A comparative study of streamlined flow channels with water drop block configurations and their effects on temperature profiles, mass transport characteristics, and performance in PEM fuel cell

The problems of temperature distribution, mass transport, and drainage performance in flow field channels (FFCs) become the most significant effects on PEMFC performance. In order to solve the above problems, this study proposes five distinct streamlined block architectures of flow channels that consider interface contact resistance (ICR) and gas diffusion layer (GDL) face permeability effect on temperature profiles to enhance mass transport and cell performance of PEMFC. The streamlined block structures of flow channels considering ICR and GDL face permeability were comparatively evaluated. The results show that the temperature profiles exhibit a distinctive "Ʌ" shape with an approximate increase of 0.19ᵒC at CN 2 compared to CN1. Besides, CN6 has current density, power density, and the best removal water saturation of 6.94%, 12.27%, and 7.18%, respectively, are higher than CN1 (conventional model) when the voltage is 0.4 V. Consequently, the streamlined imitated water-drop block (WDB) models applied in the flow channels with considering both suitable ICR and GDL face permeability for PEM fuel cell can improve the mass transport capacity, enhance the speed of the electrochemical reaction, and provide better cell performance.