Transient Model for MEA Hydration During Fuel Cell Operation

Several fuel cell products have transient requirements in which the operating conditions strongly vary in time. These transients can significantly affect fuel cell performance, freeze start, durability and reliability. It has been previously shown at Ballard Power Systems that maintaining an optimum MEA water content during transients, the fuel cell operating capability is significantly increased. To design better operating strategies for transient fuel cell operation, a model is developed to predict the MEA water content as a function of time. The model results are compared to the measurements of MEA water content at different times during several types of transient fuel cell operation.