Contribution to the modelling of a low temperature PEM fuel cell in aeronautical conditions by design of experiments

Nowadays, fuel cells are regarded as a promising solution in the context of development of a “More Electrical Aircraft”. Indeed, the integration of fuel cell systems in aircraft allows generating electrical energy with high efficiency and low environmental impact. However, there are still many questions about the functioning and the performance of these systems in typical aeronautical conditions. The present work is focused on aeronautical conditions linked to cabin applications. Therefore, a particular attention is paid to low pressure operation, with experimental investigations carried out at subatmospheric pressures. Given the complexity of the possible interactions, an experimental database was created using the Design of Experiments method. The experimental results are first presented and discussed, then exploited via a modelling approach. The objective is to define a model for the polarization curve able to describe its evolution when the operating conditions change. The methodology used to construct the model is introduced step-by-step as well as the modelling results for the various involved phenomena. At the end, the predictive behaviour of the model is investigated with polarization curves carried out at operating conditions taken outside the definition range of the DoE.