Oxygen transport resistance at gas diffusion layer - Air channel interface with film flow of water in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Water present as films on the gas diffusion layer-air channel interface in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) alters the oxygen transport resistance, which is expressed through Sherwood number (Sh). The effect of multiple films along the flow length on Sh is investigated through 3D and stationary simulations. The effects of air Péclet number, non-dimensional film width, length, and spacing are studied. Using the simulation results, non-dimensional correlations are developed for local Sh within a mean absolute percentage error of 9%. These correlations can be used for simulating PEMFC performance over temperature and relative humidity ranges of 20-80 °C and 0-100%, respectively. Sh on the film side can be up to 31% lower than that for a dry channel, while a film may reduce the interfacial width by up to 39%. The corresponding increase in transport resistance results in lowering the voltage by 5 and 8 mV respectively at a current density of 1.5 A cm−2. However, their combined effect leads to a voltage loss of 20 mV due to this additional mass transport resistance. It is therefore important to incorporate the additional resistance introduced by the films while modeling fuel cell performance.