Numerical simulation of transport phenomena in PEMFC with multi-channel serpentine flow fields

The flow field structure in the bipolar plates has an important effect on the flow characteristics and cell efficiency. In order to investigate spatial distribution of local gas flow field, species concentration and local current density in the PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) with multi- channel serpentine flow field, a steady three- dimensional mathematical CFD based model presented in the author’s previous paper was applied to conduct numerical study on a small- scaled single proton exchange membrane fuel cell (the electrode active area 5.9 cm×6.1 cm) in this paper. The flow characteristics and transport mechanism were discussed and analyzed. It indicates that current density is uniform, the pressure loss in the cathode is much higher than that of anode, and the mass fraction of anode hydrogen increases from inlet towards outlet.