Thermodynamically consistent electro-chemo-mechanical model for polymer membranes
Nafion membranes, are polymeric thin films widely employed in micro-batteries and fuel cells. These devices are expected to play a key role in the next generation energy systems for use in vehicles as a replacement to combustion engines. In fact, a minimum environmental impact is guaranteed by reduced carbon dioxide emissions. It is usually complicated to investigate the behavior of thin membranes through experiments. Therefore, numerical simulations are carried out in order to enable a better understanding of the phenomena and of the multi-field couplings occurring in polymeric membranes.