Influence of Serpentine Flow Design on the Thermal and Electrical Performance of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Chua, Xu Hern (2026) Influence of Serpentine Flow Design on the Thermal and Electrical Performance of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells. Final Year Project (Diploma), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

Text CHUA XU HERN_Full Text.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (2MB)

Abstract

This thesis investigates how serpentine flow-field design specifically channel count (7, 11, 15) and flow arrangement (co-flow, counter-flow, cross-flow) influences the thermal and electrical performance of a single-cell PEMFC. The problem addressed is the practical trade-off between temperature uniformity, current/power output, water management, and pressure drop within manufacturable plates. A 70 mm × 70 mm virtual prototype was modelled in SolidWorks and simulated in ANSYS Fluent using coupled species, energy, and charge transport with porous-media source terms; parametric studies varied current, temperature, pressure, and water content, and meshes employed inflation layers to resolve under-rib gradients. Results show the cell is nearly isothermal at 353.15 K, with small temperature spreads (0.15–0.37%) for most cases and a single notable outlier for 15-channel co-flow (1.26%). Electrical performance depends on both geometry and arrangement: 7-channel cross-flow delivered the highest peak among its group, 11-channel co-flow led its set, and one 15-channel co-flow case produced a very high localized current density, while the other 15-channel arrangements clustered near 10 kA·m⁻². Water-content minima near zero indicate localized dry zones, and counter/cross configurations incur higher pressure drops than co-flow. Cost roll-ups are similar across designs, so performance not cost drives selection