ABSTRACT
Advances in the design and control of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells (FCs) are necessary to significantly improve their durability and reduce their cost for large-scale commercial automotive
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applications. Degradation has been observed and is associated with undesired reactions which occur during load following and start-up conditions. This degradation is accelerated by the varying spatiotemporal profiles caused by the local buildup of liquid water [1,2]. It is therefore desirable to avoid the accumulation of water and flooding or plugging of the channels, due to its deleterious effects on performance and stack life. Anode channel plugging, for example, can induce hydrogen starvation and, given the right conditions, trigger cathode-carbon oxidation and loss of active catalyst area [3-5].
