the different layers and to prevent the leakage of reactants. The published research confirmed the importance of including the clamping pressure effects on the polymer electrolyte fuel cell modeling and simulation. However, the behavior of cold start polymer electrolyte fuel cell (CS-PEFC) under the applied compressive force is not yet discussed in the literature. This paper numerically investigates the effects of clamping system on the CS-PEFC performance. The CFD model that has been developed for cold start simulation in a previous work is further extended to include the effects of the assembly pressure. By using this model, the changes on CS-PEFC performance is explored and analyzed in terms of water flow, ice formation, heat generation, permeability, and tortuosity. It is found that setting a proper clamping pressure is important to achieve an enhanced performance. This work helps to provide insight into the internal behavior of CS-PEFC under clamping pressure, and the proposed model can be further improved in the future for developing a PEFC of better cold start performance.