PEM Fuel Cell Modeling

with ANSYS-Fluent

Sandeep Sovani, Ph.D.

Director, Global Automotive Industry
April 8, 2014

1 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014
 Contents

• Geometry Model
• Physics Model
• ANSYS-Fluent PEMFC Module
• Model Validation with Experiments
• Stack Simulation

2 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014
 Geometric Model
ANSYS-Fluent uses a Resolved Electrolyte Model
All of the following zones are resolved, i.e. have individual meshes

Coolant Channel
current collector
flow channel anode
gas diffusion layer
catalyst layer
membrane electrolyte

Not to scale!
catalyst layer
gas diffusion layer
cathode
flow channel

current collector

3 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014
 Geometric Model
current collector
Also called “bipolar plate“ or “interconnect”.
Solid material, e.g. graphite. Used to conduct electrons
to/from the external circuit. Gives structural stability.
Channel to provide fuel (anode) and oxidizer (cathode) and
flow channel
to transport away the reaction products.

gas diffusion layer Porous medium to allow diffusive flow of fuel (anode) and
oxidizer (cathode) and to permit transport of electrons.

catalyst layer Also called “electrode“. Porous medium to allow diffusive flow
of fuel (anode) and oxidizer (cathode) and to permit transport
of electrons. Partially filled with catalyst material, e.g. Platinum,
and membrane material.

membrane
Proton conducting polymer material, e.g. Nafion.

Coolant Channel Coolant flow

4 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,
2014
 Physics Model

Fuel Cell Modeling requires to calculate Standard ANSYS Fluent

– fluid flow with reacting species

– convective/conductive heat transfer (w/o radiation)

– mass transfer

– heterogeneous electrochemical reactions

– transport of electric current driven by electric potential

– multiphase flow (water condensation within the PEMFC)

ANSYS Fluent Fuel Cell Module

5 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014
 Physics Model
A general purpose CFD solver is ideal for modeling
PEM fuel cells, however, some additional sub-models are needed

PEMFC multi-physics
– Laminar/Turbulent/Transitional Fluid Flow
– Heat Transfer
General Purpose
– Species Transport CFD Code
– Chemical Reaction
– Multiphase Flow
Additional Sub-
– Electrochemistry Models Needed
– Electric Potentials (current transport)

6 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014
 Physics Model

Additional submodels needed for complex PEMFC multi-

physics
• Electrochemical submodel - model current density,
voltage, species sources/sinks at the MEA surfaces
• Electrical submodel - model current and voltage
distribution in porous and solid conducting regions
• MEA submodel - predict electrical losses and water
flow in MEA
• Porous Media Multiphase Flow submodel -model
liquid water and oxidizer flow in porous cathode
diffusion layer
• Thin Film Multiphase submodel - model flow of liquid
water in cathode gas flow passages

7 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014
 ANSYS-Fluent PEMFC Module

The PEMFC module is a separately licensed-managed

add-on module
Included with FLUENT distribution
Fully supported and documented
Available for SERIAL and PARALLEL Fluent

8 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014
 ANSYS-Fluent PEMFC Module
Fluent’s PEMFC Module can be used for
– Single cell simulation
– Stack simulation
– Steady state simulation
– Transient simulation
– Computing current for fixed voltage
– Computing voltage for fixed current

One simulation per data point on the I-V curve

9 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014
 ANSYS-Fluent PEMFC Module: Key Features
Detailed modeling of MEA with dual potential model from
Kulikovsky, Divisek and Kornyshev*
Compute current/voltage from specified voltage/current
Capabilities of modeling contact resistance and Joule heating,
cooling channels, etc.
Membrane water transport
Phase change and liquid water transport in porous media,
clogging to gas diffusion and reaction sites
Robust solution procedure and fast convergence
Fuel Cell Specific Graphical User Interface (GUI) set up
* Kulikovsky et al., J. Electrochem. Soc. 147 (3) (2000) 953-959

10 © 2011 ANSYS, Inc. November 28,

2014