- Autor
- Karpenko-Jereb, Larisa
- Sternig, Christof
- Fink, Clemens
- Tatschl, Reinhard
- TitelMembrane Degradation Model for 3D CFD Analysis of Fuel Cell Performance as a Function of Time
- Datei
- DOI10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.05.229
- Persistent Identifier
- Erschienen inInternational journal of hydrogen energy
- Band41
- Erscheinungsjahr2016
- Heft31
- Seiten13644-13656
- LicenceCC-BY
- Download Statistik1510
- Peer ReviewJa
- AbstractThe paper describes a development of a degradation model, which enables to predict time-dependent changes in performance of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. The developed model consists of two main parts: 1) a new semi-empirical model taking into account changes in physico-chemical properties of a polymer electrolyte membrane operating in the fuel cell, 2) a validated CFD model computing the 3D performance of the cell. In the semi-empirical model, the degradation rates of the membrane thickness and conductivity depend on the<br/>oxygen crossover rate. The acid group concentration is calculated from the membrane conductivity based on the percolation theory approach. The gas diffusion coefficients are modelled empirically as a function of the membrane thickness. The model of the membrane degradation is coupled with the CFD model and applied to analyse the cell behaviour as a function of time. The simulation shows that the cell current density decreases faster with lowering relative humidity and increasing temperature. The in-plane degradation of the membrane is non-uniform and depends on the local operating condition.