An analytical model of Nafion™ membrane humidifier for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

This paper introduced a one-dimensional analytical model to quantitatively examine the humidifying capacity of a Nafion™ membrane humidifier. Water permeability for the Nafion™ membrane was calculated, depending on the thickness of the Nafion™ membrane. Relative humidity for a carrier gas passed through the Nafion™ membrane humidifier was simulated at various gas flow rates, which showed good agreement with experimental data. Simulations were also conducted to predict humidity levels as a function of length and height of the gas flow channel. This analytical model can be used in future work to properly design Nafion™ membrane humidifiers for use in PEM fuel cell systems.