Effect of Gas Channel on Water Formation in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell : 1st Report, Two-Dimensional Analyses with Lattice Gas Automaton Method

Effect of water production on the performance of the fuel cell has been studied numerically. We have done two-dimensional simulations by using the Lattice Gas Automaton (LGA) method in order to analyze the gas flow and water distributions in the different type of flow passages. Three kinds of flow passage, that is, serpentine-type, straight-type and column-type were selected and their performances were compared. The results show that the serpentine-type flow is effective for the drainage and the electric generation performance and the electrode of hydrophilic surface is effective for reducing the plugging phenomenon. It is found that the LGA method is a promising tool for the analysis of the fuel cell performance