Influence of geometric parameters of the flow fields on the performance of a PEM fuel cell. A review

The proton Exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance
depends not only on many factors including the operation
conditions, transport phenomena inside the cell and kinetics of
the electrochemical reactions, but also in its physical
components; membrane electrode assembling (MEA) and bipolar
plates (BPs). Among the PEM stack components, bipolar plates are
considered one of the crucial ones, as they provide one of the
most important issues regarding the performance of a stack, the
homogeneous distribution of the reactive gases all over the
catalyst surface and bipolar plate areas through, the so call,
flow channels; physical flow patterns or paths fabricated on the
*Manuscript (Revised, clean, unmarked, FINAL version)
BPs surfaces to guide the gases all along the BPs for its
correct distribution. The failure in flow distribution among
different unit cells may severely influence the fuel cell stack
performance. Thus, to overcome such possible failures, the
design of more efficient flow channels has received considerable
attention in the research community for the last decade.
The aim of this work is to review the most important results
conducted in recent years related to the influence of the
different geometric parameters of the flow channels on the
overall performance of a PEMFC.