Scalable Multi-physics Simulation to Support PEM Fuel Cell System Development

Hydrogen powered fuel cell systems are a promising technology for future CO
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neutral vehicle propulsion. In the development of modern fuel cell systems for mobile applications, system simulation is used for a wide variety of tasks, ranging from concept layout to component design to virtual component integration and calibration. An efficient use of simulation requires scalable and consistent models, covering both the variety of application areas and the width of the modeling tasks related to cell, stack, system and vehicle. This article presents a holistic approach to PEM fuel cell system modelling as an enabler for the simulation-supported development of future mobility and transport solutions. The adopted multi-physical system simulation platform offers scalable modeling depth, applicable to fuel cell balance-of-plant development as well as virtual system integration and optimization. The detailed component models for stack and auxiliary units, such as humidifier, injector/ejector, air compressor and water separator, are based on the essential thermodynamic and electrochemical fundamentals. This approach ensures high accuracy and true extrapolation capabilities within the entire relevant system operation parameter space. Numerical robustness and fast solvers enable unconditional real-time capabilities as a prerequisite for efficient use in MiL, SiL and HiL environments. The applicability of the multi-physical simulation framework to fuel cell development related engineering challenges is demonstrated based on selected use-cases regarding humidifier sizing and compressor matching as well as cold-start strategy assessment, performance degradation analysis and control system development.