A review of water management in proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems

Abstract

Water management has been an unavoidable problem for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), and effective water management measures can improve the performance and extend the lifespan of the PEMFC. The water management state of the PEMFC system is influenced by various operating conditions, and these operating conditions are adjusted using external devices. To understand how to achieve an optimal water management state in the PEMFC system, this review summarizes the main influencing factors in water management, including temperature, humidity and pressure. Then, a generalized overview of the key devices for controlling the above factors in water management is provided, including gas supply devices and humidifiers. Afterwards, the control methods of the above devices are summarized, including conventional control methods and neural network control methods. At last, the whole paper is summarized and appropriate recommendations are given for the study of water management, the direction of optimization of the device and the improvement of control methods in the future.