Simulation of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Performance prediction of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been studied using a multiphysics-based numerical simulation. The simulated geometry was a simple channel, in which the multi species transportation in the porous electrodes and the coupled electrical current and potential distributions were modeled. The 3D simulations provide the cell performance curve and the fuel/oxidant concentration distributions along the feeding channel. To obtain the detailed flow field in the porous gas diffusion layer, a 2D simulation was also performed. The simulations were compared with the available experimental data for a single channel PEMFC and the comparisons are favorable.