Numerical investigation of the influence of operating conditions on the performance of PEMFC powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): a statistical approach

In this research, the effect of various operating conditions on the performance of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a PEMFC propulsion system is surveyed using a statistical approach, namely the Design of Experiment technique (DOE). This process starts by designing a thermodynamic cycle for UAV based on the literature review. Then, a zero-dimensional model is established to simulate the PEMFC’s performance. After validating the developed model for PEMFC, mass and energy balance equations are employed for all components of the thermodynamic cycle to calculate the efficiency of PEMFC and the system simultaneously. Afterward, the Response Surface Method (RSM) is used to design appropriate tests to study the influence of independent variables, i.e., altitude, operating pressure, and cathode stoichiometry, on the efficiency of PEMFC and system. Results indicate that increasing operating pressure improves the efficiency parameter for both the PEMFC and the system 3.5% and 14.5% respectively. Although increasing cathode stoichiometry augments the PEMFC efficiency, it plummets the system efficiency up to 30.6%. In addition, the influence of operating altitude on the PEMFC efficiency is negligible, while it causes a substantial decline in the system efficiency (more than 30%). As proved, at any desired operating altitude, maximum efficiency for the system obtains when the operating pressure and cathode stoichiometry are set at their maximum and minimum bound, respectively.