Thermal Management and Voltage Stabilization in Air-Forced Open-Cathode Fuel Cells

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Lotfi ◽  
H. Zomorodi ◽  
R. G. Landers
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Thermal Management ◽  
Temperature Control ◽  
Output Voltage ◽  
Voltage Regulation ◽  
Model Uncertainties ◽  
Cell Temperature ◽  
External Disturbances ◽  
Temperature Reference

Temperature control is undoubtedly one of the important challenges in open-cathode fuel cell systems. Due to cost considerations, it is traditionally achieved by constant-speed operation of the fans. In this paper, a state feedback temperature controller, combined with a Kalman filter to mitigate the noisy temperature measurements is designed and implemented. The controller-filter set facilitates robust thermal management with respect to model uncertainties and measurement noise. The proposed temperature control not only manages to track the fuel cell temperature reference, it can also be used to stabilize the output voltage. Voltage regulation is of great importance for open-cathode fuel cells as it guarantees a predictable and fixed fuel cell output voltage for given current values in spite of internal and external disturbances. The controllers were implemented experimentally and the results show promising performances in regulating the reference temperature and voltage despite model uncertainties and disturbances.

scholarly journals CFD Simulation with Modeling on Fuel Cell Thermal Management Using Water Based SiO2, TIC and SIC Nanofluids

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1291-1295
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Thermal Management ◽  
Thermal Field ◽  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Cell Temperature ◽  
Heat Management ◽  
Thermal Fields ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Computer Codes

Computer codes stand built and practiced on water based SiO2 , TiC and SiC nanofluids. The situation visualizes on fuel cell heat management. It evaluates thermal field/contour besides fuel cell temperature. Ultimately, for all the quoted nanofluids, the fuel cells temperatures remain quite below the critical breakdown value of 356 K. Furthermore, for all the quoted nanofluids, the thermal fields/contours range between fuel cells edges and ambient values. Despite the resemblances in thermal fields/contours, the dissimilarities are in consequence of the deviances in thermophysical properties of enumerated nanomaterials. Besides, fuel cell temperatures of 342 K, 313 K and 322 K are observed with water based SiO2 , TiC and SiC nanofluids, respectively. In addition, the water based TiC nanofluid extracts optimum fuel cell heat management. Because, the water based TiC nanofluid also remains with the smallest resulting fuel cell temperature of 313 K.

scholarly journals Computational Modeling and Simulation on Thermal Management of Fuel Cell with Water Based ZnO, TiC and AlN Nanofluids

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2052-2056
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Thermal Management ◽  
Thermophysical Properties ◽  
Thermal Field ◽  
Cell Temperature ◽  
Heat Management ◽  
Thermal Fields ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Computational Modeling And Simulation

Simulation codes remain engendered and instigated on water based ZnO, TiC and AlN nanofluids. The situation visualizes on fuel cell heat management. It evaluates thermal field/contour besides fuel cell temperature. Ultimately, for all the quoted nanofluids, the fuel cells temperatures remain quite below the critical breakdown value of 356 K. Furthermore, for all the quoted nanofluids, the thermal fields/contours range between fuel cells edges and ambient values. Despite the resemblances in thermal fields/contours, the dissimilarities are in consequence of the deviances in thermophysical properties of enumerated nanomaterials. Besides, fuel cell temperatures of 330 K, 313 K and 320 K are observed with water based ZnO, TiC and AlN nanofluids, respectively. In addition, the water based TiC nanofluid extracts optimum fuel cell heat management. Because, the water based TiC nanofluid stands for the minutest ensuing fuel cell temperature of 313 K on top

Control of a DC-DC Boost Converter for Fuel-Cell-Powered Marine Applications

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos I. Xiros ◽  
Georgios Tsakyridis ◽  
Marco Scharringhausen ◽  
Lars Witte
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Voltage Regulation ◽  
Power Converter ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Resistive Load ◽  
Suitable Alternative ◽  
Switching Model ◽  
Artificial Neural

Economic factors together with protection laws and policies pertaining to marine pollution drive research for improved power generation. Fuel cells, being fuel efficient and environmentally friendly, could provide a desirable option and suitable alternative to conventional propulsion systems based on fossil fuels or even nuclear fission. Fuel cells are becoming fast a mature technology and employed in many various other areas. Flexibility of special purpose watercraft, power autonomy and modularity can all benefit from the use of fuel cells. Specifically, proton exchange membrane fuel cells are considered among the most promising options for marine propulsion applications. Switching converters are the common interface intermitted between fuel cells and the load in order to provide a stable regulated voltage. DC-DC converters have been widely used since the advent of semiconductors. These devices are typically adopted to accomplish voltage regulation tasks for a multitude of applications: from renewable energy power-plants to military, medical and transportation systems. Nonetheless voltage regulators exhibit the need for consistent closed- and open-loop control. Most common approaches are PID controllers, sliding mode controllers and artificial neural networks that are considered in this work. An artificial neural network (ANN) is an adaptive, often nonlinear system that learns to perform a functional mapping from data. In our approach, a typical example of a fuel cell, a power converter outfitted with an ANN controller, and a resistive load configuration is investigated. Simulation studies are crucial in power electronics to essentially predict the behavior of the device before any hardware implementation. General requirements, design specification together with control strategies can be iteratively tested using computer simulations. This paper shows the simulation results of the full system behavior, as described above, under dynamic conditions. Initially, an open-loop simulation of the system is performed. Next, an appropriately trained ANN is incorporated to the switching model of the DC-DC converter to perform simulations for validation. Conversely, during design and calibration of the ANN controller, instead of the switching model of the DC-DC converter, a trained ANN equivalent is employed.

scholarly journals Micro-Fabricated Thin-Film Fuel Cells for Portable Power Requirements

2002 ◽  
Vol 730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan F. Jankowski ◽  
Jeffrey P. Hayes ◽  
R. Tim Graff ◽  
Jeffrey D. Morse
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Thermal Management ◽  
Thin Film Deposition ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Film Deposition ◽  
Portable Power ◽  
Fuel Storage

AbstractFuel cells have gained renewed interest for applications in portable power since the energy is stored in a separate reservoir of fuel rather than as an integral part of the power source, as is the case with batteries. While miniaturized fuel cells have been demonstrated for the low power regime (1-20 Watts), numerous issues still must be resolved prior to deployment for applications as a replacement for batteries. As traditional fuel cell designs are scaled down in both power output and physical footprint, several issues impact the operation, efficiency, and overall performance of the fuel cell system. These issues include fuel storage, fuel delivery, system startup, peak power requirements, cell stacking, and thermal management. The combination of thin-film deposition and micro-machining materials offers potential advantages with respect to stack size and weight, flow field and manifold structures, fuel storage, and thermal management. The micro-fabrication technologies that enable material and fuel flexibility through a modular fuel cell platform will be described along with experimental results from both solid oxide and proton exchange membrane, thin-film fuel cells.

scholarly journals Electricity Generation from Dairy Farm Wastes in a Dual-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell using Aluminium Electrodes

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 3345-3449
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Output Voltage ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Cattle Manure ◽  
Cow Urine ◽  
Stabilization Period

Microbial fuel cells play a key role in generating wealth out of waste as they serve the binary purpose of electricity production along with waste treatment. A variety of organic substances can be used as substrates in microbial fuel cells. In this work, three substrates naturally obtained as dairy farm waste, viz. cattle manure, yogurt waste, and cow urine along with their various combinations were tested for power generation in a microbial fuel cell. All three substrates are a promising source of electrogenic bacteria. The potential use of aluminium as electrode material for electricity generation in microbial fuel cell was also investigated. The output circuit voltage was recorded at regular time intervals over a period of around 15-25 days. Maximum output voltage of 1.170 V was recorded for cattle manure as substrate on graphite electrode with a stabilization period of 16 days. The combination of cattle manure and yogurt waste on aluminium electrode gave peak output voltage of 1.122 V with a stabilization period of 10 days. The addition of cow urine did not show any significant increase in the output.

Thermal Management of an Air-Cooled PEM Fuel Cell: Cell Level Simulation

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Andisheh Tadbir ◽  
S. Shahsavari ◽  
M. Bahrami ◽  
E. Kjeang
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Temperature Distribution ◽  
Thermal Management ◽  
Rejection Rate ◽  
Thermal Design ◽  
Temperature Gradients ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Cell Level ◽  
Heat Rejection

Air-cooled polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells have recently been the center of attention mainly because of the simplicity they bring into the fuel cell industry. Their main advantage is the elimination of balance-of-plant subsystems such as the liquid coolant loop, heat exchanger, compressor, and air humidifier which greatly reduces the complexity, parasitic power, and cost of the overall system. In air-cooled fuel cells, air is used as a combined oxidant and coolant. However, the net power output is limited by the heat rejection rate and the overall performance and durability are restricted by high temperature gradients during stack operation. An important initial step toward this goal is accurate knowledge of the temperature distribution in the stack in order to optimize heat removal by suitable thermal management strategies. In the present study, a three dimensional numerical model is developed that can predict the temperature distribution in cell level with an acceptable accuracy. Using this methodology, the maximum temperature in the stack as well as temperature gradients, which are two essential operating parameters for air-cooled fuel cells, can be obtained. The model is validated using experimental data for the 1020ACS fuel cell stack from Ballard Power Systems. A parametric study is performed for bipolar plate thermal conductivity and overall thermal characteristics on the cell level to examine the effects of these parameters on the maximum stack temperature, temperature gradient in the cell, and overall heat rejection rate. Based on these results, recommendations are provided for improved thermal design of air-cooled fuel cells.

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