Performances prediction study for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

In this work, we propose to study the influence of the membrane physical properties on the performance of a single PEM cell through the polarization curve. A thermal approach describing the main heat transfer aspects was also discussed. For this study, we have developed and used a simulation tool called Performances Prediction Fuel Cell tool (2PFC tool) based on simplified charge, mass and even heat transfer equations. This tool aims to visualize the main evolutions in the heart of a single cell, and the results should help users to understand the variation of some operating conditions and component properties on the output cell voltage by offering a variety of sensitivity parameter studies. For this sensitivity analysis, three separated simulations are launched. The first simulation regards the effect of the resistive losses and charge transfer coefficient on the cell voltage. The second simulation concerns the influence of the water content of the membrane and the cell operating temperature on it proton conductivity. The last simulation takes in consideration the effect of water activity variation on the proton membrane conductivity, and the results proved the direct and strong relation of the charge transfer coefficient and of the water content of the membrane on the output cell voltage. In the thermal approach part, we have proposed to study the temperature distribution between two cathodes with the presence of an implemented cooling channel.