Physically motivated water modeling in control-oriented polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack models

Du, Zhang Peng (author), Kravos, Andraž (author), Steindl, Christoph (author), Katrašnik, Tomaž (author), Jakubek, Stefan (author), Hametner, Christoph (author)

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are prone to membrane dehydration and liquid water flooding, negatively impacting their performance and lifetime. Therefore, PEMFCs require appropriate water management, which makes accurate water modeling indispensable. Unfortunately, available control-oriented models only replicate individual water-related aspects or use oversimplistic approximations. This paper resolves this challenge by proposing, for the first time, a control-oriented PEMFC stack model focusing on physically motivated water modeling, which covers phase change, liquid water removal, membrane water uptake, and water flooding effects on the electrochemical reaction. Parametrizing the resulting model with measurement data yielded the fitted model. The parameterized model delivers valuable insight into the water mechanisms, which were thoroughly analyzed. In summary, the proposed model enables the derivation of advanced control strategies for efficient water management and mitigation of the degradation phenomena of PEMFCs. Additionally, the model provides the required accuracy for control applications while maintaining the necessary computational efficiency.

• Language: English
• Keywords: fuel cells, polymer electrolyte membrane, control-oriented model, physically motivated model, water modeling, liquid water effects, analytical differentiable model
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 20 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 14, iss. 22, art. 7693
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-133750
• UDC: 621.352.6:669.231:004.94
• ISSN on article: 1996-1073
• DOI: 10.3390/en14227693
• COBISS.SI-ID: 85388035
• Publication date in RUL: 14.12.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Energies
• Shortened title: Energies
• Publisher: Molecular Diversity Preservation International
• ISSN: 1996-1073
• COBISS.SI-ID: 518046745

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 17.11.2021

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: gorivne celice, protonska izmenjevalna membrana, staranje platine, mehanistično osnovan model, vodno modeliranje, pospešeni testi staranja