Evaluating the PEM fuel cell performance under accelerated creep of sealants

Abstract

The physical properties of sealants could be crucial in affecting the performance and longevity of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). As the sealants' physical properties are temperature and stress-dependent due to their inherent viscoelasticity, their creep response must be explored. The numerical study presented in this article emphasizes evaluating the performance of low-temperature PEMFC (LT-PEMFC) influenced by polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) sealants' accelerated creep characterized by the compliance curves (MC-65). The performance of a 3D single-channel PEMFC model is investigated and compared for two cases, wherein the first case focused on PEMFC performance without sealant creep, and the second case incorporated sealants' accelerated creep to assess PEMFC performance. The detailed observation of reactant transport characteristics demonstrates that there is a substantial decline in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) and cathode catalyst layer (CL) in the case of sealants' accelerated creep. Further, liquid saturation at the cathode GDL is observed to increase significantly, leading to a reduction in the performance of the cell. It is further conveyed that the current density for case 1 (without creep) and case 2 (sealants' accelerated creep) are 1.309655 and 1.041806 Acm?2, respectively, at a cell voltage of 0.4 V. The present study, therefore, addresses the viable interaction between fuel cell performance and the sealants’ accelerated creep characteristics. © 2025 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC