Improving proton exchange membrane efficiency of fuel cell by numerical simulation and optimization

At present, fossil fuels are diminished rapidly as the energy consumption increases. Therefore many alternative energy sources replace the fossil fuels. Fuel cell is an alternative energy source, producing cleaner energy. The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of many fuel cell types. It is easy to use, low toxic emission, low cost, low noise, and environmental friendly. The cell clean performance and energy conversion efficiency are generally recognized. In his work, one-dimensional and three-dimensional numerical simulations are constructed and used to design and predict the PEMFC performances to be compared with experimental data. The simulation results of one-dimensional model are in good agreement with the experimental data. The sensitivity analysis of parameters is investigated to improve the fuel cell performance by optimizing related parameters and design variables. The result showed that the membrane ionic conductivity and cell voltage are increased by increasing the cell temperature. By increasing the operating pressure, the water content of membrane and the cell voltage performance also increased. The optimal condition of PEMFC was 393K and 3 atm when operated as higher temperature and pressure. An important conclusion of this work is PEMFC simulation is useful for predicting the optimal design and operation of PEMFC.