NUMERICAL SIMULATION STUDY OF LOW TEMPERATURE COLD START OF PEMFC UNDER DIFFERENT OPERATING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Zhao Jie; Li Wenhao; Du Changqing; Lu Chihua

doi:10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2022-0321

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Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (6) : 460-466. DOI: 10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2022-0321

NUMERICAL SIMULATION STUDY OF LOW TEMPERATURE COLD START OF PEMFC UNDER DIFFERENT OPERATING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Zhao Jie^1,2, Li Wenhao^1,2, Du Changqing^1,2, Lu Chihua^1,2

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Abstract

A low temperatrue 1-D transient multiphysics coupled cold start model of proton exchange membrane fuel cell based on COMSOL is established to investigate the effects of different operating and environment conditions including constant-voltage mode、constant-current mode、initial membrane water content and ambient temperarure on the performance of cold startup from subzero temperatures,considering the freezing process of water vapor and membrane water below 0 ℃. It is found that fuel cell can generate more heat under low voltage compared with high voltage and the temperature rises faster. However the rate of icing increases sharply resulting in faster performance degradation. Fuel cell can reach a higher temperature under constant-current mode compared with constant-voltage mode but requires better mass transfer capacity of reactant gas. If the purging is insufficient before the low temperature cold start, the water content of the membrane is high and the water storage capacity of the membrane decreases which will cause the output performance to degrade faster which is not conducive to the success of cold start. The difference of ambient temperature during startup will directly affect the success of cold startup and there is a limit value for the initial ambient temperature that only relies on passive heating for successful startup.

Key words

fuel cell / proton exchange membrane / numerical simulation / 1D transient model / low temperature cold start

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Zhao Jie, Li Wenhao, Du Changqing, Lu Chihua. NUMERICAL SIMULATION STUDY OF LOW TEMPERATURE COLD START OF PEMFC UNDER DIFFERENT OPERATING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS[J]. Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica. 2022, 43(6): 460-466 https://doi.org/10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2022-0321

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