Optimization analysis of air cooled open cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell flow channel structure

Area of Science:

• Fuel Cell Technology
• Energy Conversion
• Materials Science

Background:

• The cathode channel in AO-PEMFCs is critical for reactant supply, cooling, and heat dissipation, significantly impacting performance.
• Optimizing cathode channel geometry is essential for improving fuel cell efficiency and power density.

Purpose of the Study:

• To numerically investigate the effect of cathode channel bending angles on AO-PEMFC performance.
• To optimize cathode channel dimensions (width, height, bending angle) for enhanced power density using advanced modeling techniques.

Main Methods:

• Numerical simulation of AO-PEMFC with varying cathode channel bending angles.
• Development and training of support vector regression and Gaussian process regression agent models.
• Application of a genetic algorithm for parameter optimization of channel width, height, and bending angle.

Main Results:

• A cathode bending angle of 2.5° resulted in a 3.88% performance improvement with only a 1.5% increase in voltage drop compared to straight channels.
• Optimal ranges for cathode channel dimensions were identified: width (1.1-1.2 mm), height (1.3-1.5 mm), and bending angle (2.23°-2.99°).

Conclusions:

• Cathode channel geometry significantly influences AO-PEMFC performance, with specific bending angles and dimensions yielding substantial improvements.
• The optimized channel design ensures an output power density of at least 0.489 W/cm² for single cells.