Development of a PEFC with Serpentine-Interdigitated Hybrid Pattern Gas Channels

Serpentine-interdigitated hybrid pattern gas channels were developed for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). The performance of conventional (triple-serpentine channel), interdigitated and serpentine-interdigitated hybrid pattern gas channels were compared. The performance of the interdigitated channel is significantly higher than that of the conventional channel. However, the interdigitated channel causes flooding under high air utilization. The hybrid pattern channels have the highest performance of the three patterns. A through-pore ratio (A/A0) was also developed. This ratio indicates the level of flooding in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) under the rib. According to calculated values of this ratio, flooding is suppressed when using the hybrid pattern channels.