This paper applies multivariable robust control strategies to a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system. From the system point f view, a PEMFC can be modeled as a two-input-two-output system, where the inputs are air and hydrogen flow rates and the outputs are cell oltage and current. By fixing the output resistance, we aimed to control the cell voltage output by regulating the air an...

Understanding the thermal effects is critical in optimizing the performance and durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). A PEMFC produces a similar amount of waste heat to its electric power output and tolerates only a small deviation in temperature from its design point. These stringent thermal requirements present a significant heat transfer challenge. The heat balance also...

This paper presents a nonlinear control strategy utilizing the linearization and input-output decoupling approach for a nonlinear dynamic model of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The multiple-input single-output (MISO) nonlinear model of the PEMFC is derived first. The dynamic model is then transformed into a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) square system by adding additional...

This paper reports on the modelling of a commercial 1.2 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), based on interrelated electrical and thermal models. The electrical model proposed is based on the integration of the thermodynamic and electrochemical phenomena taking place in the FC whilst the thermal model is established from the FC thermal energy balance. The combination of both models ma...

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) efficiently convert the reaction energy of hydrogen and oxygen to electricity, water and heat. The oxygen reduction reaction occurs in composite nanostructured catalyst layers (CL) formed from Pt nanoparticles supported on a network of carbon particle agglomerates. Oxygen reaches the reaction site through diffusion. Understanding the diffusion pro...

E xtensive efforts have been dedicated to the development of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) as promising alternatives to fossil fuels owing to their high energy efficiency and low emissions. 3 The main bottlenecks for PEMFC technology are the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the high cost of platinum required to accelerate the ORR in the highly acidic and oxidizing...

The objective of this study is to use a new style of waved flow channel instead of the plane surface channel in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The velocity, concentration, and electrical performance with the waved flow channel in PEMFC are investigated by numerical simulations. The results show that the waved channel arises when the transport benefits through the porous layer a...

Distributed parameter modeling is required to accurately consider space variations, which are important regarding the performance and durability of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) [1-3]. However, the number of differential and algebraic equations (DAE) obtained from the discretization of a set of partial differential equations (PDE) is very large, and this not only slows down th...

The hybrid system composed of a Photovoltaic (PV) array and a Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is considered. Two operation modes, the unit-power control (UPC) mode and the feeder-flow control (FFC) mode, can be applied to the hybrid system. Renewable energy is currently widely used. One of these resources is solar energy. The photovoltaic (PV) array normally uses a maximum power poin...