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

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Engineering, Imam Ali University, Tehran, Iran

2 Imam Ali University

3 department of mechanical engieering Amirkabir university of technology

4 Imam Ali university

Abstract

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). 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.

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References

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Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 55, Issue 3
June 2023
Pages 407-430

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