Numerical analysis for evaluating the effect of hydrophilic anode support for water management in polymer electrolyte fuel cells

Much attempt was made to improve PEFC perfonnance to optimize its operating condition and its structure by experimental and numerical trials. One of the most critical issues about PEFC improvement is the durability enhancement at its membrane electrode assembly (MEA) to keep its robust control. The objective of this study is to keep the optimal water distribution at MEA with applying the hydrophilic anode support. In this study, the influence of modification to use two hydrophilic support materials is calculated by the case of weak hydrophilized carbon support and strong hydrophilic SnC>2 support. The distribution of liquid water shows that hydrophilic anode support has the effect to hold the liquid water in anode catalyst layer under the low humidification, and water saturation ratio in cathode catalyst layer is also controlled by the use of hydrophilic materials. Hydrophilic anode support works as a water transport pathway to anode across polymer electrolyte membrane. Its effect also prevents from drying-up of the anode and flooding of the cathode.