Numerical and Exprimental Modal analysis of 400 W PEM fuel cell

With the increasing utilization of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells in cars, ships and airplanes, the study of vibrational behavior of fuel cells has gained particular importance.In this paper, modal analysis of 400-watt 4-cells fuel cell with an active surface area of 225 〖cm〗^2 has been performed numerically and experimentally. Time domain method has been used to extract the global fuel cell frequencies. This method has found widespread applications for models that do not have finite element simulation before the modal test.The considered fuel cell model has been excited from several directions and the output data of the sensors were recorded at several points. Then, by interpreting the results in the time domain and using the phase response angle, two natural frequencies of the model were extracted. The results of the test showed that the first transverse and longitudinal frequency of model is 500 Hz and about 2500 Hz, respectively.Then, simulation of finite elemental fuel cell components was studied in detail.Comparison of the frequencies obtained from the test and numerical analysis showed that maximum difference is about 8%. Therefore, numerical analysis of the model with sufficient detail can adequately cover the vibrational properties of the real model. Also, the results showed that by changing the geometrical and mechanical properties of the membrane by 45%, the natural frequency of fuel cell changes through 4%. Furthermore, Removing the membrane plates, in addition to reducing the number of model elements, reduces the contact constraints.