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Automotive Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (7): 1277-1284.doi: 10.19562/j.chinasae.qcgc.2025.07.005

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Morphology 3D Performance Simulation and Structural Optimization of PEMFC Metal Foam Flow Field

Nan Li(),Xueyi Bai,Dou Yang,Guijing Li,Shihui Ma   

  1. School of Vehicle and Energy,Yanshan University,Qinhuangdao 066004
  • Received:2024-08-07 Revised:2024-11-02 Online:2025-07-25 Published:2025-07-18
  • Contact: Nan Li E-mail:linan@ysu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Flow field design is the key to improve the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). High-porosity metal foam materials have been suggested as substitute flow fields for PEMFC. In this paper, the entire morphology of the metal foam is reconstructed. A PEMFC model with four different metal foams (10 PPI, 20 PPI, 40 PPI, and 100 PPI) as the cathode flow field is established, which is compared with traditional parallel and serpentine flow fields. It is found that the metal foam flow field can strongly enhance the electrochemical reaction process by efficiently improving the transportation and distribution of reactive gases and products in the flow channel, and the larger the PPI value of metal foam material, the better the output performance. In addition, after examining the impact of various gas diffusion layer porosities on the PEMFC with metal foam flow field, it is determined that a porosity range of 0.4–0.6 is appropriate. A wide-ligament 40 PPI metal foam structural enhancement approach based on an umbrella is suggested in this study, and the output performance of PEMFC is further enhanced.

Key words: proton exchange membrane fuel cell, morphology reconstruction, flow field, metal foam, structural enhancement