System-level modeling of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

A typical proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system consists of stack, reactant gas supply subsystems, humidification subsystem, and thermal management subsystem. The stable and efficient operation of a PEMFC system is jointly guaranteed by coordination among all subsystems. Therefore, water and heat management at the system level involves individual subsystems and also coupled transport mechanisms among different subsystems. This chapter presents hydrogen production, purification, and storage technologies. The components of PEMFC systems as well as numerical methodologies for establishing corresponding models are presented in detail, including membrane humidifier model, electrochemical hydrogen pump model, air compressor model, and radiator model. In addition, thermodynamic analysis, general control strategy, and fault diagnosis analysis are briefly presented.