A two-phase stable model for non-isothermal direct ethanol proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Abstract

This article introduces a two-phase model developed for direct ethanol proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The model calculates variables such as ethanol fuel and oxygen concentrations, evaporation–condensation dynamics, overpotential losses, catalytic reactions, membrane behavior, temperature, and pressure, as these variables influence fuel cell performance and longevity. The governing equations are discretized using the central finite difference method, while integration is achieved through the Rosenbrock method. By employing dimensionless equations, variables were normalized to the order of unity, enhancing iterative stability during computations. A review of existing literature revealed no equivalent model to the one proposed in this work.