Analysis of the synergetic effects of grooved gas diffusion layer and semi-blocked flow channels in improving proton exchange membrane fuel cells performance

Low volumetric power density is one of the barriers to the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Various techniques have been introduced to increase their power density, including modifications to the reactant flow fields to optimize species delivery to the catalyst layer. This study compares the impact of two performance-enhancing techniques on proton exchange membrane fuel cells: a semi-blocked flow channel and a grooved gas diffusion layer numerically using the finite volume method. The research introduces a novel cathode configuration combining both methods to assess their synergetic effects on proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance. Results demonstrate that while at a cell voltage of 0.6 V, the semi-blocked flow channel enhances performance by 0.569 %, and the grooved GDL yields a 0.292 % improvement; integrating both techniques achieves a synergistic enhancement exceeding 1 %. Additionally, the study examines how groove width and GDL characteristics influence the effectiveness of the introduced configuration, offering insights into optimizing cathode design for superior PEMFC performance. • Grooved GDL enhances PEMFC performance over the conventional one. • Increasing groove width increases the effectiveness of the grooved GDL. • Effectiveness of the grooved GDL is less than semi-blocked flow channels. • Using grooved GDL and semi-blocked channel together boosts the performance gain. • GDL diffusion resistance determines the gain utilizing the introduced structure.