Model development and computational simulation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with comsol multiphysics

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that efficiently converts chemical energy directly into electrical energy in a clean and silent way. Among many types of fuel cells, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is one of the most commonly used fuel cell type due to its relatively easy startup phase, low operating temperature, low amount of waste heat, high power density, and longer lifetime. PEMFC has a large usage area both in households and industries either as a portable or stationary power system. Although there are a vast amount of studies on PEMFCs, there are unsolved problems due to their intricate structure. Among the available scientific techniques used in PEMFC research, computational modeling and simulation is a promising tool that could reveal micro-processes limiting rate and efficiency encountered in PEMFC operation. Thus, many researchers have been trying to develop better models mimicking an operating PEMFC. So far developed models have their own advantages and disadvantages. And the models are still needed to be improved. In this study a 2D PEMFC model is adopted from previous studies and simulated using COMSOL MP v5.1 in order to have a starting point for developing a better representative PEMFC model. Navier-Stokes, Brinkman, Butler-Volmer, and Maxwell-Stefan equations are solved to calculate the free flow in the gas channels, the species transport in porous layers, current distribution and the mass transport in the model, respectively. Velocity field and electrolyte potential are obtained from the numerical solution. Furthermore, the polarization curve is plotted and compared with the previous studies. It is found that the results are in compliance with previous studies.