Qian Li, Wenshang Chen, Ning Zhang, Ke Chen, Qihao Deng, Tianqi Yang, Ben Chen
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) experienced performance degradation under gas starvation conditions, which severely affected the uniformity of current density distribution and operational stability. This work experimentally investigated the current density distribution under different gas supply conditions with printed circuit board (PCB) segmented current technology. An extensive matrix of 21 experimental cases was designed, systematically varying the backpressure (0, 50, 100 kPa), operating temperature (60, 70, 80°C), and relative humidity (60%, 80%, 100%) under both normal and gas starvation modes. It comprehensively analyzed the impact of various parameters on the transient behavior of PEMFCs during dynamic loading. To evaluate the homogeneity of the local current density distribution, a homogeneity parameter was introduced. The Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) was then used to evaluate the correlations among various complex parameters within the PEMFC. The results indicated that a specific backpressure could effectively mitigate gas starvation issues and improve distribution homogeneity. Under anode starvation conditions, uniformity improved by 61.67% compared to 0 kPa at 100 kPa. Additionally, 70°C was identified as the optimal operating temperature, resulting in a 4.39% enhancement in uniformity compared to 60°C. PCC analysis reveals a strong correlation between backpressure and the homogeneity of local current density distribution under anode starvation, while temperature exhibits a significantly weaker correlation, particularly at high loads.