Dynamic heat transfer model analysis of the power generation characteristics for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells principally output voltage and heat. A PEM fuel cell stack is comprised of several unit cells packaged in a shell. At the cell level, heat transfer takes place across hydrogen, oxygen, electrode, electrolyte and bi-polar plate layers. Temperature distribution varies across the cell's cross section layers and also varies along the entire stack. It is crucial to know the stack temperature distribution, since it affects the performance of the PEM stack. The contribution of this paper is to develop a dynamic heat transfer model of a PEM fuel cell, suitable for integration with combined heat and power (CHP) system models, and that calculates the stack temperature distribution across the stack and analyze its effect on the power generating characteristics of a PEM fuel cell.