Analysis of reactants flow rates in a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell’s performance through computational modelling

Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are widely recognized for their clean and sustainable energy production, particularly in mobility sector and distributed power generation, which also aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). Effective and efficient utilization of hydrogen remains critical for improving the efficiency of the system and minimizing fuel wastage, and in this context, this present study investigates the role of reactant flow rates on the steady-state performance of the PEM fuel cell using computational modeling model developed in MATLAB Simulink. In the computational model the reactants flow is varied to determine its effect on key performance parameters such as stack efficiency, stack current, and stack voltage with hydrogen flow rates ranging from 2 to 8 L·min −1 . For this purpose, a 6 kW, 45 V PEM stack consisting of 65 cells was simulated under a fixed external load of 15 Ω. Computational results indicate that stack efficiency decreases significantly with increased hydrogen flow rate due to reduced fuel utilization since the fuel supplied is more than the stoichiometric requirement for the given fuel cell stack. Fuel cell stack current and voltages show marginal changes when the hydrogen is supplied more than the stoichiometric requirement. The modeling approach discussed in this study can be extended to investigate the demand of flow rates for other types of fuel-cells. This methodology can be effective is computing the potential requirements of green hydrogen in automotive and other power generation applications and also contribute to the improvement of modeling approaches for estimations of fuel and air flows in fuel cell-based applications.