Abstract
The flooding phenomenon in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is studied experimentally by using MEMS-based thin film gas diffusion layer (GDL). The flooding criteria of PEFC are calculated by considering the saturation vapor pressure and mass transfer flux. In the experiment, a drop in cell voltage is observed as time passes due to flooding. Through theoretical study, we predicted the current density when voltage started to drop. Comparison between experimental and calculation results showed that the prediction was in good agreement with the experiment. It was revealed that in low gas flow rate the flooding limit is determined by the maximum amount of containable water vapor in outlet gas flow while in high gas flow rate it is dependent on the maximum flux of mass transfer from the catalyst layer to the gas channels.
