Performance analysis of PEM fuel cell in mobile application under real traffic and environmental conditions

Highlights: • PEMFC performance is researched by FCEV experiment at real operating conditions. • Correlation between voltage and operating conditions at start and stop is analyzed. • Polarization curve and power current experiment at different temperatures are made. • Square root unscented Kalman filter combined with fuel cell model is proposed. The performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) can reflect the state of health for PEMFC, which is the basis of PEMFC prognostics, health and energy management. This article explores the evolution of PEMFC performance under real traffic and environmental conditions based on data from a fuel cell-based vehicle used for mail delivery. The correlation between output voltage and operating conditions during the PEMFC start and stop is analyzed by three correlation analysis methods. Then, the influence of ambient temperature on PEMFC performance (the output voltage, output power, and maximum power point) is studied based on the polarization curve and power current experiments. Finally, the model-driven method based on the semi-empirical voltage model of the PEMFC and square root unscented Kalman filter is proposed to estimate the operating state of the PEMFC. The test results show that the PEMFC has a high output voltage during start and stop, which is related to the PEMFC current and hydrogen pressure respectively. This high output voltage will accelerate the degradation of PEMFC catalysts and membranes. The ambient temperature has a great influence on the performance of PEMFC. The proposed model-driven method has a high estimation accuracy. The performance analysis can be combined with the energy management strategy to improve the economy and durability of PEMFC.