{"id":273,"date":"2026-07-22T11:15:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T03:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/?page_id=273"},"modified":"2026-07-23T10:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T02:05:08","slug":"2026-01-71","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/issue-1-2026\/2026-01-71\/","title":{"rendered":"DYNAMIC TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT SIMULATION OF A 400-CELL PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL STACK USING MATLAB-SIMSCAPE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Wan Ahmad Saffuan bin Wan Mohamed Salleh and Sahriah Basr<\/em>i<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full text: PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/doi.org\/10.17576\/myjea.2026.01.71<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising clean energy converters for stationary and mobility applications, but their performance is strongly governed by thermal and water balance under dynamic load operation. This study extends a previously developed thesis model into a journal-level dynamic assessment by introducing four clearly defined inlet-temperature cases (40, 50, 60 and 70 \u00b0C), applying an identical transient load profile to every case, consolidating electrochemical and balance-of-plant outputs, and evaluating the resulting operating window using coupled performance, thermal, water-production and hydrogen-consumption criteria. The model represents a 400-cell PEMFC stack with an active area of 280 cm2 per cell and a constant hydrogen supply pressure of 70 MPa. Model credibility was examined through physical-consistency checks and comparison of the predicted trends with established PEMFC behaviour reported in the literature. Increasing inlet temperature improved high-current polarization response and power stability, with 70 \u00b0C producing the strongest high-current tolerance. However, this benefit was accompanied by greater thermal stress: although all cases approached a quasi-steady stack temperature of approximately 353 K, the peak stack temperature increased from 353 K at 40 \u00b0C to 364 K at 70 \u00b0C. Dynamic current density reached approximately 0.95 A cm-2, heat generation peaked at about 37-40 kW, water production reached about 10 g s-1 and hydrogen consumption reached about 1.1 g s-1 during peak demand. The results identify 60-70 \u00b0C as the most practical operating range, with 60 \u00b0C providing the more conservative balance between performance and thermal margin. Experimental validation remains necessary before the model is used for quantitative design or control-system certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords<\/em>: PEMFC; MATLAB-Simscape; dynamic load; operating temperature; hydrogen consumption; thermal management; water management<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

[1] Barbir F. PEM Fuel Cells: Theory and Practice. Academic Press; 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Miri M, Tolj I, Barbir F. Review of proton exchange membrane fuel cell-powered systems for stationary applications using renewable energy sources. Energies 2024;17:3814.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] Zhang J, Zhang H, Wu J, Zhang J. PEM Fuel Cell Fundamentals. PEM Fuel Cell Testing and Diagnosis. Elsevier; 2013. p. 1-42.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Zhang J, Zhang H, Wu J, Zhang J. The effects of temperature on PEM fuel cell kinetics and performance. PEM Fuel Cell Testing and Diagnosis. Elsevier; 2013. p. 121-141.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] Williamson ZR, Kim D, Chun DK, Squibb CW, Lee T. Experimental evaluation of cell temperature effects on miniature, air-breathing PEM fuel cells. ASME Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology Conference; 2011. p. 875-882.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Hamzah SNM. Simulation and analysis of PEM fuel cell system using MATLAB. Research Progress in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering 2023;4:389-397.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] Ioannis N, Andreas M, Stavros N, Eleftheria P, Milias-Argitis I. PEM fuel cell system evaluation using operational data and updated Matlab\/Simulink simulation tools. IET Conference Publications; 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8] M S, V A, G K. Modelling of PEM fuel cell using MATLAB Simulink. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology 2023;11:2111-2113.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9] Faghri A, Guo Z. Challenges and opportunities of thermal management issues related to fuel cell technology and modelling. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 2005;48:3891-3920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10] Farsi A, Rosen MA. Thermal management of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: comparative assessment of cooling systems. e-Prime 2023;4:100174.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11] Choi J, Sim J, Oh H, Min K. Resistance separation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell by polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Energies 2021;14:1491.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12] Ustinov A, Khayrullina A, Sveshnikova A, Abrosimov K. Effect of inlet air temperature and relative humidity on performance of PEM fuel cell. HEFAT; 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13] Mohammedi A, Sahli Y, Moussa HB. Three-dimensional numerical study of the inlet temperature effects on the performance of planar PEMFCs. Algerian Journal of Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development 2022;4:16-23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14] Atak NN, Dogan B, Yesilyurt MK. Theoretical analyses of the performance parameters of PEM fuel cells at various operating temperatures and pressures. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy; 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15] Pei Y, Chen F, Jiao J, Mo T, Li Y. Inlet gas temperature control technology for PEMFC stack test benches. SAE Technical Papers; 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16] Ying J, Liu T, Wang Y, Guo M, Shen Q, Lin Y, Yu J, Yu Z. Perspectives on membrane development for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Energy & Fuels 2024;38:6613-6643.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Wan Ahmad Saffuan bin Wan Mohamed Salleh and Sahriah Basri Full text: PDF https:\/\/doi.org\/10.17576\/myjea.2026.01.71 Abstract Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising clean …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":88,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-273","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":298,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/273\/revisions\/298"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/88"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/myjea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}