| Summary: | The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the thickness of Nafion membrane, which is a typical polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), and relative humidity of supply gas on the distributions of H<sub>2</sub>, O<sub>2</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>O concentration and current density on the interface between a Nafion membrane and anode catalyst layer or the interface between a Nafion membrane and cathode catalyst layer. The effect of the initial temperature of the cell (<i>T</i><sub>ini</sub>) is also investigated by the numerical simulation using the 3D model by COMSOL Multiphysics. As a result, the current density decreases along with the gas flow through the gas channel irrespective of the Nafion membrane thickness and <i>T</i><sub>ini</sub>, which can be explained by the concentration distribution of H<sub>2</sub> and O<sub>2</sub> consumed by electrochemical reaction. The molar concentration of H<sub>2</sub>O decreases when the thickness of Nafion membrane increases, irrespective of <i>T</i><sub>ini</sub> and the relative humidity of the supply gas. The current density increases with the increase in relative humidity of the supply gas, irrespective of the Nafion membrane thickness and <i>T</i><sub>ini</sub>. This study recommends that a thinner Nafion membrane with well-humidified supply gas would promote high power generation at the target temperature of 363 K and 373 K.
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