PEMFC temperature distribution caused by inhomogeneous compression of GDL

The effect of inhomogeneous compression of GDL under the channel/rib structure of flow-field plate on the temperature distribution in PEMFC is studied. The model utilizes experimentally evaluated GDL parameters for mass and charge transfer, and assumes an analogy between heat and charge transfer. The modeling results are compared with a conventional model that assumes the GDL properties constant. As a result, a significant difference in temperature distributions is observed especially due to varying thermal contact resistance at the GDL/electrode interface when the inhomogeneous compression is taken into account. There are significant temperature gradients through the cell and also in lateral direction of the electrode. With the assumed heat transfer parameters temperature differences of over 15 °C can be observed within a unit cell.