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PEM Fuel Cell Water Management

Interactive 3D simulation of water balance inside a proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) fuel cell: electro-osmotic drag versus back-diffusion sets the hydration profile across the Nafion membrane, driving proton (Grotthuss) transport speed and ohmic resistance.

Energy & Thermodynamics3DAdvanced60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

A proton-exchange membrane only conducts if it stays wet: protons hop from one water-bound sulfonic-acid site to the next in a Grotthuss chain, and that hopping stalls the moment the membrane dries out. This simulation solves a real diffusion–drift equation for water content across the membrane's thickness, pitting electro-osmotic drag — which physically drags water from anode to cathode with every proton that crosses — against back-diffusion driven by the resulting concentration gradient. Push current density up, switch the anode feed from humidified to dry, and watch the hydration profile, membrane resistance, ohmic voltage loss, and the visible speed of hopping protons all respond exactly as they would inside a real fuel cell stack.

⚙ Under the hood

A 1-D diffusion-drift simulation of water content across a PEM fuel cell's Nafion membrane, where electro-osmotic drag competes with back-diffusion to set the hydration profile that governs Grotthuss proton hopping, ohmic resistance, and membrane dry-out.

fuel cellPEMNafionproton conductivityelectro-osmotic dragmembrane hydration

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install