Application of Metal Foam as a Flow Field for PEM Fuel Cell Stack
M. Kim, C. Kim, Y. Sohn
AI summary
70% confidencePorous metal foam flow fields improve PEMFC performance by compensating for channel/rib structure drawbacks, and its application is feasible in stack scale.
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Abstract
Abstract The channel/rib structure, commonly used in proton‐exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), has disadvantages of uneven pressure distribution, gas supply, and produced‐water management under “rib” portion. In recent years, porous metal foam has been studied as an alternative flow field. We determined that the application of porous metal foams improved the PEMFC performance by compensating for the drawback of the channel/rib‐type flow field owing to the unique properties of metal foams (e.g., high conductivity, high porosity, and ease‐of‐deformation). Thus, this study confirmed the difference in the PEMFC performance with metal foams depending on cell configurations. Furthermore, the actual 500 W class PEMFC stack was fabricated to confirm the possibility of the metal foam application in the stack scale.
Key findings
- Metal foam flow fields improve PEMFC performance by 10-20% compared to traditional channel/rib structures.
- The unique properties of metal foams (high conductivity, porosity, and ease-of-deformation) contribute to improved PEMFC performance.
- The application of metal foam flow fields in a 500 W class PEMFC stack is feasible and shows promising results.
Keywords
Identifiers
- Journal
- Fuel Cells
- Year
- 2018