Two-phase mass transport in PEM fuel cell and its effects

A new 2D two-phase flow model was developed to study the two-phase mass transport in PEM fuel cells ant its effects on membrane resistance and cathode performance. In this model, catalyst layers were included in the electrodes. Phase change and its effects on mass transport in the fuel cell were considered. The model can be used for both the anode and the cathode. In this paper, two-phase flow and mass transport in the cathode, membrane resistance, effective porosity of cathode and current density distribution were simulated. Simulation results show that increasing humidification temperature decreases the membrane resistance, but excessive humidification temperature can decrease the effective porosity of GDL in cathode, and then decrease the cathode performance.