Design of Innovative Channel Geometrical Configuration and Its Effect on Species Distribution

In this research, the impact of shoulder width and geometry of gas channel with different structures on proton exchange membrane (PEM) has been investigated using numerical method. 3D, non-isothermal was used with single straight channel geometrywhile maintaining the same boundary conditions and rea...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ashkan Torkavannejad, S. Mehdi Pesteei, Farzin Ramin, Nima Ahmadi, Hadi Shahmohammadi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC) 2014-12-01
Series:Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.jree.ir/article_70053_457c5d3c5332c30ae521f1f22c28720a.pdf
Description
Summary:In this research, the impact of shoulder width and geometry of gas channel with different structures on proton exchange membrane (PEM) has been investigated using numerical method. 3D, non-isothermal was used with single straight channel geometrywhile maintaining the same boundary conditions and reaction area with addition of humidification for anode and cathode. Our study showed that an elliptical and circular channel cross-section gave higher current density as compared with conventional model. Moreover, the elliptical and circular channel configurations facilitated reactant transportation, caused more homogenous distribution of reactants andeffectively reduced mass transport loss, which lowered cathode overpotential of the cell which is the main cause of loss. Simulation of the three different channel geometries revealed that shoulder width has dominating effect on cell performance and leads to increase the value of Ohmicloss. The numerical model is validated against published experimental data and shows good agreement. Additional results with more detail are discussed and presented in the text.
ISSN:2423-5547
2423-7469