Investigation of PEM Fuel Cell Characteristics in Steady and Dynamic Operation Modes

The article is devoted to the problem of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) integration into power supply systems. A hybrid energy complex (HEC) based on PEMFCs and lithium iron phosphate batteries can be used as a reliable energy source. It is necessary to properly determine the PEMFC characteristics in order to develop a PEMFC-based HEC prototype and its control algorithms. This paper presents a 1 kW PEMFC’s test results in steady and dynamic modes. The dependences of the average hydrogen consumption per 1 min, the volume of hydrogen for the generation of 1 kWh, the PEMFC efficiency on the load current were obtained and an analysis of these dependences for steady operation modes was performed. A range of load changes beyond which the efficiency of the PEMFC significantly decreased and it was recommended to switch to the joint operation of the PEMFCs and batteries (or only batteries) was established. Diagrams of the PEMFC output voltage during the dynamic changes in loads are presented and an analysis of transient response characteristics was carried out. The air supply fans were found to affect the performance of PEMFCs.