Erlangen 2022 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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AKE: Arbeitskreis Energie

AKE 3: Technologies for Defossilization

AKE 3.4: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 16. März 2022, 15:00–15:15, AKE-H16

Multiphysical Simulation of a PEMFC — •Fabian Gumpert¹, Lara Kefer¹, Susanne Thiel², Maik Eichelbaum², and Jan Lohbreier¹ — ¹Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, Applied Mathematics, Physics and Humanities, Germany — ²Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, Applied Chemistry, Germany

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) excel through their high power density and dynamic behavior making them promising candidates for future mobile sources of energy. In a fuel cell hydrogen and oxygen combine in a redox reaction to water thereby releasing electrical energy. But many parameters which determine the performance and lifetime of the PEMFC are experimentally difficult to access. Finite-element-method (FEM) simulations are utilized to solve coupled differential equations to numerically study these parameters.

First of all, voltage-current curves which are commonly used to describe the properties of power sources are modelled. The numerical results show good qualitative agreement with experimental data. This is also true for the computed temperature distribution in the PEMFC, which was compared with data from a laboratory-sized setup. For the performance of the fuel cell it is critical that the relative humidity of the membrane stays in a specific range. Only when the water content is sufficient the polymer membrane is permeable for hydrogen ions. As indicated above, this parameter is hardly measurable; it can only be investigated with the use of multiphysical simulations. We combine exterior experimental data and numerical models of the interior to draw conclusions about the water content within the fuel cell.