Transport phenomena in polymeric membrane fuel cells

Transport phenomena of mass, energy, momentum and electrical charges play a significant role in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this study the transport and balance equations are the basis of a simulation mod el which allows the evaluation of the distribution of the physico-chemical parameters within the structure of a PEMFC reactor. Model Validation is pre sented; the validated model is than used to investigate the behaviour of th e reactor, with particular attention to critical operating conditions. Crit ical conditions arise in a number of cases: flooding, membrane drying and d egradation due to temperature peaks are discussed in this paper. (C) 2001 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.