Investigation of the Purging Effect on the Performance of Dead-End Anode PEM Fuel Cell Vehicle: A Driving Cycle Test

Abstract

The dynamic behavior of the PEM fuel cell performance is one of the main factors for successful operation of fuel cell vehicle. Maintaining the fast time response whilst keeping the stable and high stack performance is of importance, especially during acceleration and deceleration. In this paper, we evaluate the transient response of a PEM fuel cell stack with a dead-end anode during the European legislated driving cycle together with the effect of purging factors. The dead-end anode PEM fuel cell stack comprises of 24 cells with 300 cm2 active catalyst area and operates at low hydrogen and air pressure. The humidified air is supplied to the cathode side; whereas the dry hydrogen is fed to the anode. The liquid coolant is circulated to the stack and radiator to maintain the thermal envelope throughout the stack. The effects of purging frequencies, purging durations, coolant flow rate together with the effect of cathode stoichiometry are examined with regard to the stack performance during the transient driving cycle.