Structural modeling and analysis of fuel cell: a graph-theoretic approach

Rajeev Kumar Saha; Raman Kumar; Nikhil Dev; Rajender Kumar; Raman Kumar; Raul M Del Toro; Sofía Haber; José E Naranjo

doi:10.7717/peerj-cs.1510

Structural modeling and analysis of fuel cell: a graph-theoretic approach

PeerJ Comput Sci. 2023 Aug 28:9:e1510. doi: 10.7717/peerj-cs.1510. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Rajeev Kumar Saha¹, Raman Kumar², Nikhil Dev¹, Rajender Kumar³, Raman Kumar⁴, Raul M Del Toro⁵, Sofía Haber⁶, José E Naranjo⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, J.C. Bose University of Science and Technology, YMCA, Faridabad, Haryana, India.
² Mechanical and Production Engineering, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET), Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS), Faridabad, Haryana, India.
⁴ Mechanical Engineering Department, University Centre for Research and Development, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India.
⁵ Center for Automation and Robotics (UPM-CSIC), Arganda del Rey, Madrid, Spain.
⁶ Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, University Institute of Automobile Research (INSIA), Madrid, Spain.

Abstract

A fuel cell, an energy conversion system, needs analysis for its performance at the design and off-design point conditions during its real-time operation. System performance evaluation with logical methodology is helpful in decision-making while considering efficiency and cross-correlated parameters in fuel cells. This work presents an overview and categorization of different fuel cells, leading to the developing of a method combining graph theory and matrix method for analyzing fuel cell system structure to make more informed decisions. The fuel cell system is divided into four interdependent sub-systems. The methodology developed in this work consists of a series of steps comprised of digraph representation, matrix representation, and permanent function representation. A mathematical model is evaluated quantitatively to produce a performance index numerical value. With the aid of case studies, the proposed methodology is explained, and the advantages of the proposed method are corroborated.

Keywords: Decision making; Fuel cell; Graph theory; Matrix method; Permanent function; Structural modelling.

Grants and funding

This work was supported funded by INVECPRO: Industrial and transversal research for a new generation of professional electric vehicles with high added value, VEC-010000-2022-10, Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism (MINCOTUR) and by the European Union on the basis of NextGenerationEU/PRTR, Primary project: “Research on hydrogen fuel cell components and proof of concept”. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.