Abstract
This paper presents a calculation method for gaseous concentration distribution in the electrode of a phosphoric acid fuel cell with a reactant gas leakage through cell edge seals. Gas leakage phenomena at an edge of a cell electrode may result in the serious electrode corrosion quite similar to gas crossover phenomena. The method takes into account for gas diffusion based on a concentrtion gradient besides the usual Knudsen flow along gas channels, and, therefore, permits strict analysis.
The experiments using full size cells were conducted for two cases; one was for measuring gas flow rate distribution and another was for measuring gas concentration distribution. These experimental investigations clarfied the method could be applied to diagnosis of cell conditions with satisfactory accuracy.
The knowledge of the gas leakage phenpmena acquired in this study is expected to improve cell design and fabrication procedures.
