Towards Reliable Prediction of Performance for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells via Machine Learning-Integrated Hybrid Numerical Simulations

Abstract

For mitigating global warming, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells have become promising, clean, and sustainable alternatives to existing energy sources. To increase the energy density and efficiency of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), a comprehensive numerical modeling approach that can adequately predict the multiphysics and performance relative to the actual test such as an acceptable depiction of the electrochemistry, mass/species transfer, thermal management, and water generation/transportation is required. However, existing models suffer from reliability issues due to their dependency on several assumptions made for the sake of modeling simplification, as well as poor choices and approximations in material characterization and electrochemical parameters. In this regard, data-driven machine learning models could provide the missing and more appropriate parameters in conventional computational fluid dynamics models. The purpose of the present overview is to explore the state of the art in computational fluid dynamics of individual components of the modeling of PEMFC, their issues and limitations, and how they can be significantly improved by hybrid modeling techniques integrating with machine learning approaches. Furthermore, a detailed future direction of the proposed solution related to PEMFC and its impact on the transportation sector is discussed.