İnvestigation on airflow performance of open cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Abstract

Fuel-cell systems have been considered as an alternative power source to replace internal combustion engines in future vehicles to reach zero emission transportation target. A trustworthy and straightforward fuel cell system is needed to adopt a fuel cell-based power unit successfully. Open cathode fuel cell offers a simple configuration where the ambient air is used directly to provide cooling and serve as an oxidant. Therefore, an open cathode fuel cell system eliminates the requirement for a complex air supply subsystem, minimizing accessory load and reducing the overall cost of the system. The main challenge with the open cathode design is the strong dependence of the stack performance on the ambient conditions. Numerous studies considering the performance of open cathode fuel-cell and various factors affecting them have been reported. This paper presents the investigation of the effects of the environmental parameters on open cathode fuel-cell.