Heterogeneous conductivity parameters in a one dimensional fuel cell model

A model of one dimensional fuel cells is investigated, where the material inhomogeneities in the cathode are taken into account. We use the results of the preceding studies [5], [11] to describe the dynamics of the chemical reactions and transport of ions. A corresponding governing equation is derived for the numerical simulations. We apply an explicit-implicit time integration and Richardson extrapolation technique to increase the accuracy of the approximations. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated using a non-trivial test problem with real parameters. Numerical simulations are executed in presence of inhomogeneous conductivities and their effect on the cell potential is investigated.