An Experimental Study of Operational Parameters on the Performance of PEMFCs

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emad G. Barakat ◽  
Ali K. Abdel-Rahman ◽  
Mahmoud A. Ahmed ◽  
Ahmed Hamza H. Ali
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Cell Temperature ◽  
Power Increase ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Exchange Membrane ◽  
Gas Humidification

The performance of Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been experimentally investigated. An experimental set-up was designed to study the effects of operating parameters such as cell temperature, gas humidification, and cell operating pressure on the performance of fuel cell. The results indicated that the output power increase with the increase of humidification ratio. Furthermore, an increase of cell pressure results in a significant increase of cell power. The results indicated that increasing of the temperature leads to a decrease of cell power. The results are explained and discussed in more details for different operational parameters.

A New High Voltage Impedance Spectrometer for the Diagnostics of Fuel Cell Stacks

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Wasterlain ◽  
Fabien Harel ◽  
Denis Candusso ◽  
Daniel Hissel ◽  
Xavier François
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Cell Behavior ◽  
Polarization Current ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Galvanostatic Mode ◽  
Validation Tests ◽  
Exchange Membrane ◽  
Synchronous Measurement

This paper presents a novel architecture of an impedance spectrometer dedicated to the characterization and diagnostics of large fuel cell stacks operated in galvanostatic mode. The validation tests are first performed on a single proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Then, experiments are carried out on a 20-cell PEMFC stack delivering more significant power levels. The proposed impedancemeter allows spectrum measurements on cells located in the middle of the stack, where common mode potentials are usually too high for commercial devices. Moreover, the impedances of different individual cells in the stack are acquired with a synchronous measurement reference (global stack impedance). This capability allows distinguishing any singular cell behavior or drift effect of operational parameters (e.g., stack temperature and polarization current).

CFD Investigation of a PEMFC Stack Assembly

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R. Anderson ◽  
Andrew Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Pt Catalyst ◽  
Cfd Modeling ◽  
Software Module ◽  
Contour Plots ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Voltage Performance ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Abstract In this study 3-D CFD modeling of a cylindrical stack Proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is provided. The H2O-O2 PEMFC uses a 10.8 mm2 area membrane and Platinum (Pt) catalyst. The paper presents the methodology for the PEMFC commercial software module, the set-up of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) geometry, mesh and boundary conditions. Results for the current-voltage performance curves and 3-D contour plots of the fluid, heat and species concentrations within the PEMFC are given. Results are presented for a low-temperature fuel cell using NAFION membrane and a high-temperature fuel cell using BZY membrane.

Water Management in Fuel Cell Stack by Using Microcontroller

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gukan Rajaram ◽  
Manoj Kumar Panthalingal ◽  
Parthasarathy Valivittan
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Cell Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack ◽  
Water Accumulation ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Exchange Membrane ◽  
Automatic Switching ◽  
Number Of Cells

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is very good at producing energy without the emission of any harmful gases. In this work, emphasis has been given towards controlling the water accumulation inside the cell stack. The effective cooling of the fuel cell during operation can significantly improve the efficiency. Also, flooding and dehydration conditions are most common reasons for the efficiency reduction and performance degradation of the fuel cells. In the current work, the problem is addressed by controlling the number of cells in operation through a specifically designed microcontroller. The controller would switch the cells on/off when the need arises which can be diagnosed by thermocouple by virtue of cell temperature. Automatic switching with the microcontroller is performed without disturbing the stack operation. This could improve the cell performance with reduced flooding/dehydration of the stack. So the same stack life may be improved substantially.

A Numerical Simulation of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Performance

2011 ◽  
Vol 347-353 ◽  
pp. 376-385
Author(s):  
Shi Gang Yu ◽  
Hui He ◽  
You Sheng Xu
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Cathode Side ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Exchange Membrane

A composite three-dimensional mathematical model of proton exchange membrane fuel cell is proposed, the corresponding finite element method and numerical simulation are given as well, where fluid flow, proton transport, and electrochemical reaction are addressed. Some factors that probably affect the performance of the cell are analyzed by using the model. The computational results show that the reactant concentration decreases along the flow direction, the water concentration increases in the cathode side of membrane, membrane resistance decreases, conductivity increases and proton concentration increases. The fuel cell performance is better when the porosity increases, as well as the operating pressure.

Analysis of the Co-Generation Potential of a 5 kW PEMFC From Experimentally Determined Performance Data

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Do Val ◽  
A. F. Orlando ◽  
C. E. R. Siqueira ◽  
J. Oexmann
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Total Efficiency ◽  
Fuel Processor ◽  
A Value ◽  
Cell Energy ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Energy Balances ◽  
Exchange Membrane

A 5 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with a reformer has been installed and tested at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil, aiming the experimental determination of its performance and co-generation potential to increase the fuel chemical energy usage. The unit uses a fuel processor to convert energy from natural gas into hydrogen rich reformate. The fuel cell is totally instrumented, supplying data for calculating the overall system efficiency (total efficiency), reformer efficiency, stack efficiency, conversion efficiency (DC/AC), and co-generation potential, at previously set up output powers of 2,5 kW and 4 kW. The paper details the equations required for calculating the parameters, both theoretically, from thermodynamics and electrochemics points of view, and experimentally, from mass and energy balances, comparing the results. Steady state data were taken at 13 different days, resulting in reformer, stack, conversion and total average efficiencies, together with the calculated standard deviation. It was also found that the energy loss in the reformer and in the stack are approximately the same. The co-generation potential was estimated by calculating the heat rejected by the stack and the heat rejected in the reformer, giving a value of 67,5% and 68,9%, respectively for 2,5 kW and 4 kW. Therefore, co-generation can substantially reduce the fuel cell energy cost, and thus increasing the feasibility of its use.

Thermodynamic Analysis of the Performance of an Irreversible PEMFC

2018 ◽  
Vol 388 ◽  
pp. 350-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Jie Li ◽  
Ye Liu ◽  
Zhe Shu Ma
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Controllable Factors ◽  
Temperature Operating ◽  
Exchange Membrane

An irreversible model of proton exchange membrane fuel cells working at steady-state is established, in which the irreversibility resulting from overpotentials, internal currents and leakage currents are taken into account．In this paper, the irreversibility of fuel cell is expounded mainly from electrochemistry. The general performance characteristic curves are generated including output voltage, output power and output efficiency. In addition, the irreversibility of a class of PEMFC is studied by changing the operating conditions (controllable factors) of the fuel cell, including effect of operating temperature, operating pressure and leakage current. The results provide a theoretical basis for both the operation and optimal design of real PEM fuel cells．

scholarly journals Analytical Investigation and Improvement of Performance of a Proton Exchange Membrane (Pem) Fuel Cell in Mobile Applications

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-328
Author(s):  
I. Khazaee
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Empirical Models ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Mobile Computers ◽  
Semi Empirical ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Abstract In this study, the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell in mobile applications is investigated analytically. At present the main use and advantages of fuel cells impact particularly strongly on mobile applications such as vehicles, mobile computers and mobile telephones. Some external parameters such as the cell temperature (Tcell ) , operating pressure of gases (P) and air stoichiometry (λair ) affect the performance and voltage losses in the PEM fuel cell. Because of the existence of many theoretical, empirical and semi-empirical models of the PEM fuel cell, it is necessary to compare the accuracy of these models. But theoretical models that are obtained from thermodynamic and electrochemical approach, are very exact but complex, so it would be easier to use the empirical and smi-empirical models in order to forecast the fuel cell system performance in many applications such as mobile applications. The main purpose of this study is to obtain the semi-empirical relation of a PEM fuel cell with the least voltage losses. Also, the results are compared with the existing experimental results in the literature and a good agreement is seen.

A New High Voltage Impedance Spectrometer for the Diagnostic of Fuel Cell Stacks

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Se´bastien Wasterlain ◽  
Fabien Harel ◽  
Denis Candusso ◽  
Daniel Hissel ◽  
Xavier Franc¸ois
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Cell Behavior ◽  
Polarization Current ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Galvanostatic Mode ◽  
Validation Tests ◽  
Exchange Membrane ◽  
Synchronous Measurement

This paper presents a novel architecture of an impedance spectrometer dedicated to the characterization and diagnostic of large Fuel Cell (FC) stacks operated in galvanostatic mode. The validation tests are first performed on a single Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). Then, experiments are carried out on a twenty-cell PEMFC stack delivering more significant power levels. The proposed impedancemeter allows spectrum measurements on cells located in the middle of the stack, where common mode potentials are usually too high for commercial devices. Moreover, the impedances of different individual cells in the stack are acquired with a synchronous measurement reference (global stack impedance). This capability allows distinguishing any singular cell behavior or drift effect of operational parameters (e.g. stack temperature and polarization current).

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