A Parametric Study of PEM Fuel Cell Performances

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Wang ◽  
Attila Husar ◽  
Tianhong Zhou ◽  
Hongtan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Parametric Study ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Polarization Curves ◽  
Exchange Membrane

The effects of different parameters on the performances of proton exchange membrane fuel cells were studied experimentally. Experiments with different fuel cell temperatures, humidification temperatures and backpressures of reactant gases have been carried out. Polarization curves from experimental data are presented and the effects of the parameters on the performance of the PEM fuel cell are discussed. The experimental data obtained in this work are used to validate our 3-D mathematical model. It is found that modeling results agree well with our experimental data.

Alloys that form conductive and passivating oxides for proton exchange membrane fuel cell bipolar plates

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1723-1729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Aukland ◽  
Abdellah Boudina ◽  
David S. Eddy ◽  
Joseph V. Mantese ◽  
Margarita P. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Oxide Films ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Concentrated Solutions ◽  
Exchange Membrane

During the operation of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, a high-resistance oxide is often formed on the cathode surface of base metal bipolar plates. Over time, this corrosion mechanism leads to a drop in fuel cell efficiency and potentially to complete failure. To address this problem, we have developed alloys capable of forming oxides that are both conductive and chemically stable under PEM fuel cell operating conditions. Five alloys of titanium with tantalum or niobium were investigated. The oxides were formed on the alloys by cyclic voltammetry in solutions mimicking the cathode- and anode-side environment of a PEM fuel cell. The oxides of all tested alloys had lower surface resistance than the oxide of pure titanium. We also investigated the chemical durability of Ti–Nb and Ti–Ta alloys in more concentrated solutions beyond those typically found in PEM fuel cells. The oxide films formed on Ti–Nb and Ti–Ta alloys remained conductive and chemically stable in these concentrated solutions. The stability of the oxide films was evaluated; Ti alloys having 3% Ta and Nb were identified as potential candidates for bipolar plate materials.

Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Catalyst Layer Composition on the Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Russell ◽  
Michael W. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Catalyst Layer ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Polarization Curves ◽  
Nafion Film ◽  
Exchange Membrane ◽  
Layer Composition

The catalyst layer of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is a porous mixture of polymer, carbon, and platinum. The characteristics of the catalyst layer play a critical role in determining the performance of the PEM fuel cell. In this research, sample membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) are prepared using various combinations of polymer and carbon loadings while the platinum catalyst surface area is held constant. For each MEA, polarization curves are determined at common operating conditions. The polarization curves are compared to assess the effects of the catalyst layer composition. The results show that both Nafion and carbon content significantly affect MEA performance. The physical characteristics of the catalyst layer including porosity, thickness, and apparent Nafion film thickness are investigated to explain the variation in performance. The results show that for the range of compositions considered in this work, the porosity and thickness have little effect on performance but the apparent Nafion film thickness is significant.

scholarly journals Accelerated Lifetime Testing for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Using Extremely High Temperature and Unusually High Load

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianlu Zhang ◽  
Chaojie Song ◽  
Jiujun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
High Load ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Accelerated Lifetime ◽  
Lifetime Testing ◽  
Exchange Membrane

In this paper, two testing protocols were developed in order to accelerate the lifetime testing of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The first protocol was to operate the fuel cell at extremely high temperatures, such as 300 °C, and the second was to operate the fuel cell at unusually high current densities, such as 2.0 A/cm2. A PEM fuel cell assembled with a PBI membrane-based MEA was designed and constructed to validate the first testing protocol. After several hours of high temperature operation, the degraded MEA and catalyst layers were analyzed using SEM, XRD, and TEM. A fuel cell assembled with a Nafion 211 membrane-based MEA was employed to validate the second protocol. The results obtained at high temperature and at high load demonstrated that operating a PEM fuel cell under certain extremely high-stress conditions could be used as methods for accelerated lifetime testing.

scholarly journals Optimal Estimation of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Parameter Based on Coyote Optimization Algorithm

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2052
Author(s):  
Amlak Abaza ◽  
Ragab A. El-Sehiemy ◽  
Karar Mahmoud ◽  
Matti Lehtonen ◽  
Mohamed M. F. Darwish
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Optimization Algorithm ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Exchange Membrane

In recent years, the penetration of fuel cells in distribution systems is significantly increased worldwide. The fuel cell is considered an electrochemical energy conversion component. It has the ability to convert chemical to electrical energies as well as heat. The proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen as fuel. It is a low-temperature type that uses a noble metal catalyst, such as platinum, at reaction sites. The optimal modeling of PEM fuel cells improves the cell performance in different applications of the smart microgrid. Extracting the optimal parameters of the model can be achieved using an efficient optimization technique. In this line, this paper proposes a novel swarm-based algorithm called coyote optimization algorithm (COA) for finding the optimal parameter of PEM fuel cell as well as PEM stack. The sum of square deviation between measured voltages and the optimal estimated voltages obtained from the COA algorithm is minimized. Two practical PEM fuel cells including 250 W stack and Ned Stack PS6 are modeled to validate the capability of the proposed algorithm under different operating conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed COA is demonstrated through the comparison with four optimizers considering the same conditions. The final estimated results and statistical analysis show a significant accuracy of the proposed method. These results emphasize the ability of COA to estimate the parameters of the PEM fuel cell model more precisely.

Development of a Space-Rated Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Powerplant

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Hoffman ◽  
Arturo Vasquez ◽  
Scott M. Lazaroff ◽  
Michael G. Downey
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Potential System ◽  
Water Separator ◽  
Oxygen Gas ◽  
Product Water ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Abstract Power systems for human spacecraft have historically included fuel cells due to the superior energy density they offer over battery systems depending on mission length and power consumption. As space exploration focuses on the evolution of reusable spacecraft and also considers planetary exploration power system requirements, fuel cells continue to be a factor in the potential system solutions. Substantial efforts are currently underway in the commercial markets to produce a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell capable of meeting terrestrial power demands in residential, commercial, and automotive applications. However, there are unique characteristics of spaceflight that can only be dealt with through specific engineering solutions. From a systems perspective, removing product water from the cell stack and separating the water from the oxygen gas stream in a PEM fuel cell are two critical functions. One method to remove product water from the cell stack and subsequently separate the product water from the oxygen involves using components with no moving parts — a gas ejector and membrane gas-water separator. Tests are currently underway at the Johnson Space Center to evaluate and refine gas ejectors to satisfy the fuel cell requirement to circulate cathode reactant gas (oxygen) at 1 to 3 times the stoichiometric consumption flow rates in order to adequately remove water from the cathode. A gas-water separator utilizing hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials is also being evaluated to perform the function of separating the water from the oxygen gas stream. Analytical and experimental evaluations are continuing on the fuel cell components, including cell stacks, with the goal of developing a comprehensive design basis for a fuel cell powerplant capable of delivering 20 kW at approximately 28 VDC. Through the select critical component refinement in work at the Johnson Space Center, engineers are improving the readiness and reducing the technical and cost risks of a PEM fuel cell capable of operating in a space environment.

Degradation Effects on PEM Fuel Cells Supplied with Hydrogen from a LOHC System

2016 ◽  
Vol 839 ◽  
pp. 165-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Luschtinetz ◽  
Andreas Sklarow ◽  
Johannes Gulden
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Pure Hydrogen ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) are a promising form to store hydrogen. However, the process of dehydrogenation has to be demonstrated for applications with proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells which require very pure hydrogen. Here we document the measured degradation effects due to CO contamination on a PEM fuel cell that is supplied with hydrogen from a LOHC and we want to use later in a maritime application.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Review on Measurement and Correlation Development of Capillary Pressure for Two-Phase Modeling of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Si ◽  
Xiao-Dong Wang ◽  
Wei-Mon Yan ◽  
Tian-Hu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Porous Electrodes ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Water transport and the corresponding water management strategy in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are quite critical for the improvement of the cell performance. Accuracy modeling of water transport in porous electrodes strongly depends on the appropriate constitutive relationship for capillary pressure which is referred to aspc-scorrelation, wherepcis the capillary pressure andsis the fraction of saturation in the pores. In the present PEM fuel cell two-phase models, the Leverett-Udellpc-scorrelation is widely utilized which is proposed based on fitting the experimental data for packed sands. However, the size and structure of pores for the commercial porous electrodes used in PEM fuel cells differ from those for the packed sands significantly. As a result, the Leverett-Udell correlation should be improper to characterize the two-phase transport in the porous electrodes. In the recent decade, many efforts were devoted to measuring the capillary pressure data and developing newpc-scorrelations. The objective of this review is to review the most significant developments in recent years concerning the capillary pressure measurements and the developedpc-scorrelations. It is expected that this review will be beneficial to develop the improved PEM fuel cell two-phase model.

scholarly journals Recent Progress in the Development of Composite Membranes Based on Polybenzimidazole for High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Applications

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Escorihuela ◽  
Jessica Olvera-Mancilla ◽  
Larissa Alexandrova ◽  
L. Felipe del Castillo ◽  
Vicente Compañ
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Composite Membranes ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Exchange Membrane

The rapid increasing of the population in combination with the emergence of new energy-consuming technologies has risen worldwide total energy consumption towards unprecedent values. Furthermore, fossil fuel reserves are running out very quickly and the polluting greenhouse gases emitted during their utilization need to be reduced. In this scenario, a few alternative energy sources have been proposed and, among these, proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are promising. Recently, polybenzimidazole-based polymers, featuring high chemical and thermal stability, in combination with fillers that can regulate the proton mobility, have attracted tremendous attention for their roles as PEMs in fuel cells. Recent advances in composite membranes based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) for high temperature PEM fuel cell applications are summarized and highlighted in this review. In addition, the challenges, future trends, and prospects of composite membranes based on PBI for solid electrolytes are also discussed.

Numerical Study and Optimisation of Channel Geometry and Gas Diffusion Layer of a PEM Fuel Cell

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surajudeen O. Obayopo ◽  
Tunde Bello-Ochende ◽  
Josua P. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Diffusion Layer ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Fuel Cell System ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Fuel cell technology offers a promising alternative to conventional fossil fuel energy sources. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) in particular have become sustainable choice for the automotive industries because of its low pollution, low noise and quick start-up at low temperatures. Researches are on-going to improve its performance and reduce cost of this class of energy systems. In this work, a novel approach to optimise proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell gas channels in the systems bipolar plates with the aim of globally optimising the overall system net power performance at minimised pressure drop and subsequently low pumping power requirement for the reactant species gas was carried out. In addition, the effect of various gas diffusion layer (GDL) properties on the fuel cell performance was examined. Simulations were done ranging from 0.6 to 1.6 mm for channel width, 0.5 to 3.0 mm for channel depth and 0.1 to 0.7 for the GDL porosity. A gradient based optimisation algorithm is implemented which effectively handles an objective function obtained from a computational fluid dynamics simulation to further enhance the obtained optimum values of the examined multiple parameters for the fuel cell system. The results indicate that effective match of reactant gas channel and GDL properties enhance the performance of the fuel cell system. The numerical results computed agree well with experimental data in the literature. Consequently, the results obtained provide useful information for improving the design of fuel cells.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document