Performance evaluation on thermodynamics-economy-environment of PEMFC vehicle power system under dynamic condition

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has the merits of fast starting speed, zero pollution, high efficiency and high reliability, which is gradually applied to new energy vehicles. In this paper, a vehicle PEMFC power system model is established, which is mainly consisted of PEMFC stack, air compressor, hydrogen circulation pump, cooling water pump and humidifier. The influence of auxiliary equipment energy consumption on fuel cell power system efficiency and total system cost under dynamic conditions is studied. Moreover, the mapping relationship between operating parameters (operating temperature, inlet humidity of anode and cathode) and thermodynamic system performance (electrical power, electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency) is analyzed. The auxiliary equipment energy consumption and system thermal performance output of the vehicle PEMFC system model at the 180-300A step current is obtained. Furthermore, total system cost and pollutant emissions quality under transient response and dynamic operation are estimated. The results show that in a 30 kW vehicle PEMFC system model, the net output power of the system can reach 22.5 kW. The maximum electrical efficiency and thermal efficiency of the system reach 41 % and 52.1 %, respectively. After 2400 h operation, the total system cost reaches 62616$. Wind energy hydrogen production shows the lowest pollutant emission.

Automated summary

In this paper, a vehicle PEMFC power system model is established to study the influence of auxiliary equipment energy consumption on fuel cell power system efficiency and total system cost. The mapping relationship between operating parameters and thermodynamic system performance is analyzed, and the results of system output and cost estimation are obtained.