Analytical Investigation of Water Transport

Comprehensive analytical models focusing on the anode water loss, the cathode flooding, water equilibrium, and water management strategy are developed for polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Analytical solutions presented in this study are compared with two-dimensional computational results and shows a good agreement in predicting those critical characteristics of water. General features of water concentration profile as a function of membrane thickness and current density are presented to illustrate the net effect of the back-diffusion of water from the cathode to anode and the water production by the cathode catalytic reaction on water transport over a fuel cell domain. As one of practical applications, the required humidity level of feed streams for full saturation at the channel outlets are investigated as a function of the physical operating condition. These analytical models can provide good understanding on the characteristic water