Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Humidity Effect on Performance of PEM Fuel Cells

In this study, a single proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrical performance is tested and modelled. The aim is to investigate the effect of reactants and membrane humidity on cell electrical performance. We discuss cell performance in terms of various variables affecting water transport in the membrane, such as electro-osmotic drag, water diffusion and ionic conductivity. The experimental results show that membrane hydration mainly affects ohmic losses and especially when humidity at cathode side is reduced. The developed model can estimate the contribution of different overpotentials and the impact of cell hydration on ohmic resistance.