Numerical Simulation of Integrated PEMFC Stack

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are highly integrated to include fuel processing, fuel cell stack, associated heat exchangers and/or post-combustion units. The integration is in terms of not only species flows, but also energy balances. This paper presents a simulation approach to analyze and improve PEMFCs stack and heat rejection load on the radiator. It is based on an overall fuel cell stack model to evaluate the stack performance for the purpose of optimal design and/or configuration based on the specified power or fuel supply rate. The adopted approach is to develop a simulation method that allows computing the fuel cell system performance based on certain operating temperature and pressure. The sensitivity of major decision parameters is conducted as well to understand the importance with respect to the stack performance and interaction with the radiator. The approach can be further employed to optimize the heat exchanger design and network configuration for the integrated system, and cost analysis. (Less)