Evaluating the effect of refined flow channels in a developed biomimetic flow field on PEMFC performance

In this study, an improved biomimetic flow field was proposed, and the effects of the number of refined flow channels on the pressure drop, species distribution and performance of the PEMFC were analyzed by numerical simulation. Subsequently, these developed biomimetic flow fields (BIFFs) were compared to the conventional parallel flow field (CPFF) and conventional serpentine flow field (CSFF). The results show that compared with CPFF, the BIFF with ten refined channels (BI-10) offered the benefits of a low-pressure drop, uniform reactant distribution, and higher output power. In addition, BI-10 showed superior heat dissipation compared with CSFF. As the number of refined flow channels increased, the oxygen distribution of the BI-10 became more uniform, and the fuel cell performance also improved. The peak power density of BI-10 was approximately 29.05% higher than that of CPFF and 17.80% higher than that of the original biomimetic flow field (BI-6). In addition, the net power density of BI-10 was similar to that of CSFF; however, BI-10 had a more suitable temperature distribution. Therefore, by increasing the number of refined flow channels, the distribution of reactants was more uniform, the pressure drop was smaller, and the hydrothermal management ability was better.