Investigation of PEMFC under Static Magnetic Field: Temperature, Relative Humidity and Performance

Water management is an important factor influencing the performance of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). This study investigates the effects of a magnetic field (MF) on water transport in PEMFC in terms of performance enhancement. The results show that the performance of the test fuel cell improved by increasing the MF strength. The temperature difference between the anode and the cathode increases when the MF strength increases (B > 0 T). On the other hand, the RH difference decreases with an applied MF. Dynamic behaviors of the fuel cell in terms of voltage undershoot and overshoot is improved at high MF. In addition, the cell performance increases due to that some water is pushed out from the high magnetic field area to the lower field strength and making more pore space of porous layer for oxygen reactant. Moreover, measurement of temperature and relative humidity (RH) inside the cell during such operation using FBG sensors provides valuable information to the field.