Simulation of Mass Transfer Process for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Stack

摘要

We propose an empirical equation to simulate the potential-current and power-current curves for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack. The equation has been demonstrated to fit experimental curves excellently for the entire reaction process, including activation, ohmic, and mass-transfer controls. Using this equation to simulate the mass-transfer process will not cause different results for the Eo, b, and R values than using the analytical equation (E1 = Eo - b log i - Rf). The effect of each mass-transfer parameter on the shape of the potential-current and power-current curves are compared, and overall they show a regular variation. We also analyzed the effect of relative humidity on the performance of a strip design PEMFC stack.