Performance characteristics of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell with the anodic supply mode

The water transport inside a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) varied according to the anodic supply mode. The performance characteristics of a PEFC which can be affected by the water transport were observed with the anodic supply mode. In the flow-through and recirculation mode the performance showed no reduction with time because the flow in the anode was not stagnated. In the dead-end mode, without any discharged gas, the water remains inside of the anode, which caused the reduction of the performance with the lapse of time. However, even in the dead-end mode, little reduction of the performance with time was shown when only the anode was humidified externally. It means that the back-diffusion was the major factor to the accumulation of water in the anode rather than external humidification.