Numerical modeling and investigation of foreign cation contamination on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells
摘要
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) can be used as power sources in a wide variety of application scenarios due to the attractive advantages. Foreign cations introduced by air can cause a decrease in the output performance and durability of PEMFCs. In this study, a one-dimensional mathematical model is established to investigate the effect of foreign cation (Na+) contamination on the performance of PEMFCs. The performance degradation is observed due to the presence of Na+ and it becomes more severe with decreasing cell voltage. The maximum power density of the fuel cell without Na+ contamination (case 0) is 0.435 W/cm2, while the maximum power densities of the fuel cells with Na+ contamination (case 1, case 2, case 3, and case 4) are 0.385 W/cm2, 0.332 W/cm2, 0.275 W/cm2, and 0.206 W/cm2, respectively. In addition, the local transport processes are strongly affected in PEMFCs due to the cation contamination.