A New Complex Design for Air-Breathing Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells Aided by Rapid Prototyping

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Yu Chen ◽  
Yun-Che Wen ◽  
Wei-Hsiang Lai ◽  
Ming-Chang Chou ◽  
Biing-Jyh Weng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Cell Design ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Air Breathing ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Complex Design

One of the most difficult issues to fabricate a fuel cell with a complex design is the manufacturing method. To solve this difficulty, the authors applied an innovative method of fuel cell fabrication, i.e., rapid prototyping technology. The rapid prototyping technology can both fabricate the complex design and shorten the fabrication time. In this paper, the authors used a 3D software (CATIA) on the fuel cell design and utilized the rapid prototyping to accelerate the prototype development of complex stack designs and to verify the practicability of the new fabrication for fuel cells. The honeycomb shape methanol reservoir and cathode structure design of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) and the complex flow distributor design of a monopolar air-breathing proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack, which were almost impossibly manufactured by traditional manufacturing, were made in this study. The performance of the traditional air-pumping DMFC and that of an air-breathing DMFC were compared in this study. The feasibility of a complex pseudobipolar design DMFC stack was also verified. For the miniature air-breathing PEMFC made by rapid prototyping with ABS material, its performance is close to the state-of-the-art compared to previous published literatures (Hsieh et al. 2006, “Study of Operational Parameters on the Performance of Micro PEMFCs With Different Flow Fields,” Energy Convers. Manage., 47, pp. 1868–1878; Schmitz, A., Wagner, S., Hahn, R., Uzun, H., and Hebling, C., 2004, “Stability of Planar PEMFC in Printed Circuit Board Technology,” J. Power Sources, 127, pp. 197–205; Hottinen, T., Mikkola, M., and Lund, P., 2004, “Evaluation of Planar Free-Breathing Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Design,” J. Power Sources, 129, pp. 68–72). A new solution to manufacture complex fuel cell design, rapid prototyping, has been first applied to the fabrication of complicated flow channels in ABS materials and directly used in both DMFC and PEMFC in this paper. Its feasibility was verified and its promising performance was also proved.

scholarly journals Highly durable Pt-free fuel cell catalysts prepared by multi-step pyrolysis of Fe phthalocyanine and phenolic resin

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1400-1406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Nabae ◽  
Mayu Sonoda ◽  
Chiharu Yamauchi ◽  
Yo Hosaka ◽  
Ayano Isoda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Phenolic Resin ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Cathode Catalyst ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Fuel Cell Catalysts

A Pt-free cathode catalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells has been developed by multi-step pyrolysis of Fe phthalocyanine and phenolic resin and shows a quite promising fuel cell performance.

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell flow field designs and approaches for performance enhancement

2019 ◽  
Vol 234 (8) ◽  
pp. 1189-1214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erman Çelik ◽  
İrfan Karagöz
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are carbon-free electrochemical energy conversion devices that are appropriate for use as a power source on vehicles and mobile devices emerging with their high energy density, lightweight structure, quick startup and lower operating temperature capabilities. However, they need more developments in the aspects of reactant distribution, less pressure drops, precisely balanced water content and heat management to achieve more reliable and higher overall cell performance. Flow field development is one of the most important fields of study to increase cell performance since it has decisive effects on performance parameters, including bipolar plate, and thus fuel cell weight. In this study, recent developments on conventional flow field designs to eliminate their weaknesses and innovative design approaches and flow field architectures are obtained from patent databases, and both numerical and experimental scientific studies. Fundamental designs that create differences are introduced, and their effects on the performance are discussed with regard to origin, objective, innovation strategy of design besides their strength and probable open development ways. As a result, significant enhancements and design strategies on flow field designs in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are summarized systematically to guide prospective flow field development studies.

Three dimensional numerical simulation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 427-451
Author(s):  
Yeping Peng ◽  
Ghasem Bahrami ◽  
Hossein Khodadadi ◽  
Alireza Karimi ◽  
Ahmad Soleimani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Purpose The purpose of this study is simulation of of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells are promising power sources for use in power plants and vehicles. These fuel cells provide a high level of energy efficiency at low temperature without any pollution. The convection inside the cell plays a key role in the electrochemical reactions and the performance of the cell. Accordingly, the transport processes in these cells have been investigated thoroughly in previous studies that also carried out functional modeling. Design/methodology/approach A multi-phase model was used to study the limitations of the reactions and their impact on the performance of the cell. The governing equations (conservation of mass, momentum and particle transport) were solved by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) (ANSYS fluent) using appropriate source terms. The two-phase flow in the fuel cell was simulated three-dimensionally under steady-state conditions. The flow of water inside the cell was also simulated at high-current density. Findings The simulation results suggested that the porosity of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) is one of the most important design parameters with a significant impact on the current density limitation and, consequently, on the cell performance. Originality/value This study was mainly focused on the two-phase analysis of the steady flow in the fuel cell and on investigating the impacts of a two-phase flow on the performance of the cell and also on the flow in the GDL, the membrane and the catalyst layer using the CFD.

Minichannels in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Trabold
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Electrochemical Devices ◽  
Sectional Shape

This paper provides an overview of the application of minichannels, typically on the order of 1 mm hydraulic diameter, in the design of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In these electrochemical devices, minichannels deliver reactant hydrogen and oxygen to the anode and cathode electrodes, respectively, while transporting product water out of the cell. The channels must be designed for low pressure drop, to avoid excessive parasitic power losses from gas handling equipment. However, the channels also need to operate in a flow regime in which the overall water balance in the fuel cell can be maintained. The various aspects of minichannel design, including size and cross-sectional shape, are discussed, with particular emphasis on fuel cell water management. In addition to reviewing these fundamental aspects of minichannel design, examples are given of new experimental tools currently under development which are applied to relate channel water transport and accumulation to fuel cell performance.

scholarly journals Data from Experimental Analysis of the Performance and Load Cycling of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

Data ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ramírez-Cruzado ◽  
Blanca Ramírez-Peña ◽  
Rosario Vélez-García ◽  
Alfredo Iranzo ◽  
José Guerra
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Experimental Analysis ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Load Cycling

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert the chemical energy stored in fuels (hydrogen for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells) directly into electricity with high efficiency. Fuel cells are already commercially used in different applications, and significant research efforts are being carried out to further improve their performance and durability and to reduce costs. Experimental testing of fuel cells is a fundamental research activity used to assess all the issues indicated above. The current work presents original data corresponding to the experimental analysis of the performance of a 50 cm2 PEM fuel cell, including experimental results from a load cycling dedicated test. The experimental data were acquired using a dedicated test bench following the harmonized testing protocols defined by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission for automotive applications. With the presented dataset, we aim to provide a transparent collection of experimental data from PEM fuel cell testing that can contribute to enhanced reusability for further research.

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