An Investigation on Performance of 2D Simulated Fuel Cells Using Taguchi Method

Clean and high efficient energy development has long been hunted to solve energy and environmental crisis. Fuel cells, which convert the chemical energy in fuel straight into electrical energy, are the key empowering technology of this era with an outstanding long-term performance. The future energy source is concerned with two of the most advanced fuel cells—direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The motivation of this work is to develop mathematical models for investigating the best operating conditions and comparing the performance of PEMFC and DMFC. Two-dimensional fuel cell models were simulated based on physical laws to foresee the performance of the cell under several operating conditions. Taguchi method has been used to design experiments to study the effect of fuel and oxidant concentration, reactants’ flow direction, and membrane properties. Validating and running case studies of these models have been completed to present a comprehensive viewpoint of modeling. Lastly, comparing performance in term of current and power density between PEMFC and DMFC has been achieved. PEMFC has better performance compared to DMFC. A significant outcome of 2D simulations conducted was expected to maximize the fuel cells’ performance to be used in the transportation sector and portable applications.