Abstract
Keywords - PEMFC, Gas Diffusion Layer, Permeability, Nusselt number
Among the main components of PEM fuel cell, the functions of GDL, which is located between the flow field plate and MEA, are to transport reactants from the channel to the catalyst, transport electrons from the flow field plate to the catalyst and remove reaction products from the catalyst and transport heat from the catalyst to the channels in the flow filed plate. Permeability of GDL is known to make it possible to enhance the gas transport through GDL, devoting to get better performance. In this paper, three dimensional numerical simulation was performed in order to elucidate the effects of permeability of GDL on heat generation of fuel cell. Results show that when permeability of GDL is higher than 1010 ㎡, temperature change and heat generation are higher with increasing of permeability since more amount of reactants is transported through GDL than that flowing into the channel. But in case of permeability less that 1010 ㎡, heat generation is almost same or less even if permeability is decreased because it is very difficult to permeate into GDL, and in the region of more than 1010 ㎡ of permeability, non-dimensional Nusselt number which important parameter for design of heat transfer equipment tends to increase with increasing of permeability because of higher generation of heat on the reaction surface due to higher amount of reactants into reaction layer.