A Dynamic Model of a PEM Fuel Cell System

J .M. Lee, B.H. Cho*

Fuel Cell Vehicle Team, Hyundai Motor Company & Kia Motors Corp.
449-912, 104 Mabuk-Dong, Giheung-Gu, Yongin-Si, Gyunggi-Do, Korea
*Department of Electrical Engineering, Seoul National University
San 56-1, Silim-dong, Seoul, 151-742, Korea
E-mail: jmoonyi@gmail.com


Abstract- The steady states and dynamics of a fuel cell system
are influenced by both operating conditions and the frequency
characteristics of electrochemical reactions in a cell. A dynamic
model of a practical fuel cell system, based on an analytical
theory and empirical data, is proposed. The model consists of
three parts, such as an open circuit voltage model including fuel
flow and reaction in channels, an equivalent circuit model caused
by voltage losses of electrochemical reactions in a cell, and an air
compressor model (a fuel supply model among auxiliary systems
in a fuel cell system). It will be useful to design the power system
and control strategy and to analyze the system dynamics in a fuel
cell power system. The model is verified by experiments of 1kW
PEM FC system. The dynamics of its OCV(open circuit voltage)
by fuel flow effect, and the frequency characteristics of reaction
dynamics in a cell are verified by experiments.
I. INTRODUCTION
A FUEL cell system is one of the environmentally friendly
alternative power systems to conventional fossil power
systems. The steady states and dynamic behaviors of a fuel
cell stack have been important concerns in order to use it as a
power source for the power conditioning devices and other
nonlinear type loads. A PEM (proton exchange membrane)
fuel cell has three dynamic characteristics. The first is an
OCV(open circuit voltage) dynamics determined by the partial
pressure of reactants inside a fuel cell related to the dynamics
of fuel flow in channels and auxiliary devices such as an air
compressor, hydrogen regulator, hydrogen recycler, and
humidifier. The second is a frequency characteristics
determined by electrode reaction rates, ionic transport in a
membrane and GDL, and water concentration which affects an
ionic conductivity. The third is thermodynamics.
Electrochemical based models described in [1]~[3] include the
mass flow dynamics in channels, ionic transport phenomena,
water and thermal management. It is helpful to understand
physical and chemical phenomena in a fuel cell, but difficult
to describe the frequency characteristics because the flow rate
of fuels reacted in the reaction is numerically calculated from
the fuel cell current using electrochemical principles.
Impedance based circuit models described in [4]~[7] are
simple and well represented for a frequency response to the
fuel cell current which is easily measured and identified from
empirical data. However, the OCV dynamics is not included
because it assumes that the partial pressure of reactants in a
fuel cell is constant. The system models described in [8]~[9]
describe the OCV dynamics by the effect of fuel flow because
the dynamics of auxiliary devices are included, but do not
present the frequency characteristics, because they are based
on electrochemical models.
This paper develops a model including the first OCV
dynamics by the dynamics of auxiliary devices and second
frequency characteristics. The OCV dynamics is described as
dependent sources by a partial pressure of reactants including
fuel fluid dynamics of an air compressor and fuel flow in
channels. The frequency characteristics is described as an
equivalent circuit model for the effect of the series resistance,
charge transfer and double layer resulting from reaction rate,
ionic transport and water concentration. The configuration of a
practical fuel cell system model in this paper is introduced as
three parts like the air compressor model, the OCV model by
fuel flow in channels, and the model of the series resistance,
charge transfer and double layer. The static characteristics of a
fuel cell system, the influence of the dynamics of fuel supply
on the dynamics of the fuel cell system, and the frequency
characteristics are shown by experiments.

Dust
Filter
Compressor
Dryer
MFM
Humidifier
HS : Humid Sensor
H2
Tank
PR
PS : Pressure Sensor
PS
Fuel Cell
Stack
H2
Recycler
Purge
Valve
BPR : Back pressure Regulator
VENT
PR : Pressure Regulator
PS
PS
MFM : Mass Flow Meter


Fig. 1. A practical fuel cell systemconfiguration

II. FUEL CELL SYSTEM CONFIGURATION AND MODELING
A practical fuel cell system shown in Fig. 1 consists of air
compressor, humidifier, hydrogen tank, valves, H
2
recycler,
and the stack. In this paper, it is assumed that the temperature
in a stack is constant, because the time constant of thermal
978-1-422-2812-0/09/$25.00 2009 IEEE 720
dynamics is very slow and the temperature can be well
controlled by its cooling system. It is assumed that the input
humidity in cathode channel is constant because the change in
the air humidity of the humidifier is slow. It is assumed that
the H
2
pressure regulator and recycler are ideal because the
method of supplying H
2
is to keep an input pressure of anode
channel constant by a pressure regulator, and H
2
recycler plays
the role of making the dynamics of H
2
flow and reaction better.
A. Air Compressor Model
The dynamics of an air compressor consists of the
compressor air flow and the electromechanical behavior of the
motor. The air compressor model has been modeled in
[8],[10][11]. However, dynamic equations are nonlinear and
its parameters are difficult to identify in [8], [11]. In this paper,
the model linearization and the systems order are determined
by the DC motor model and static compressor model [10]. By
method of identification through a step response test, its
parameters are easily obtained. The system transfer function
model of the output flow rate and pressure versus the
command signal is shown in Fig.2. The consumed power of
the compressor can be calculated by the output pressure and
air flow rate in the compressor model.

+
s
K
s C
i
= ) (

-
cm
v
in
ca cp
W W =
in
cp ca
p p =
2
, ,
2
2
,
1
2
) (
n w n w w
n w
s s
s G


+ +
=
2
, ,
2
2
,
2
2
) (
n p n p p
n p
s s
s G


+ +
=
ref air
W
_


Fig. 2. Air compressor model

where
in
cp ca
W W is the air flowrate of the compressor =

in
cp ca
p p is the output pressure of the compressor =

n
and is the damping ratio and the natural frequency

i
K is the integral gain

cm
v is the command signal

The control of the compressor is implemented by the feed
forward controller of the fuel cell current and feedback with
an integral controller.

B. OCV Model by Fuel Flow in Channels
The voltage model of a fuel cell has been presented by
Nernst equation and voltage drops which are activation
overpotential, ohmic overpotential, and concentration
overpotential. The Nernst equation and activation
overpotential are affected by the partial pressure of the
reactants and water saturation pressure [8]. In this paper, the
OCV by the partial pressure of H
2
and O
2
is described as
follows:


2 2
, , an H ca O oc
OCV V V V = + +
(1)

2 2
, ,
( ) ( 298.15)
an H an H an FC
V log p k T =
(2)

2 2
, ,
( ) ( 298.15)
ca O ca O ca FC
V log p k T =
(3)
where
, ch re
V is the OCV of reactant

ch
k is the OCV constant of channel

FC
T is the temperature of fuel cell

The reactant redistribution and proton transport in a cell are
described by complex partial differential equations or lumped
model having many parameters [1~3]. In this paper, reactant
flow dynamics are linearized, assumed that the output pressure
in a cathode is constant and the pressure change is small, and
the input pressure of H
2
in an anode are constant. The
equations are described as follow:

) (
, , , ,
, out
re ch
react
re ch
in
re ch re ch
re ch
W W W A
dt
dp
=
(4)

, , , ,
( )
out out
ch re ch re ch re ch re
W k p p =
(5)
{ }
,
, , ,
, ,
, ,
,
, ,
( )
( )
ch re in react
ch re ch re ch re
ch re ch re
ch re ch re out
ch re
ch re ch re
A
p W W
s A k
A k
p
s A k
=
+

+
+
(6)
where
,
,
ch re
p is the pressure of reactant in channel

,
,
x
ch re
W is the air flow rate

, ch re
k is the flow contant

ch
FC re
re ch
V
T R
A

=
,

re
R is the gas constant of reactant

ch
V is the volume of channel

re is O
2
or H
2
,
ch is ca or an (cathode or anode)
The OCV model by fuel flow in channels are shown in Fig.
3. The reaction rate of H
2
, and O
2
is determined by the fuel
cell current.

+
-
+
-
react
O ca
W
2 ,
-
+
FC
i
2 ,H an
p

in
H an
p
2 ,
reacted
H an
p
2 ,
2 ,H an
V
2
,O ca
V
react
H an
W
2 ,
-
+
2 ,O ca
p

in
O ca
W
2 ,
+
-
OC
V
) 15 . 298 ( ) (
2 2 , ,
=
FC ca O ca O ca
T k p g lo V
) 15 . 298 ( ) (
2 2 , ,
=
FC an H an H an
T k p g lo V
) (
2
2
,
,
ca O ca
O ca
k A s
A
+
F
M n
O
4
2

F
M n
H
2
2

OCV
) (
2
2
,
,
an H an
H an
k A s
A
+


Fig. 3. The OCV model by fuel flow and reaction in channels

where
x
M is the gas molar mass

F is the Faraday nummber

n is the nummber of fuel cell stack

978-1-422-2812-0/09/$25.00 2009 IEEE 721
C. Model of Series Resistance, Charge Transfer and Double Layer
A fuel cell has the similar electrochemical impedance
characteristics as a battery. The model of series resistance,
charge transfer and double layer from reaction rate, ionic
transport and water concentration is described as the
equivalent circuit model shown in Fig. 4.

OCV
R
ct
Rs
+
-
C
dl


Fig. 4. Model of series resistance, charge transfer and double layer

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
time (sec)
V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
V
)

a
n
d

C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)
Step Current Test when W
air
= constant
Voltage
Current


Fig. 5. Step current test when Wair =const.

where
s
R is the series resistance

dl
C is the double layer capacitance

ct
R is the charge transfer resistance

Its parameters are obtained from the step current test shown
in Fig. 5, on condition that the fuel supply flow rate is
constant and the step current changes from 0A to 20A at 0
second, but their identification should be compensated by
subtracting the OCV dynamics from the results including the
OCV dynamics caused by fuel flow in channels.
The complete model of a practical fuel cell system proposed
in this paper is shown in Fig. 6. It presents the OCV from fuel
flow dynamic effect and the frequency characteristics.

+
-
+
-
react
O ca
W
2 ,
-
+
FC
i
2 ,H an
p

in
H an
p
2 ,
reacted
H an
p
2 ,
2 ,H an
V
2 ,O ca
V
react
H an
W
2 ,
-
+
2 ,O ca
p

in
O ca
W
2 ,
+
-
OC
V
) (
2
2
,
,
ca O ca
O ca
k A s
A
+
F
M n
O
4
2

F
M n
H
2
2

2 2
2
2
n n
n
s s

+ +
Compressor
model
cm
v
R
c
t
C
d
l
R
s
+
s
K
s C
i
= ) (
-
FC FC
I n
8
10 57 . 3

ref cp
W
,
) (
2
2
,
,
an H an
H an
k A s
A
+


Fig. 6. Proposed fuel cell dynamic model

III. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND MODEL VALIDATION
In order to understand the static and dynamic behavior of a
fuel cell system and to validate the proposed model, three
experiments such as the static V-I characteristic curve test,
step current tests, and frequency response tests are conducted.
Conditions of supplying the air flow and H
2
are such that the
air compressor is controlled as the stoichiometry 2 of the
reactant air flow required by the average current of a fuel cell
and the input pressure of the H
2
remains 1.3 bar. 1kW PEM
fuel cell stack is used for experiments.
A. Static V-I Characteristics Curve Test
The V-I characteristic curve experiment is conducted and
the proposed model is simulated for comparison as shown in
Fig. 7. There is a small difference between the experiment
data and the simulated data at a low current, because of the
nonlinear behaviors of a fuel cell. The proposed model
describes the static behavior of the fuel cell system well.
B. Step Current Test
The dynamic response of the air compressor is slower than
the change of electric loads (current). Fig. 8 (a), and (b) show
the influence of the response time of the air compressor on the
change in the fuel cell voltage. Slow flow means that the
compressor control speed is slower than that in normal state.
The slow dynamics of the air compressor and fuel flow causes
the voltage drops. This voltage drops must be compensated by
a secondary energy source such as battery or supercapacitor,
and will determine its capacity. Fig. 8 (c) shows that the
experimental results are almost equal to those of the proposed
model.
C. Frequency response Test
A fuel cell system is connected to the power electronics
circuits or electric loads which contain the ripple current with
various frequencies. The ripple current tolerable to a fuel cell
978-1-422-2812-0/09/$25.00 2009 IEEE 722
is important to design the power system and control strategy.
In order to understand the frequency characteristics of its
output current, the experiments are conducted. In Fig. 9 (a),
(b), and (c), the triangle current with 1, 10, and 100 Hz is
loaded into a fuel cell system.


0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
Current (A)
F
u
e
l

c
e
l
l

v
o
l
t
a
g
e
(
V
)
Fuel Cell V-I curve.

Fig. 7. V-I characteristics curve of the fuel cell


0 1 2 3 4 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
time (sec)
F
u
e
l

C
e
l
l

V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
V
)

a
n
d

C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)
Step Currnet Test

(a) voltage and current of the fuel cell

0 1 2 3 4 5
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
time (sec)
A
i
r

f
l
o
w

r
a
t
e

(
L
P
M
)
Step Currnet Test
Slow flow
Normal flow

(b) Air flow rate
In the frequency response test, the same ripple currents with
different frequencies cause the different ripple voltages of the
fuel cell.




0 1 2 3 4 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
time (sec)
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)

a
n
d

V
o
l
t

(
V
)
Step Current Test - normal flow
Current
Experimental Voltage
Model Voltage

(c) the experiment and simulation result
Fig. 8. Step current Test

10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
time (sec)
F
u
e
l

c
e
l
l

v
o
l
t
a
g
e
(
V
)

a
n
d

c
u
r
r
e
n
t
(
A
)
Frequency response test - 1Hz
Current
Experimental Voltage
Model Voltage

(a) 1Hz ripple current

10 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
time (sec)
F
u
e
l

c
e
l
l

v
o
l
t
a
g
e
(
V
)

a
n
d

c
u
r
r
e
n
t
(
A
)
Frequency response test - 10Hz

(b) 10Hz ripple current
978-1-422-2812-0/09/$25.00 2009 IEEE 723
10.6 10.62 10.64 10.66 10.68 10.7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
time (sec)
F
u
e
l

c
e
l
l

v
o
l
t
a
g
e
(
V
)

a
n
d

c
u
r
r
e
n
t
(
A
)
Frequency response test - 100Hz
Current
Experimental Voltage
Model Voltage

(c) 100Hz ripple current
Fig. 9. Frequency response characteristics test






IV. CONCLUSION
This paper proposes the model of a practical fuel cell
system including the air compressor model, the OCV model
including fuel flow in channels, and the equivalent circuit
model. A practical 1kW PEM FC stack is implemented and
used for experiments. Experiments show that the OCV
dynamics by the effect of fuel dynamics and the frequency
characteristics influence the dynamics of the fuel cell. This
model will be useful to design the power system and control
strategy in a fuel cell power system.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported by the ERC program of
MOST/KOSEF (Grant NO. R11-2002-102-00000-0) and by
New & Renewable Energy R&D program (2005-N-FC12-P-
01) under the Korea Ministry of Commerce, Industry and
Energy (MOCIE).

REFERENCES
[1] J.C. Amphlett, R.F. Mann, B.A. Reppley, P.R. Roberge, and A.
Rodrigues, A model predicting transient responses of proton exchange
membrane fuel cells, Journal of Power Sources 61 pp. 183-188, 1996.
[2] Y. Shan, and S.Y. Choe, A high dynamic PEM fuel cell model with
temperature effects, J ournal of power sources 145 pp-30-39, 2005.
[3] X. Xue, J . Tang, A. Smirnova, R. England, N. Sammes, Systemlevel
lumped-parameter dynamic modeling of PEM fuel cell, J ournal of
Power Sources 133 pp.188-204, 2004.
[4] P.J .H. Wingelaar, J .L. Duarte, and M.A.M Hedrix, Dynamic
Characteristic of PEM Fuel Cells, IEEE PESC, pp1635-1641, 2005.
[5] J. Garnier, M.C. Pera, D. Hissel, D. Candusso, N. Glandut, Dynamic
PEM fuel cell modeling for automotive applications, IEEE Vehicular
Technology Conference, Vol. 5 pp 3284-3288, Oct. 2003.
[6] M. J. Correa, F.A. Farret, V.A. Popov, and M.G. Simoes, Sensitivity
Analysis of the Modeling Parameters Used in Simulation of Proton
Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, IEEE trans. on Energy Conversion,
Vol.20, No.1, pp.211-218. March 2005.
[7] X. Kong, A.M. Khambadkone, and S.K. Thum, A Hybrid Model with
Combined Steady-state and Dynamic Characteristics of PEMFC Fuel
Cell Stack, IAS Annual Meeting, Vol.3, pp.1618-1625. Oct. 2005.
[8] J.T. Pukrushpan, H. Peng, A.G. Stefanopoulou, Simulation and
analysis of transient fuel cell systemperformance based on a dynamic
reactant flow model, Proceedings of ASME IMECE, 2002.
[9] M.Y. Sharkh, A. Rahman, M.S. Alam, A.A. Sakla, P.C. Byrne, and T.
Thomas, Analysis of Active and Reactive Power Control of a Stand-
Alone PEM Fuel Cell Power Plant, IEEE trans.on Power System,
Vol.19 No.4, pp.2022-2028, 2004.
[10] John P. Bird, Model of the Air System Transients in a Fuel Cell Vehicle,
B.S Thesis, Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University 2002.
[11] Gravdahl. J.T and Egeland. O A Moore-Greitzer axial compressor
model with spool dynamics Decision and Control, 1997., Proceedings
of the 36th IEEE Conference on vol 5, pp 4714-4719, 10-12 Dec. 1997.


978-1-422-2812-0/09/$25.00 2009 IEEE 724