Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, cilt.233, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Fuel cells are recognized for their high efficiency and environmentally friendly characteristics, with applications ranging from portable devices to transportation systems. The performance of fuel cells is significantly influenced by operating parameters and the mechanical design of components. This study investigates the effects of key operating conditions, including cell temperature, anode and cathode flow rates, and torque applied to the end plate, on fuel cell performance using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). A stainless steel end plate and a centered bolt arrangement configuration were employed to ensure homogeneous pressure distribution. The analysis included 27 experiments to evaluate current density, power density, and internal resistance under varying operating conditions.The findings highlight that cell temperature and cathode flow rate are critical factors influencing performance. At the optimal cell temperature, enhancements in reaction kinetics and proton conductivity resulted in a maximum current density of 513.93 A/cm2 and power density of 307.20 W/cm2, while the internal resistance was minimized. The cathode flow rate was also observed to play a decisive role in performance. In contrast, torque applied to the end plate exhibited a negligible influence on performance within the investigated range, confirming the effectiveness of the closure design. Furthermore, maintaining the cell temperature at an optimal level in a fuel cell has enhanced the impact of gas flow rates on performance. These results emphasize that in fuel cell design and operation, optimizing individual parameters alone is insufficient; the interactions and synergistic effects between parameters must also be considered.