Measurement of polarization curve and development of a semi empirical model for a single polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)

In this study, a single polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in H2 O/O2 form was constructed with an efficient area of 25 cm2 and its voltage-current density performance was examined under various operating conditions in an existing test station. A semi-empirical thermodynamic based model was developed to describe the cell voltage as a function of current density. The model equation parameters were obtained through a nonlinear fit to the experimental data. There was a good agreement between the experimental data and the model predicted cell performance. The results obtained from the cell operation indicated that the temperature has a great effect on the cell performance and the best power output obtained at 60 oC. There was a drop in the cell voltage beyond this temperature which can be attributed to the reduction of water content inside the cell at high temperature. Increasing air (oxygen) stoichiometry and total cell pressure had a marginal effect on the cell performance. The results also reveal that pressure difference between anode and cathode improves the cell performance.

کلیدواژه ها:

semi-empirical ، model ، polarization ، experimental data