PEFC Simulator and Real Time Monitoring System

This paper presents a free software tool with two features of great interest to the community that researches, teaches/learns and professionally works in the field of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC): (i) A simulator for training on the actual operation of a PEFC. This simulator consists on a free software tool which even allows simulating real situations like failures and breakdowns. This developed software tool helps to understand how fuel cells operate and what devices are needed to build a fuel cell system starting from the stack up to configure the whole system, and how it is possible to handle hydrogen systems without more risk than any other system based on conventional fuels; (ii) A real time monitoring system which allows have at user's disposal several variables of interest to analyze the operation of a fuel cell system (stack + BoP; Balance of Plant or all the subsystems and devices that, around the stack, make a fuel cell works properly). Additionally, the developed software tool allows processing data, obtain polarization and power curves, make statistics and even some comparisons between data obtained from the simulator and the real time monitoring system.