Heat Transfer Modelling of Single High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (HT PEFC) Using COMSOL Multiphysics®

V. Venkataraman[1]
[1]Centre for Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Research, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
发布日期 2013

In this paper a 3D geometry of a single HT PEFC with all the components (membrane, cathode, anode & bipolar plate with flow field) was modelled for heat transfer. The source of heat within the fuel cell is the internal heat generated from electrochemical reactions. Heat source terms used in the model are:

Joule Heat - Occurs in membrane and modelled as Volumetric heat source Irreversible heat - Occurs in the catalyst layer between cathode & membrane and modelled as boundary heat source

Heat transfer studies using COMSOL Multiphysics® is extremely useful for analysing the temperature distribution within the fuel cell components and to also decide on an efficient thermal management strategy for maintaining the cell temperature within desired limits.