Simulation of fuel cell membrane durability under vehicle operation

Abstract

In this work, a statistical fuel cell chemo-mechanical membrane degradation model is developed based on the ionomer fibrillar morphology as a framework for use-level membrane durability prediction for fuel cell electric vehicles. The mechanical and chemical degradation modes are separately calibrated with pressure differential-accelerated mechanical stress tests and accelerated membrane durability tests, respectively. Finite element simulations are used to estimate the initial stress distribution across the membrane, while the genetic algorithm with the least squares method is employed to calibrate the model parameters with experimental results, thus reaching a good agreement. Next, the validated model is utilized for a case study of fuel cell electric transit bus operation in the city of Victoria, B.C., Canada. The initial cell voltage profile is obtained using a dynamic fuel cell power system model applied to the transit bus drive cycle recorded during real-world operation. According to the model predictions, reducing the stack nominal power from 396 to 132 kW results in a 148% membrane lifetime enhancement, whereas decreasing the cell temperature from 90 to 70°C results in an 11-fold increase in the membrane lifetime under simulated transit bus operation, thereby exceeding the 25,000-h lifetime target for this application.