A contribution to the understanding of a PEM fuel cell transient model

The purpose of this thesis is to build a foundation from which a transient model of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell (FC) can be constructed. The FC model was developed taking into consideration basic physical and mathematical laws that describe the electrochemical mechanisms that govern the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Our modeling approach considers the charge distribution in the whole FC (including the electrodes). This information is required if one is to create a realistic transient model of a FC.; This thesis takes into account the presence of two mobile charged species in the (PEM). These charges are responsible for shaping the variable charge distribution profile across the double layers and the membrane. Additionally, due to the very well known impossibility to measure the absolute potential (or inner potential) of a half-cell, the need for a reformulation of the reference voltage is presented, and constitutes one of the major findings of this thesis.