Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) hold promise as next-generation energy sources. However, PEMFCs experience substantial faults with various degradation mechanisms during electrochemical operation, leading to performance heterogeneity. In this work, we use magnetic field imaging as an online and non-destructive tool to sense the heterogeneity of a PEMFC performance during its operation. The correlation between PEMFC performance and magnetic field variation is established, followed by numerical models and experimental validation at different PEMFC fault scenarios. From the results, the degradation mechanisms of different faults, including initiation of PEMFC faults at different areas and corresponding progress, can be witnessed online, which can be greatly beneficial for studying reliability and durability of PEMFCs at various operating conditions.

质子交换膜燃料电池 (PEMFC) 有望成为下一代能源。然而，PEMFC在电化学操作过程中会出现各种退化机制的重大故障，导致性能异质性。在这项工作中，我们使用磁场成像作为在线和非破坏性工具来感知 PEMFC 在其运行过程中性能的异质性。建立 PEMFC 性能与磁场变化之间的相关性，然后在不同 PEMFC 故障场景下进行数值模型和实验验证。从结果来看，可以在线见证不同故障的退化机制，包括不同区域 PEMFC 故障的引发和相应的进展，