An investigation of convective transport in micro proton-exchange membrane fuel cells

The flow phenomena in a serpentine microchannel segment attached to a porous transport layer in a micro proton-exchange membrane fuel cell is investigated. Due to the presence of a porous transport layer, the fluid flow for this configuration exhibits different characteristics compared with that through a simple serpentine channel. The pressure drop and friction factor variation in the channel is examined for various values of Reynolds number and radii of curvature. Also, the effect of variation of permeability is investigated. There are two modes of fluid transport in this geometry—one through the serpentine channel and other via the porous media. With increasing permeability, more fluid is convected through the porous transport layer.