Effects of clamping force on the water transport and performance of a PEM (proton electrolyte membrane) fuel cell with relative humidity and current density

•Effects of clamping force on the performance of a PEM fuel cell are investigated.•Water transport characteristics are analyzed using net drag coefficient.•Ohmic resistance decreased with clamping force, but mass transport resistance increased.•Net drag coefficient decreased with the increase in clamping force.•Total resistance was significantly degraded for a net drag coefficient below 0.2.

The clamping force should be applied to a proton electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell due to its structural characteristics. The clamping force affects the ohmic and mass transport resistances in the PEM fuel cell. In this study, the effects of the clamping force on the water transport and performance characteristics of a PEM fuel cell are experimentally investigated with variations in the relative humidity and current density. The water transport characteristics were analyzed by calculating the net drag coefficient. The ohmic resistance decreased with the increase in the clamping force due to the reduced contact resistance and more even membrane hydration. However, the mass transport resistance increased with the increase in the clamping force due to the gas diffusion layer compression. The net drag coefficient decreased with the increase in the clamping force due to high water back-diffusion. Additionally, the relationship between the total resistance and the net drag coefficient was investigated.