Numerical Investigation of Anisotropic Electrical Conductivity Effects in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Authors : Gülşah ELDEN, Mert TAŞ

Pages : 2-6

View : 16 | Download : 9

Publication Date : 2017-12-31

Article Type : Conference Paper

Abstract :The purpose of this study is to investigate numerically the effects of anisotropic electrical conductivity of gas diffusion layers on charge transport in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell. To achieve this purpose, a single phase, three dimensional and anisotropic model is developed by using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2a software. The numerical model is validated in experimental data which is obtained at the cell temperature of 343 K for the PEM fuel cell having 5x5 cm 2 active surface area.  To find out numerically the effects of anisotropic electrical conductivity of gas diffusion layers on charge transport, two cases are examined. In the first case, the in-plane electrical conductivity of its is increased gradually as the through plane electrical conductivity is kept constant. In the second case, while the value of in-plane electrical conductivity is a constant, the through plane electrical conductivity is increased. When the both electrical conductivities are compared for all cases, the through plane conductivity has a greater effect on charge transport in PEM fuel cell than the in-plane plane electrical conductivity.
Keywords : PEM fuel cell, anisotropic electrical conductivity, numerical model