Five State Analytical Model of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Available to Purchase

In this paper a full nonlinear dynamic control oriented mathematical model of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell system is developed. The model is structured as a nonlinear five state space model. The derivation of each state equation is based on physics fundamental principles using thermodynamic theory of ideal gas mixtures, conservation of mass law, flow dynamics in serpentine flow channels and diffusion. The output of proposed model, stack voltage, is developed from Nernst equation that includes three main types of losses occurring in the fuel cell. The unknown parameters of the model are estimated and fitted using sets of steady state experimental data. Stack polarization curve of the proposed model is validated by using sets of data for three different values of inlet pressures. Experimental setup used to attain data is the Greenlight Innovation G60 fuel cell test station system and TP50 Fuel Cell stack.