Boundary model-based reference control of blower cooled high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Fuel cells have, by design, a limited effective life time, which depends on how they are operated. The general consent is that operation of the fuel cell at the extreme of the operational range, or operation of the fuel cell without sufficient reactants (a.k.a. starvation), will lower the effective life time of a fuel cell significantly. On air cooled HTPEMFCs, the blower, which supplies the fuel cell with oxygen for the chemical process, also functions as the cooling system. This makes the blower bi-functional and as a result a higher supply of oxygen is often available, hence changes in the fuel cell output can be optimised by the knowledge of how much oxygen is supplied to the fuel cell at any given time, without reducing the effective life time of a fuel cell by starvation.