Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are a promising technology for renewable
power generation within various sectors, such as stationary power generation and
heavy-duty mobile applications, due to their high energy conversion efficiency
and lack of pollutant or carbon emissions. Despite these advantages, fuel cell
adoption remains limited, partly due to the low durability, falling behind
regulatory targets. With advancements being made across all components in fuel
cell design in recent years, uniform flow distribution was identified as a key
parameter for the longevity of fuel cells, requiring only small deviations
within a few percent to prevent reactant shortages, localized hot spots, and
cell failures. In commercially sized fuel cells, gas distribution zones using
different architectures such as circular dots, shunts, or guide vanes are
employed to optimize flow distribution. This study investigates circular dot
matrix gas distribution zones using a newly developed parametric CFD model
incorporating 20 design parameters. Through the elementary effects method, the
distribution zone height is identified as a key parameter for optimizing the
flow distribution. A full factorial analysis reveals that optimizing the
distribution zone height can achieve similar improvements in flow distribution
as increasing the zone length, while also reducing pressure drop, leading to
reduced parasitic losses on system level. Specifically, raising the distribution
zone height by 0.25 mm is as effective as extending its length by 10 mm in
achieving uniform flow distribution, but with the added benefit of a 15 mbar
lower pressure drop. Further comparisons with established parameters, such as
dot count and spacing, are conducted. Interactions between active area size,
current density, flow uniformity, and pressure drop are examined, revealing that
larger active areas can improve flow distribution. These findings highlight the
potential for adopting fuel cells in high-power applications and demonstrate the
versatility of the developed parametric CFD model.