Heat and mass transfer characteristics of a novel three-dimensional flow field metal bipolar plate for PEMFC by laser 3D printing.

The flow field structure of the bipolar plates is a key factor in determining the heat and mass transfer performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). To improve its performance and obtain an optimized design and fabrication method, this paper proposes a novel baffled flow field bipolar plate and successfully realizes its preparation using 3D printing technology. A PEMFC computational fluid dynamics model was established for numerical simulation, and polarization tests were also performed to verify the simulation results. The results show that the incorporation of 30°, 60°, and 90° sub-baffles helped to increase the maximum power density of the PEMFC by 3.5%, 8.4%, and 14.7%, respectively, compared to no sub-baffles. The oxygen mass transfer efficiency of the flow field with a 90° sub-baffle increased by 9.4% and 22.1% compared to the 60° and 30° sub-baffles, respectively. However, the increase in inclination angle also causes more water and heat in the flow channel to enter the membrane electrode, which hinders the further improvement of PEMFC performance. This study will provide new ideas and solutions for the flow field structure design and preparation of bipolar plates. [Display omitted] • A novel flow field structure with main and sub-baffle was designed. • Forming of metal bipolar plates with complex flow field structure by 3D printing. • The mass and heat transfer characteristics in different flow field structures were studied. • Oxygen transfer efficiency increases with increasing inclination of the sub-baffle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]