This study developed a three-dimensional model of a composite flow field in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) to investigate the effects of operating conditions and geometric parameters of the flow field on cell performance. The findings reveal that oxygen distribution and current density in the inclined flow field are more uniform compared to the parallel and serpentine flow fields. The cell’s power density output is improved by 7.43% and 12.05% in the inclined flow field relative to the serpentine and parallel configurations
respectively. Higher operating pressures increase oxygen concentration within the channels
leading to enhanced cell output performance
while temperature shows a relatively minor influence due to the structural limitations of the flow field. A reduced number of channels in the flow field leads to uneven oxygen distribution
thereby diminishing the cell's performance. Increasing the rib-to-channel width ratio improves output performance
while changes in the channel aspect ratio show minimal impact on performance.
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