On flow maldistribution in PEMFC stacks

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks are widely studied for their own advantages. The flow maldistribution in unit cells may severely influence the fuel cell stack performance, mainly including the uniformity of current density and the voltage. Investigations of flow maldistribution in PEMFC stacks are rarely found, and presented results are unsystematic, scattered, and even contradictory. Thus, it is necessary to review and summarize the previous concerned papers, and to get some methods or guidelines for reducing the flow maldistribution in PEMFC stacks. In this paper, the existing literature concerning flow maldistributions in PEMFC stacks is reviewed. The effects of the arrangement of flow configurations, design parameters, and operating conditions on the flow maldistribution are discussed. Some suggestions are outlined to reduce the flow maldistribution in PEMFC stacks. The need for further research is also discussed.