Design of a mobile PEM power backup system through detailed dynamic and control analysis

In this paper we present a one dimensional dynamic model of a PEM fuel cell applied to the design of a mobile backup system for uninterruptable power units. The fuel cell is modeled using a finite difference approach where mass and energy balance equations are applied locally together with the pertinent equations of the electrochemical model yielding the profiles of any relevant thermodynamic and electrochemical cell variable. An accurate analysis of the membrane humidification is included based on state of the art models available in literature.