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Response of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell to step changes in mass flow rates
Author(s) -
Kupeli Seda,
Celik Erman,
Karagoz Irfan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
fuel cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1615-6854
pISSN - 1615-6846
DOI - 10.1002/fuce.202000170
Subject(s) - proton exchange membrane fuel cell , mechanics , current (fluid) , polarization (electrochemistry) , concentration polarization , materials science , volumetric flow rate , flow (mathematics) , power density , voltage , fuel cells , current density , power (physics) , mass transport , membrane , transient (computer programming) , nuclear engineering , chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , electrical engineering , computer science , chemical engineering , engineering , biochemistry , engineering physics , quantum mechanics , operating system
Transient regime effects are particularly important in fuel cells designed for vehicles. Three‐dimensional modeling of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with a serpentine channel is presented, and the response of the fuel cell to a step‐change in the mass flow rates is analyzed by using the computational fluid dynamics techniques. After a validation study of the mathematical and numerical model, step increases of 20% in mass flow rates are applied to the inlet boundary conditions, and time dependent power and current density responses of the fuel cell are analyzed. Polarization curves are generated for the assessment of the fuel cell performance, and their variations in time are presented. The results show that current and power densities increase with time at low cell voltage values due to concentration losses; however, increases in power and current are negligible at high voltages.