Comprehensive performance assessment and multi-objective optimization of high-power proton exchange membrane fuel cell system under variable load

Abstract

Due to the advantages of zero emission, high efficiency and low noise, Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) has grown to be the spotlight in the field of new energy in recent years. In this work, a high-power PEMFC system model is designed, which consists of the fuel feed Subsystem, the air feed subsystem, the thermal management subsystem and the stack. Among them, the material diffusion in the catalyst layer of the stack is intensively studied and derived. For the comprehensive system performance assessment, the thermodynamic, economic and environmental evaluation models have been developed. The mapping relationships between the operating parameters, the structural parameters and the system comprehensive performance under variable load conditions are obtained. The results of the study prove that increasing the operating temperature and decreasing the membrane thickness under high load current conditions are conducive to increase the system net power output, but at the same time increase the levelized cost of energy and the carbon mass specific emission. In addition, a multi-objective optimization strategy based on the NSGA-Ⅱ is designed to obtain the optimal performance of the system under different operating conditions. The optimized net power, the levelized cost of energy and the carbon mass ratio emission of the system for the final optimal operating point are increased by 40.5 %, 10.3 % and 33.3 % respectively. The aforementioned evidence substantiates the effectiveness of the proposed multi-objective optimization strategy in enhancing the overall performance of the PEMFC system.