Modeling water and thermal transients inside proton exchange membrane for vehicle application fuel cells

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a potential candidate as the power source for vehicle application. However, problems related to water and thermal management must be resolved before their large-scale promotion. Numerical models are often used as powerful tools to describe the electrochemical and transport phenomena occurring in PEMFC, which are important to water and thermal management. In this study, two-phase, non-isothermal, transient models are employed to research the local dynamic characteristics inside PEMFC under road driving conditions and different operating conditions. The simulation results indicate that overload running often causes local high temperature, which can lead to membrane dehydration, voltage loss, and power overshoot as load increases. If the temperature is above the glass transition temperature of the membrane, it will even lead to membrane mechanical degradation. According to our research, controlling the operating temperature below 378 K and reducing the coolant temperature in advance are effective ways to prevent the aforementioned attenuation.