A pseudo-3D model to investigate heat and water transport in large area PEM fuel cells – Part 2: Application on an automotive driving cycle

• Simulation of temperature and humidity distributions in the cell components.
• Effect of automotive cycling on temperature and water distributions heterogeneities.
• Impact of the flow fields design on heat and water management.
• Neutron imaging for investigating the liquid water distribution in the stack.

In this work, the pseudo-3D multiphysics model introduced in Part 1 of this two-part series of papers is used to investigate heat and water transport in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell designed for an automotive application. The main advantage of the model is the consideration of the bipolar plate design and the detailed description of the studied geometrical domain while maintaining an acceptable computational time. When applied on an automotive cycle, the simulation results highlight the impact of the bipolar plate design on temperature and humidity heterogeneities. The operating conditions induce a non-uniform cycling of temperature and humidity over the cell active area. In addition, at a more local scale, the increase in fuel cell load leads to larger heterogeneities between channel and rib, for temperature as well as for humidity. The results of the simulation of liquid water distribution are in good agreement with the experimental results, demonstrating the reliability and robustness of the model which can be used for the design of new bipolar plates or to understand the degradation phenomena.