The effect of mother channel width on biometric flow field towards polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance

Leaf shape biometric design shows promising potential as a flow field to supply air reactants in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell. However, studies that discuss the dimensions of biometric flow field in detail are rarely encountered. The channel width can affect the supply of reactants, the better the supply of reactants the better the cell performance can be achieved. In this study we investigated the effect of the mother channel width on the biometric flow field towards cell performance using numerical simulations. The model is composed of 9 layers with 25 cm² of active area. The channel dimension is varied by considering Murray’s theory. Simulation results show that the optimal width of the mother channel can increase power density by up to 6% compared to other variations. This increase can be achieved due to a more uniform distribution of oxygen concentration.