Due to highly reactive environment of a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), it is not possible to perform detailed in situ measurements during operation. Modeling is necessary for improve understanding of processes in the fuel cell. In this thesis, a numerical investigation of a single PEM fuel cell is presented. The results of this study include the determination of fuel cell’s polarization curve and the effects of different parameters such as transfer coefficients, exchange current densities, operating pressure, GDL’s and catalyst layer’s porosity on polarization curve. Results show that increase of transfer coefficient, exchange current density, operating pressure, inlet fuel’s temperature cause improvement in fuel cell’s revenue while increase of ohmic resistance cause decrease in efficiency. Increasing other parameters show improvement in fuel cell’s revenue. At the end, contours of hydrogen and oxygen distribution and their diffusion from gas channels to porous media provided.
