PEFC Simulation Software Package P-Stack® - Specifications

Functions

Analysis Target Polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC)
From single cell to entire stack (up to 400 cells)
Applications For power generation performance:
  • Evaluation of flow channels by estimating the distribution of flow-rate balance between cells and uniformity of various internal states
  • Estimation of cell performance and internal states (e.g., water content and current density) under severe operating conditions (e.g., low stoichiometry and high temperature (over 100°C))
  • Analysis of the effects of MEA characteristics` change due to a reduction of the Pt content on power generation performance
  • Estimation of heat generation and transfer, i.e., whether warm-up time meets the criteria for activation from low temperature
For durability performance:
  • Estimation of carbon corrosion in a cathode catalyst layer during activation/deactivation
  • Prediction of areas where the dry/wet cycle intensively occurs
Calculation Status I-V characteristics and distributions of various internal states: current density, overpotential, water content, gas concentration, gas-liquid volume ratio, pressure, temperature, and so on
Numerical Models Well-validated reliable models achieving fast simulation for full-scale cells and stacks:
  • Electromotive force models: open-circuit voltage with consideration of hydrogen cross leak, electrochemical reaction (Butler-Volmer equation), catalyst layer model (transport resistance owing to catalyst layer), and so on
  • Mass transport through MEA: water back diffusion, electro-osmotic drag, proton conduction, and gas transport
  • Two-phase flow model (channel/GDL/MPL), single-phase flow model, and heat transport (coolant)
  • Heat and mass transport model (channel/GDL/MPL) and Heat transfer model (solid part)
Computational Time One day for a stack of 400 cells (fixed load)
Note: One core is used per cell. The computational time depends on computer performance.

License Fee

License Fee Annual license fee. User supports are included.

System Requirements

In the operation of P-Stack®, users perform pre- and post-processes (e.g. mesh generation and visualizing results) in Windows® PC, while heavy computations (e.g. CFD and power generation simulation) are submit to and executed in Linux® server.

図1

The tables below show system requirements for the Windows PC and the Linux server. The system requirements depend on whether stacks are simulated or only single cells are simulated. The Windows PC and the Linux sever need to be connected in local area network.

（1）Windows PC

CPU Intel/AMD, 64bit
Disk 1TB or higher
Graphics NVIDIA Quadro, OpenGL4.5 or higher
Display Resolution 1920x1080 or higher
OS Windows10
Library Microsoft.NET Framework 4.5 or higher

（2）Linux Server（For single cell or short stack simulation）

CPU Intel/AMD, 64bit, 16 cores or higher
Memory 128GB or higher
Disk 5TB or higher
OS Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7/CentOS 7、Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

（3）Linux Server（For full stack simulation）

CPU Intel/AMD, 64bit, 100 cores overall or higher (assuming a computer cluster)
Disk 20TB or higher
OS Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7/CentOS 7、Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Inter-node communication Infiniband
  • *P-Stack is a registered trademark of Mizuho Research & Technologies Institute, Ltd.
  • *Microsoft is registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
  • *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
  • *All Other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.
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