A review on microstructure reconstruction of PEM fuel cells porous electrodes for pore scale simulation

PEM fuel cells are currently at the focus of researchers' attention due to their promising potential application in modern vehicles. Fundamental tiny-scale phenomena occurring in the PEM fuel cell porous electrodes can be represented more faithfully by pore scale simulation techniques which entail microstructure reconstruction of porous media such as GDL, MPL and CL rather than conventional simulation methods. In fact, to achieve a realistic and accurate pore geometry is crucial for a trustworthy pore scale simulation, especially when the effect of morphology and structural parameters are to be investigated. In the present article, three classes of the of PEM fuel cells porous media reconstructions which have been performed for pore scale simulation of fluid flow are outlined and reviewed. Stochastic and X-ray tomography reconstruction of carbon paper GDL is well-understood in the literature, even if GDL is compressed or treated by binder/PTFE. However, more efforts are needed to reconstruct the MPL and CL using either stochastic or FIB/SEM methods.