Wave flow field design optimization for enhanced performance of high-temperature PEM fuel cells

• Effect of wave channel structures on HT-PEMFC mass transport and performance investigated. • Wave channels integrated into parallel, serpentine, and interdigitated flow fields. • Genetic algorithm optimization conducted for channel amplitude and wavelength. • Optimized wave-CPFF increased peak net power density by up to 11.48%. • Interdigitated flow fields exhibit inherently strong forced penetration and cross-plane convection through the GDL, limiting the gain achievable through wave channel structures. High-temperature proton exchange membrane Fuel Cell (HT-PEMFC) can directly convert chemical energy into electricity with high energy density. The flow field structure influences gas flow behavior and reactant distribution uniformity, which critically affects HT-PEMFC performance. This study develops a three-dimensional steady-state model of HT-PEMFC to investigate mass transport characteristics and performance with wave flow fields, which incorporate sinusoidal channel geometries into cathode parallel, serpentine, and interdigitated configurations. The results reveal that the wave channel flow fields improve the efficiency of mass transport and the performance of HT-PEMFC. Effects of the wave channel structure parameters on the HT-PEMFC performance are investigated. A genetic algorithm was used to optimize the channel amplitude and wavelength to maximize net power density. Compared to the straight channel design, the optimized wave channel parallel flow field achieves the highest peak net power density of 0.5033 W/cm 2 , representing an improvement of 11.48 %. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating and optimizing wave flow field structures to improve HT-PEMFC output performance.