Impacts of GDL Thermal Conductivity and Channel Cross-Section Orientation on Performance of PEM Fuel Cell

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) illustrate a crucial role in providing environmentally friendly power for automotive, portable, and stationary plants. They are the multi-part energy transformation devices. The gas channels affect the flow and thermal behavior of PEM fuel cells. Thermal conductivity of the gas diffusion layers (kGDL) helps to release heat from the cell and distribute temperature in the components. In the current work, the influences of an innovative channel cross-sectional geometry in the horizontal and vertical orientations and variouskGDL(1-50 W/mK) at 0.4 and 0.6 V on the cell performance are investigated numerically via the Fluent PEM fuel cell add-on module. The results display that both placements augment the current density. But impact ofkGDLon the overall performance of PEMFC remarkably decreases afterkGDL> 20 W/mK for both voltages. The variation of the current density withkGDLcan be well described using a power function for all cases. The highest current density of 1.89 A/cm2is achieved with the vertical orientation for 50 W/mK at 0.4 V. This configuration elevates oxygen consumption, water generation and the homogeneity of temperature in the porous layers with penalty of the pressure drop in the channels.