Modeling the Internal Pressure Distribution of a Fuel Cell

P.A. Koski[1] and M.S. Mikkola[1]
[1]Department of Applied Physics, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland
Published in 2009

A 3D FEM (Finite Element Method) model for predicting the internal pressure distribution of a fuel cell stack is presented. The model includes contact pair boundary conditions between the most critical components, thermal expansion and Young's moduli as a function of temperature. The model is used to investigate the changes in pressure distribution inside a PEM fuel cell at realistic temperatures from 23 to 160 °C. It was found that increasing temperature made the pressure distribution more uneven. Furthermore, the effect of thermal expansion on pressure distribution was found to be negligible.

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