Sensitive Analysis and Performance Enhancement of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Due to increasing environmental pollution, the use of renewable energies is very important. Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is for producing renewable energy, which is applied in a wide range of fields due to its many merits, such as low emissions, high power density and high efficiency. Dimension of components of PEMFC plays an important role on its performance. In this article, Numerical solution are performed by assuming two phase, steady and isothermal. The effect of channel dimensions and thickness of gas diffusion layer, catalyst layer and membrane were studied on the performance of the PEMFC. This analysis involves studying two indicators of maximum power density and average current density, which it was investigated in a wide range of voltage operations. The results show that determining proper dimensions for cell components has a great impact on the performance. By comparing the effect of dimensions on two indicators, different rankings are obtained. Channel width and thickness of polymer membrane have the most important role in determining cell performance. Good correspondence between numerical results and experimental data is achieved.