One-Dimensional Modeling of Performance of a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (pem) Membrane

In this paper, a polymer membrane fuel cell using a one-dimensional, steady and homogeneous model has been studied. The governing equations of bipolar plate and gas diffusion layer are derived initially and ohmic losses and the rate of oxygen transfer are modeled. The oxygen transfer rate in the cathode layer is modeled using a homogeneous method. Differential governing equations of cathode catalyst layer are solved using a MATLAB code. The ohmic loss in the membrane polymer and also the concentration loss are modeled using some engineering assumptions. Finally, using all losses, the total voltage of fuel cell is calculated and voltage curves are plotted. comparison of obtained results with the experimental results show the validity of the model. Also, parametric studies to consider the effect of parameters such as, porosity coefficient of gas diffusion layer, saturation of gas layer, gas diffusion layer thickness, the amount of platinum mass on the surface of cathode layer, the degree of membrane penetration in catalyst layer, and the degree of saturation at the cathode catalyst layer on the fuel cell performance and its efficiency have been conducted. The results show that the degree of saturation in the cathode catalyst layer has the most effect on the activation losses of fuel cell and its performance.