Dynamic modeling and analysis of polymer electrolyte fuel cell

This paper presents a comprehensive mathematical model for investigating the dynamic stack performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. A novel attempt in modeling fuel cells, that includes the crucial effects of inverter load is presented. The model is studied for different operational strategies. Results display the transient behavior of the voltage within each single cell, and also a number of single cells combined into a fuel cell stack system. Results indicate the risks involved with linearizing the model to cause serious computational errors. Thus the nonlinearities involved with the fuel cell system are preserved. Characteristics useful in performance analysis are plotted to understand the electrochemistry involved with the fuel cell system.