Abstract: The effective removal and transportation of water on the surface of the gas diffusion layer(GDL) in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) is very important for the water management of the PEMFC. In order to effectively remove water from the surface of GDL, a novel channel structure is proposed, and a three-dimensional numerical study of the transport process of water in the channel is carried out using the volume of fluid method to investigate the effects of inlet velocity, surface wettability and droplet size on the transport process of water in the channel and the removal of water from the surface of GDL. The results show that the novel channel structure can effectively remove water from the GDL surface. As the inlet velocity increases, the air shear force along the flow direction increases, the water removal rate and pressure drop in the channel increase, and the water coverage on the GDL surface decreases. Surface wettability has a significant effect on water transport. The enhanced surface wettability of GDL slows down droplet transport, reduces resistance in the channel, decreases pressure drop, and increases the surface water coverage of GDL.Enhanced pipe surface wettability decreases pressure drop and GDL surface water coverage in the channel. The novel channel is suitable for the removal of large droplets in the channel. When θ_GDL=150° and θ_pipe=30°, the novel channel structure has better GDL surface water removal performance. This research work provides a new choice for the channel structure and has certain guiding significance for the removal of water on the GDL surface.

Key words: proton exchange membrane fuel cell, 2ater management, novel channel, gas diffusion layer, water removal