Simulation and Experiment of a Cogeneration System Based on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

This project designs and simulates a cogeneration system of proton exchange membrane fuel cell using Matlab/Simulink software and Thermolib heat module components. The system not only satisfies the need for electric power, but also provides heat recovery for future uses, thus increasing energy transfer efficiency. PEM fuel cell-based cogeneration system is introduced, including the hydrogen supply subsystem, air supply subsystem, load control subsystem, real-time monitoring block, and heat recovery subsystem. The complete fuel cell-based cogeneration system is constructed by assembling the fuel cell stack, fuel, coolant flow rate control system, and all the subsystems. In addition to the fuel cell experiment, influencing factors on the fuel cell-based system, such as the fuel inhale rate, coolant flow rate, system temperature, fuel humidification, thermal efficiency, electrical efficiency, and combined heat and power (CHP) system efficiency, are analyzed and charted regarding different loads. In this system, with the power at 3?kW, the CHP efficiency reaches 64%. The CHP efficiency is 76.6% with the load power at 4?kW. When the power is at 5?kW, the thermal efficiency reaches 36.9% and the CHP efficiency reaches 82.9%.