Observation-oriented Water Distribution Model for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

As a critical parameter in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), water distribution is closely interrelated with the performance and life of PEMFC. The existing models cannot characterize water distribution states accurately without a high computational load. Therefore, this paper proposed a one-dimensional water distribution model with the consideration of two-phase water flow model in gas diffusion layer (GDL). With the model, the lumped water content or concentration are determined by ordinary differential equation (ODE) of several primary nodes, which is low computing resource usage and convenient for state observers designing. In addition, the water distribution throughout the region is given by the analytic equations which differ with different water distribution regime. In the end, the accuracy and complexity of proposed model is verified by the co-simulation between COMSOL and Simulink.