Simultaneous thermal and visual imaging of liquid water of the PEM fuel cell flow channels

• Published in: Journal of the Energy Institute 2019-04, Vol.92 (2), p.311-318
• Main Authors: Aslam, R.M., Ingham, D.B., Ismail, M.S., Hughes, K.J., Ma, L., Pourkashanian, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Direct visualisation; PEMFC; Thermal imaging; Water management; Wetted ratio
• ISSN: 1743-9671
• DOI: 10.1016/j.joei.2018.01.005

Water flooding and membrane dry-out are two major issues that could be very detrimental to the performance and/or durability of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The above two phenomena are well-related to the distributions of and the interaction between the water saturation and temperature within the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). To obtain further insights into the relation between water saturation and temperature, the distributions of liquid water and temperature within a transparent PEM fuel cell have been imaged using high-resolution digital and thermal cameras. A parametric study, in which the air flow rate has been incrementally changed, has been conducted to explore the viability of the proposed experimental procedure to correlate the relation between the distribution of liquid water and temperature along the MEA of the fuel cell. The results have shown that, for the investigated fuel cell, more liquid water and more uniform temperature distribution along MEA at the cathode side are obtained as the air flow rate decreases. Further, the fuel cell performance was found to increase with decreasing air flow rate. All the above results have been discussed. •Liquid water and temperature distribution at cathode side was visualised simultaneously.•Liquid water at cathode and anode sides was directly visualised simultaneously.•Effects of air flow rates were investigated.•An indicative parameter of amount of liquid water, wetted bend ratio, has been introduced.•Wetted bend ratio was used to explain the variation in fuel cell performance.