Properties Analysis of Hydrogen Consumption Rate for a PEM Fuel Cell Engine

In this paper, a hydrogen consumption rate model of a PEM fuel cell engine is developed based on experimental data. The assumption of the model is that fuel cell stack works in steady-state condition. The relationships between the hydrogen consumption rate and stack current, stack power and Fuel Cell Engine (FCE) power are analyzed. Based on the hydrogen consumption rate model, a hydrogen specific consumption model is developed. Moreover, the models presented in this paper are verified by test data. The results indicate that these models are accurate to reflect the static performance of fuel cell stack and fuel cell engine. The advantages of these models are that theirs structures are very simple, and theirs parameters are easy to be obtained. They are easy to be applied to the study of fuel cell vehicle simulation.