Numerical simulation and experimental validation of liquid water behaviors in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell cathode with serpentine channels

The volume-of-fluid (VOF) approach is one of the most promising methods of investigating water transport and water management in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). A general PEMFC model combined with the VOF method has been developed by our group to simulate the mechanisms of fluid flows, mass and heat transport, and electrochemical reactions in a PEMFC, and it is necessary to validate the numerical model through experiments. In this paper, both the numerical model and an experimental visualization that can simulate the motion and transport behavior of liquid water in a cathode flow channel of a PEMFC are presented. Direct optical visualization is used in this work to capture the droplets’ motions with high spatial and temporal resolutions. The numerical model and experimental setup have similar geometric dimensions and operating conditions, and the results of the experiment are in good agreement with numerical simulations. Moreover, the physics of droplet and liquid water behavior based on certain material and liquid properties and the operating conditions in the fuel cell channel are also addressed. This analysis also offers some basic understanding of the mechanism of liquid droplet dynamics in numerical and experimental studies of micro-fluidics.