SMuK 2023 – scientific programme

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AKE: Arbeitskreis Energie

AKE 1: Konzepte und Technologien

AKE 1.3: Talk

Monday, March 20, 2023, 11:45–12:00, GER/038

Multiphysical simulation of the temperature distribution in a PEM-Fuel Cell — •Lara Kefer, Fabian Gumpert, Susanne Thiel, Maik Eichelbaum, and Jan Lohbreier — Nuremberg Institute of Technology, 90489 Nuremberg, Germany

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM-FC) are a key technology for converting chemical energy from - ideally green - hydrogen into electrical energy. However, the electrochemical processes in a fuel cell also generate heat, which is crucial for the cell's performance and difficult to detect by experiments.

The heat generated in these exothermic chemical reactions and the external heating for the operating temperature were numerically simulated. The temperature field affects the relative local humidity, which has a strong influence on the local and global performance of the cell. Therefore, the three-dimensional temperature distribution was modelled, and the resulting voltage-current curves were computed. The latter are commonly used to characterize the properties of a fuel cell as a source of electric power.

The simulations show a temperature increase of the inner layers of the fuel cell due to the electrochemical reactions. The temperature of the cooler working gases (H2, O2) approaches the externally defined operating temperature of the fuel cell. This effect can also be seen in experimental data. The simulated U-I characteristics have the same overall shape as the experimentally determined characteristics and both reveal a decrease in the performance of the cell at higher temperatures.