Progress of Cryogenics and Isotopes Separation

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The National Conference with international participation on New Cryogenic and Isotope Technologies for Energy and Environment - EnergEn 2018 is organized by the National Research-Development Institute for Cryogenic and Isotopic Technologies - ICSI Rm. Valcea with the scientific participation of the University of Pitesti and the University of Craiova and will be held at Baile Govora, in 2018.
STUDY OF FLOW FIELD DESIGN FOR IMPROVING PEMFC PERFORMANCE Print

STUDY OF FLOW FIELD DESIGN FOR IMPROVING PEMFC PERFORMANCE

 

 

Elena Carcadea1*, Mihai Varlam1, Ioan Stefanescu1, Vasile Tanislav1, Laurentiu Patularu1, Dorin Schitea1, Horia Ene2

 

1National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies - ICIT Rm. Valcea, code 240050 - Rm. Valcea, Uzinei 4, CP7 Raureni, Valcea, Romania

 

 

ABSTRACT

 

A comprehensive multi-physics model has been developed to simulate proton exchange membrane fuel cells using commercially available COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS software. The developed model accounts simultaneously for electrochemical kinetics and multi-component species transport. The proposed model is a full cell model, which includes all the parts of the PEM fuel cell, flow channels, gas diffusion electrodes, catalyst layers and the membrane. Coupled transport and electrochemical kinetics equations are solved in a single domain.

The three-dimensional fuel cell model was developed to predict the effects of operating parameters (e.g. potential difference applied, operating pressure, fuel cell temperature, relative humidity of reactant gases) on the performance of three different flow field designs for PEM fuel cells: mixed channel (serpentine + parallel), serpentine and serpentine with rounded corners.

 

KEYWORDS: geometry, fuel cell, modeling.