CATHODE OXYGEN CONCENTRATION ON THE PEM FUEL CELL FOR VARIOUS CELL VOLTAGES

Mechanical Engineering

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a predominantly encouraging energy conversion device for use in stationary or vehicular applications. PEMFCs deliver high efficiency and power density, with zero emissions, truncated operating temperatures, rapid start-up, and extended lifetime. Whereas the practice of PEMFCs has been on the increase, their commercialization has been slowed down by technical problems such as water saturating in their cathodes. This paper illustrates the Effect of Cathode oxygen Concentration on the PEM Fuel Cell for eleven cell voltages. The dissimilar liquid water transportation mechanisms in the flow channels, gas diffusion layers, catalyst layers, and membrane are modeled using the commercial modeling software. The model is used to examine the effect of cathode oxygen concentration under the different cell voltages on the performance of fuel cells with single flow channel configuration. The predictions show that for a cell voltage of 0.4 improves the oxygen concentration. Analyzed results shows that the PEM Fuel Cell with an operating voltage of 0.4 V yields the better distribution of oxygen on cathode side among other operating voltages.

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