Visualization of Temperature Distribution and Clarification of Heat and Mass Transfer Mechanism in a Single Cell of PEFC

Abstract

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) has been developing as clean power generation technology. However, there are some subjects to spread PEFC among industries and homes in the world. The one of such subjects is drop in power generation performance and durability caused by heat and mass distribution in a single cell of PEFC. The purpose of this study is to point out the dominant factor of heat and mass transfer phenomena and clarify the reason for heat and mass distribution in a single cell. With the aid of observation window, the in-plane temperature distribution in single cell under power generation was measured by thermograph. The influence of operation conditions on temperature distribution was investigated. Moreover, to clarify the heat and mass transfer mechanism theoretically, the simulations to investigate the factor needed for the ideal reaction and evaluate the influence of separator structure on heat and mass distribution were carried out.