Development of a Reference Electrode for a PEMFC Single Cell Allowing an Evaluation of Plate Potentials

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Andre ◽  
Nicolas Guillet ◽  
Jean-Pierre Petit ◽  
Laurent Antoni
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Electrical Contact ◽  
Reference Electrode ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Electrical Contact Resistance ◽  
Hydrogen Electrode

Increasing lifetime and performance is critical for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) using stainless steel plates. A good compromise between passivity and electrical contact resistance of the plate material is required. Measuring the potential of each plate during fuel cell operation is of paramount importance to lead to relevant ex situ tests in order to investigate new materials. From a review on methods used for potential measurements, the present work focused on the realization and use of a dynamic hydrogen electrode (DHE) device as a reference electrode in a PEMFC single cell and its evaluation in terms of accuracy and drift. With classic reference electrodes introduced into the flow field, measurements were shown to be irrelevant because of the impossibility to ensure good and stable ionic conductivity between the reference electrode and the plate when operating the cell. Several examples of DHE found in the literature were reviewed and used to realize a DHE, which showed correct accuracy and stability of its potential under fully humidified conditions. The experimental device was shown to be reliable and easily adaptable for different single cells. It was used to investigate transient phenomena while cycling a cell, but needs some improvement when the cell is operated with unsaturated gases.

Stress Analysis of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

2011 ◽  
Vol 52-54 ◽  
pp. 875-880
Author(s):  
Kurniawan Miftah ◽  
Wan Ramli Wan Daud ◽  
Edy Herianto Majlan
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Electrical Contact ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Electrical Contact Resistance ◽  
Compression Pressure ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Exchange Membrane

The assembly of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is the important factor for the performance. The achievement of proper design will improve the pressure distribution and the electrical contact resistance between fuel cell parts. The assembly pressure affects the contact behavior between of bipolar plate and gas diffusion layer (GDL). In this study, finite element analysis (FEA) was used to analyze the behavior of single cell fuel cell under the variation of assembly pressure. It shows 3D of deformation, and the compression pressure every part of the fuel cell components. The simulation varied the torque assembly from 1 Nm to 3 Nm with increment 0.5 Nm. The simulation using FEA shows that high assembly pressure also affects to the high deformation and stress in the components of fuel cell. This phenomenon affects to the performance of PEM fuel cell.

The Effect of Catalyst Coated Diffusion Media on PEM Fuel Cell Performance

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek W. Fultz ◽  
Po-Ya Abel Chuang
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Thermal Contact ◽  
Electrical Contact ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Hot Press ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Diffusion Media ◽  
A Cell

Two fuel cell architectures, differing only by the surfaces onto which the electrodes were applied, have been analyzed to determine the root causes of dissimilarities in performance. The basic proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is comprised of the proton transporting membrane, platinum-containing anode and cathode electrodes, porous carbon fiber gas diffusion media (GDM), and flow fields which deliver the reactant hydrogen and air flows. As no optimal cell design currently exists, there is a degree of latitude regarding component assembly and structure. Catalyst coated diffusion media (CCDM) refers to a cell architecture option where the electrode layers are coated on the GDM layers and then hot-pressed to the membrane. Catalyst coated membrane (CCM) refers to an architecture where the electrodes are transferred directly onto the membrane. A cell with CCDM architecture has tightly bonded interfaces throughout the assembly which can result in lower thermal and electrical contact resistances. Considering the fuel cell as a 1-D thermal system, the through-plane thermal resistance was observed to decrease by 5–10% when comparing CCDM to CCM architectures. This suggests the thermal contact resistance at the electrode interfaces was significantly reduced in the hot-press process. In addition, the electrical contact resistances between the electrode and GDM were observed to be significantly reduced with a CCDM architecture. This study shows that these effects, which have a potential to increase performance, can be attributed to the hot-press lamination process and use of CCDM architecture.

Design and Testing of a Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Fall ◽  
Drew Humphreys ◽  
S. M. Guo
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Platinum Catalyst ◽  
Oxygen Electrode ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Hydrogen Electrode ◽  
Iridium Catalysts ◽  
Regenerative Fuel Cell

A unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC) is designed and tested for energy conversion and storage under the support of a NASA funded student design project. The URFC is of the proton exchange membrane type with an active cell area of 25cm2. In the URFC design, liquid water is stored internally to the fuel cell within graphite bipolar plates while hydrogen and oxygen gases, electrolyzed from water, are stored in containers external to the fuel cell. A spraying technique is used to produce a functional membrane electrode assembly. Catalyst ink is prepared using E-TEK Inc. platinum and iridium catalysts loaded on Vulcan XC-72. Platinum catalyst is used for the hydrogen electrode. 50wt% platinum∕50wt% iridium catalyst is used for the oxygen electrode. The metal weight on carbon is 30% for both the platinum and iridium catalysts. Water management within the fuel cell is handled by treatment of the gas diffusion layer with a Teflon emulsion to create the proper balance of hydrophobic and hydrophilic pores. The single cell unit is tested in either fuel cell mode or electrolysis mode for different catalyst loadings. Polarization curves for the URFC are generated to evaluate system performance.

scholarly journals Single cell induced starvation in a high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

2019 ◽  
Vol 250 ◽  
pp. 1176-1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinthia Alegre ◽  
Antonio Lozano ◽  
Ángel Pérez Manso ◽  
Laura Álvarez-Manuel ◽  
Florencio Fernández Marzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Study Effect of Stress in the Electrical Contact Resistance of Bipolar Plate and Membrane Electrode Assembly in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell: A Review

2010 ◽  
Vol 447-448 ◽  
pp. 775-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurniawan Miftah ◽  
Wan Ramli Wan Daud ◽  
Edy Herianto Majlan
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Contact Resistance ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Electrical Contact ◽  
Membrane Electrode Assembly ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Electrical Contact Resistance ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Stress applying in the stack of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) effects the performance of PEMFC. High pressure in the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) can reduce electrical contact resistance between bipolar plate and MEA. Nevertheless, too high pressure in the PEMFC can destroy MEA. Performance of PEMFC can be optimized by make proportional stress in the assembly of PEMFC. Finite element analysis (FEA) is one of method that can be used for analysis of stress in the PEMFC stack. However, setting of parameter in the analysis using FEA still became one of problem if realistic result must be desired. This paper reports setting of parameters in the stress analysis of PEMFC assembly using FEA method and study relationship of stress analysis with electrical contact resistance.

Multiphysics Modeling of Assembly Pressure Effects on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Performance

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Zhou ◽  
G. Lin ◽  
A. J. Shih ◽  
S. J. Hu
Keyword(s):  
Mass Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Contact Resistance ◽  
Electrical Contact ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Pressure Effects ◽  
Electrical Contact Resistance ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance

The clamping pressure used in assembling a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack can have significant effects on the overall cell performance. The pressure causes stack deformation, particularly in the gas diffusion layer (GDL), and impacts gas mass transfer and electrical contact resistance. Existing research for analyzing the assembly pressure effects is mostly experimental. This paper develops a sequential approach to study the pressure effects by combining the mechanical and electrochemical phenomena in fuel cells. The model integrates gas mass transfer analysis based on the deformed GDL geometry and modified parameters with the microscale electrical contact resistance analysis. The modeling results reveal that higher assembly pressure increases cell resistance to gas mass transfer, causes an uneven current density distribution, and reduces electrical contact resistance. These combined effects show that as the assembly pressure increases, the PEM fuel cell power output increases first to a maximum and then decreases over a wide range of pressures. An optimum assembly pressure is observed. The model is validated against published experimental data with good agreements. This study provides a basis for determining the assembly pressure required for optimizing PEM fuel cell performance.

A 3D Single-Phase Numerical Model for a PEMFC Stack

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anh Dinh Le ◽  
Biao Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Flow ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Catalyst Layers

A single-phase, three-dimensional mathematical model has been constructed and implemented to simulate the fluid flow, heat transfer, species transport, electrochemical reaction, and current density distributions in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) stack with parallel-shaped channels. In this study, a complete PEMFC stack with 3 parallel single-cells including the membrane, gas diffusion layers (GDLs), catalyst layers, flow channels, and current collectors was taken into account. The reasonable numerical results show the detailed distributions of fluid flow and species concentrations in the channel and porous media, heat and current transports through the single cells in the stack. Furthermore, this successful modeling of a single-phase PEMFC stack would be a critical step to further develop a general two-phase PEMFC model that could investigate the water management and effects of liquid water on the performance of a fuel cell stack.

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