Thermodynamic modelling of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

M. Ay, A. Midilli*, I. Dincer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper presents the thermodynamic modelling of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell at various operating conditions through energy and exergy analyses. In addition, the correlations and equations available in literature were used to determine thermodynamic irreversibilities in the PEM fuel cell at different operating conditions such as cell temperature, pressures of anode and cathode, current density, and membrane thickness as a design parameter. In accordance with the practical conditions, it is considered that the anode and cathode pressures range from 3 to 5 atm; cell temperature from 50 to 80°C. Also, the membrane thickness is chosen as 0.016, 0.018 and 0.02cm, respectively. Depending on these data, thermodynamic irreversibilities throughout PEM fuel cell operation are estimated and discussed in detail. Consequently, it is found that thermodynamic irreversibilities in fuel cell increased with a rise of membrane thickness and with a decrease of the cell temperature and pressure.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16-44
Number of pages29
JournalInternational Journal of Exergy
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • cell pressure
  • cell temperature
  • current density
  • efficiency
  • energy
  • exergy
  • fuel cell
  • PEMFC
  • thermodynamic irreversibility

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