Abstract
The investigation conducted is aimed at establishing the best operational conditions to obtain the best output of a 5-cell stack Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with three different bipolar plate geometries. The work further explores the best input parameters that will yield the maximum voltage, current power as well as fuel efficiency from each of the three designs under investigation. A polarization curve was generated for each of the three designs and a surface response plot developed for each experiment. The work concluded that the spiral design performed very well compared to the other designs under investigation and even existing on the fuel cell market.
Highlights
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells generate current and voltage using hydrogen gas and oxidant as reactant and platinum as catalyst through an electrochemical process [1,2,3]
The results obtained showed that the bipolar plate design and operational parameters affected the output characteristics from the Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)
The initial experiment was performed using a single PEMFC with serpentine flow channel obtained from fuel cell store in the United States
Summary
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells generate current and voltage using hydrogen gas (fuel) and oxidant (oxygen) as reactant and platinum as catalyst through an electrochemical process [1,2,3]. The protons (hydrogen ions) flow through the membrane to the cathodic area of the PEMFC where it meets air, forming the byproduct of the electrochemical reaction [4]. The combination of the oxygen, protons and the electrons form the byproduct of the electrochemical reaction which is water. The high current densities obtained from PEMFC makes them highly recommended as alternative energy generation mediums to fossil fuels. They have good operating temperature range, between 60 and 80 ◦C, and have fast response startups.
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