Annals of the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conference 13

ISBN 1-56700-225-0 / CD 1-56700-226-9

Year 2006

N. Massarotti
University of Cassino, Cassino, Italy

F. Arpino
University of Cassino, Cassino, Italy

A. Carotenuto
Dipartimento di Meccanica Strutture Ambiente e Territorio (Di. M. S. A. T.), Università di Cassino, Via Di Biasio 43, 03043 Cassino, Italy ; and University of Naples "Parthenope", Naples, Italy

P. Nithiarasu
School of Engineering, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, UK

Over the last ten years a great deal of attention has been given to fuel cells. Despite the intensive research and some interesting progresses, many aspects of this technology still need further investigation. Accurate numerical techniques are essential for the future development of high performance fuel cells. Even though a number of numerical models have been developed in the recent years, the majority of these models use simplifications that can reduce accuracy. Thus, the development of a physically representative model is crucial for accurate prediction of fuel cell phenomena. In the present paper, a general and detailed mathematical model is proposed, in which all the main quantities of interest are locally calculated in the cell. The proposed model is based on the description of the different parts of a fuel cell: 1) anodic compartment, including flow channel, electrode and catalyst layer; 2) electrolyte domain; and 3) cathodic compartment. Appropriate partial differential equations are used to predict fluid dynamic, thermal, chemical and electric fields for the different domains. In order to solve this mathematical model, the finite element method based on Characteristic Based Split algorithm (CBS) is employed because of its generality and modularity features. In this work, the results of the mass transport are presented, which is the main phenomenon that affects fuel cell performance.

ENR-09 pages DOI: 10.1615/IHTC13.p24.90 Download article

Article price - $35.00

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