Computational study of forced air-convection in open-cathode polymer electrolyte fuel cell stacks

A mathematical model for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) stack with an open-cathode manifold, where a fan provides the oxidant as well as cooling, is derived and studied. In short, the model considers two-phase flow and conservation of mass, momentum, species and energy in the ambient and PEFC stack, as well as conservation of charge and a phenomenological membrane and agglomerate model for the PEFC stack. The fan is resolved as an interfacial condition with a polynomial expression for the static pressure increase over the fan as a function of the fan velocity. The results suggest that there is strong correlation between fan power rating, the height of cathode flow-field and stack performance. Further, the placement of the fan – either in blowing or suction mode – does not give rise to a discernable difference in stack performance for the flow-field considered (metal mesh). Finally, it is noted that the model can be extended to incorporate other types of flow-fields and, most importantly, be employed for design and optimization of forced air-convection open-cathode PEFC stacks and adjacent fans.