Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power Research Articles

Research on the Performance of Self-Made Open-Cathode Fuel Cell Stacks under Different Operating Conditions.

The traditional fuel cell power system requires external ventilation and humidification systems for both the anode and cathode, which not only increases the application cost but also restrict its widespread use. In order to further enhance the applicability and reduce the operating costs of fuel cell power systems, this paper investigates the open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell power system. This approach not only lowers the cost but also reduces the weight of the power system, enabling its potential application in a wider range of vehicles. In this study, two versions of the open-cathode fuel cell stacks were developed and performance and stability tests were conducted under various operating conditions. Additionally, tests were carried out with different materials of carbon paper to find a balance between performance and stability. Through the research presented in this paper, the application scope of fuel cells has been expanded, providing valuable insights for their further development.

Optimization and performance investigation of confocal twin-nozzle ejector for PEMFC hydrogen supply and recirculation system under actual variable operating conditions

The actual operating boundary conditions under different Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) power outputs are considered to evaluate the performance of a confocal twin-nozzle ejector and optimize its geometric parameters through the experimentally verified 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics model. The effects of primary and outlet pressures, anode gas relative humidity (RH), and nitrogen mole fraction (XN2) on its recirculation ratio are investigated. Besides, two key geometric parameters, mixing chamber diameter Dm and length Lam, are optimized under variable operating conditions. The results show that the two-nozzle (TN) mode can operate over a wider range of outlet pressure variation than single-nozzle (SN) mode, and an optimum primary pressure exists for both two modes. Considering the overall performance of SN and TN modes over the entire investigated PEMFC power range, the optimal Dm and Lam are 5.50 and 22.00 mm, respectively. The recirculation ratio at the rated power of 84 kW is improved by 14.10% compared to the initial structure. The ejector's total recirculation capability is positively correlated with both RH and XN2, while the hydrogen recirculation capability is negatively correlated with them. The impact of RH on the recirculation ratio of confocal twin-nozzle ejector is consistent with that of the conventional nozzle ejector. This work may provide useful ways for designing novel-type nozzle ejectors to expand the narrow operating range of ejectors used for PEMFC hydrogen supply and recirculation systems.

A study into Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell power and voltage prediction using Artificial Neural Network

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) uses hydrogen as fuel to generate electricity and by-product water at relatively low operating temperatures, which is environmentally friendly. Since PEMFC performance characteristics are inherently nonlinear and related, predicting the best performance for the different operating conditions is essential to improve the system’s efficiency. Thus, modeling using artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict its performance can significantly improve the capabilities of handling multi-variable nonlinear performance of the PEMFC. This paper predicts the electrical performance of a PEMFC stack under various operating conditions. The four input terms for the 5 W PEMFC include anode and cathode pressures and flow rates. The model performances are based on ANN using two different learning algorithms to estimate the stack voltage and power. The models have shown consistently to be comparable to the experimental data. All models with at least five hidden neurons have coefficients of determination of 0.95 or higher. Meanwhile, the PEMFC voltage and power models have mean squared errors of less than 1 × 10−3 V and 1 × 10−3 W, respectively. Therefore, the model results demonstrate the potential use of ANN into the implementation of such models to predict the steady state behavior of the PEMFC system (not limited to polarization curves) for different operating conditions and help in the optimization process for achieving the best performance of the system.

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Flow Field Configuration: Modelling and Experimental Verification

With climate change crisis the research community is forced to consider other alternatives for energy production. Therefore, renewable energy sources are today considered as the main replacement for fossil fuels in the future. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are gaining more attention as main power sources for powering various vehicles, such as cars, forklifts, golfcarts etc. [1, 2]. European Commission (EC) recognized the importance of the fuel cell and hydrogen technology and their inevitable role in reducing greenhouse gas emission by further encouraging hydrogen fuel cell integration in various vehicles in their hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe [3]. Beside water and heat management, one of the key elements of the PEM fuel cells are reactants flow field channels. Influence of flow direction, channel length and number of channels, cross-section shape, channel depth, channel to rib width ratio etc., on PEM fuel cell performances has been analysed in the literature. Improper design of flow field channels may lead to water stagnation and flooding and as a result poor fuel cell performance (polarization curve).The objective of this work is to find optimal flow field configuration – number of channels, channel width to rib ration and channel depth. To achieve this objective numerical modelling of PEMFC was done using Ansys 17.0, in which 3D geometry (via DesignModeler) was modelled and finite volumes mesh was generated. Developed model was simulated in Fluent, using computational fluid dynamic (CFD). Based on the simulation results, graphite bipolar plate with optimal channel design was machined, integrated into single PEM fuel cell unit with commercial MEA’s and tested. With the application of different geometrical parameters like the number of channels, channel width to rib ratio, channel depth, mass fraction of oxygen and heat transfer in the fuel cell can be optimized. Numerical modelling of PEMFC was done using Ansys 17.0, in which 3D geometry (via DesignModeler) was modelled and finite volumes mesh was generated. At last, PEMFC was simulated in Fluent, using computational fluid dynamic (CFD). After calibration of the based numerical model, simulations with improved flow field designs were created and compared to the based model. Flow field design which was configurated as 4 serpentines (counterflow mode) channels with the depth of 0.45 mm, resulted in the best improvement of performance comparing to the basic model. Obtained results were confirmed experimentally.References Tolj, I.; Lototskyy, M.V.; Davids, M.W.; Pasupathi, S.; Swart, G.; Pollet B.G. Fuel cell-battery hybrid powered light electric vehicle (golf cart): Influence of fuel cell on the driving performance. J. Hydrogen Energy 2013, 38, 10630-10639.Lototskyy, M.V.; Tolj, I. et al. Performance of electric forklift with low-temperature polymer exchange membrane fuel cell power module and metal hydride hydrogen storage extension tank. Power Sources 2016, 316, 239-250.Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A hydrogen strategy for a climate-neutral Europe, Brussels, 08.07.2020, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0301&from=EN

Model of Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Two Energy Sources

The paper proposes a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) design based on the installation of a fuel cell (FC) module in the existing Daewoo Tico electric vehicle to increase its range in urban areas. Installing an FC module supplied by a 2 kg hydrogen tank would not significantly increase the mass of the electric vehicle, and the charging time of the hydrogen tank is lower than the battery charging time. For design analysis, a model was created in the MATLAB/Simulink software package. The model simulates vehicle range at different HEV speeds for Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) and Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) power sources. The greatest anticipated benefit derived from the model analysis relates to velocities ranging from 20 km/h to 30 km/h, although the optimal HEV velocity in an urban area is in the range of 30 km/h to 40 km/h. The results indicate that this conversion of Electric Vehicle (EV) to HEV would bring a benefit of 87.4% in terms of vehicle range in urban areas. Therefore, the result of the conversion in this case is a vehicle with sub-optimal characteristics, which are nevertheless very close to optimal.

Experimental campaign and assessment of a complete 240-kW Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell power system for maritime applications

This work shows the results of the experimental assessment of the HI-SEA joint laboratory between Fincantieri, the main Italian shipbuilder, and the University of Genova. The HI-SEA system is a 240 kW real-scale test rig complete of auxiliaries, made up of 8 Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell stacks installed on two parallel branches, which can operate independently or in parallel by means of two dedicated DC/DC converters. The experimental assessment is performed by considering: (i) Stationary performance; (ii) dynamic performance; (iii) a maritime operative profile defined together with Fincantieri. The experimental results obtained in this work demonstrated that the system can successfully respond to static, dynamic, and typical maritime operative load profiles. It was also assessed the ability of the system to work simultaneously with two parallel branches, by means of two DC/DC converters, which represents a clear advantage in terms of load sharing and redundance onboard for security issues. Furthermore, the present study gives important advice and criteria for the design, construction, and control of similar Fuel Cell complete systems for maritime applications, which is particularly relevant considering that experimental studies on complete Fuel Cell systems is still limited.

Adaptive Sliding Mode Control Integrating with RBFNN for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power Conditioning

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are considered a promising solution for renewable energy application. To meet industrial requirements, the power source consisting of PEMFC is required to be power regulator to generate a stable and desired current and/or voltage under various working conditions. In this article, the adaptive sliding mode control integrating with the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) approach for DC/DC buck converter-based PEMFC is presented to address perturbations from inner parameters as well as external disturbances in terms of power conditioning. Sliding mode control (SMC) and backstepping schemes are integrated to tackle the nonlinear and coupled outputs resulting in large control errors and slow response caused by PEMFC characteristics. To accurately estimate the parametric uncertainties and disturbance injections, such as buck converter parameter varying and PEMFC operation point changing, the RBFNN adaptive law is developed according to the defined Lyapunov and Gaussian functions overcoming the limitations of non-/linear parameter estimating. Simulations and experiments on the PEMFC power supply prototype governed by the DS1104 board are carried out. The comparative results indicate that the proposed RBFNN estimation associated with the backstepping SMC can reduce up to 7.5% overshoot and smooth PEMFC voltage and inductor current when disturbance changes in a voltage regulation experiment. Thus, the proposed method can regulate the current or voltage of a PEMFC power supply with robustness, adaptivity, and no chattering phenomenon.

Thermodynamic and exergoeconomic analyses of a vehicular fuel cell power system with waste heat recovery for cabin heating and reactants preheating

In this paper, a novel vehicular proton exchange membrane fuel cell power system with waste heat recovery for multiple thermal applications is proposed. The waste heat is utilized for cabin heating and reactants preheating. Thermodynamic model of the proposed system is established and validated. The proposed system is evaluated from the viewpoints of thermodynamic and exergoeconomic. The results show that the possible amount of heat supplied to the cabin varies from 933 W to 23971 W by adjustment of operating parameters. Energy consumption and exergy destruction of each component are presented, and components should receive more priority in further researches are pointed out. The effects of the operation parameters on system energy efficiency, exergy efficiency and total cost per unit of product exergy are presented and analyzed by parametric studies. It is found that system exergy efficiency first increases and then decrease as stack operation temperature is increased. Single-objective and multi-objective optimizations for better thermodynamic and economic performance of the system are conducted. By optimizing the operation parameters, the system exergy efficiency could be increased to 45.77%, and total cost per unit of product exergy could be decreased to 29.42 US$/GJ.

Experimental Campaign and Assessment of a Complete 240-Kw Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power System for Maritime Applications

Experimental Campaign and Assessment of a Complete 240-Kw Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power System for Maritime Applications

Conventional and advanced exergy analyses of a vehicular proton exchange membrane fuel cell power system

Vehicles powered by proton exchange membrane fuel cell have received lots of attention due to various merits. A comprehensive proton exchange membrane fuel cell power system with parallel-arranged heat recovery strategy for reactants preheating is proposed and investigated. Thermodynamic model of the system is established and is validated rigorously. In order to minimize system total exergy destruction, an acceptable interval of stream separation ratio for the parallel-arranged heat exchangers in this system varies from 0.01-0.90. Conventional and advanced exergy analyses of the system are presented. Real improvement potential of the proposed system is quantified: 46.42% of the total exergy destruction is avoidable, and the improvement priority orders are given: PEMFC stack >WP>AC>R>CHE>AHE>HC. It is found that a strong interaction exists in the system since 84% of the total exergy destruction is exogenous. Interactions of each component with the remaining components are analyzed. 87.97% of the exergy destruction in the stack is exogenous, which indicates that the improvement of auxiliary components will be effective to improve the system. This paper could provide directions for further improvement on the efficiency of this system and deeper understandings of interactions between the components.

Modeling, Analysis and Experimental Validation of the Fuel Cell Association with DC-DC Power Converters with Robust and Anti-Windup PID Controller Design

Based on full and rigorous study, this paper addresses the issue of ensuring a feasible association in practice between a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) and DC-DC power converters including a buck and boost converter. This association is mathematically modeled, analyzed, and controlled by an optimal PID controller. Using absolute stability tools with a rigorous analytical approach that takes into consideration windup effects, in addition to the nonlinear behavior of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, sufficient conditions are provided to ensure that the closed-loop system is L2-stable. These conditions allow the optimal PID controller parameters to be chosen and ensure the closed-loop system stability, by tracking reference outputs, and an optimal performance against perturbations. Formal analysis, numerical simulations, and experimental validation were carried out to verify that the PID controller designed with an anti-windup action is robust and meets all of the pre-defined objectives. Moreover, this study demonstrates that the association between the PEMFC and the DC-DC converters is achieved if only certain conditions are met.

Design of a methanol reformer for on-board production of hydrogen as fuel for a 3 kW High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell power system

The method of Computational Fluid Dynamics is used to predict the process parameters and select the optimum operating regime of a methanol reformer for on-board production of hydrogen as fuel for a 3 kW High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell power system. The analysis uses a three reactions kinetics model for methanol steam reforming, water gas shift and methanol decomposition reactions on Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst. Numerical simulations are performed at single channel level for a range of reformer operating temperatures and values of the molar flow rate of methanol per weight of catalyst at the reformer inlet. Two operating regimes of the fuel processor are selected which offer high methanol conversion rate and high hydrogen production while simultaneously result in a small reformer size and a reformate gas composition that can be tolerated by phosphoric acid-doped high temperature membrane electrode assemblies for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Based on the results of the numerical simulations, the reactor is sized, and its design is optimized.

Thermodynamic modeling and exergy analysis of proton exchange membrane fuel cell power system

The proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell (PEMFC) is equipped with a series of auxiliary components which consume considerable amount of energy. It is necessary to investigate the design and operation of the PEMFC power system for better system performance. In this study, a typical PEMFC power system is developed, and a thermodynamic model of the system is established. Simulation is carried out, and the power distribution of each auxiliary component in the system, the net power and power efficiency of the system are obtained. This power system uses cooling water for preheating inlet gases, and its energy-saving effect is also verified by the simulation. On this basis, the exergy analysis is applied on the system, and the indexes of the system exergy loss, exergy efficiency and ecological function are proposed to evaluate the system performance. The results show that fuel cell stack and heat exchanger are the two components that cause the most exergy loss. Furthermore, the system performance under various stack inlet temperatures and current densities is also analyzed. It is found that the net power, energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of the system reach the maximum when the stack inlet temperature is about 348.15 K. The ecological function is maintained at a high level when the stack inlet temperature is around 338.15 K. Lower current density increases the system ecological function and the power and exergy efficiencies, and also helps decrease the system exergy loss, but it decreases the system net power.

Investigation of micro-combined heat and power application of PEM fuel cell systems

This study focuses on the investigating different working temperature effect on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) stack performance, micro-combined heat and power (μCHP) application and their simple payback time. LT-PEMFC and HT-PEMFC short stacks were designed and analyzed for 480 W net power output. Liquid cooling method was choosing for the cooling the PEMFC stacks due for efficient μCHP applications. The experimental studies were carried out by using 13 cells HT-PEMFC and 6 cells LT-PEMFC short stacks and design parameters were determined. 1.2 kW PEMFCs with μCHP systems with different working temperature were designed based on electrochemical data obtained from short stack testing. The proposed PEMFC systems can supply electric and hot water. The highest μCHP system efficiency was calculated with a value of 92% for HT-PEMFC based system. The corresponding electrical and thermal efficiencies are 48% and 44%, respectively. In this study, two important parameters have been analyzing: efficiency and simple payback time. By using μCHP application, both natural gas and H2 based PEMFC systems SPT values are reduced.

High Fidelity Model for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power Module Considering Internal Power Losses

AbstractA high‐fidelity model has been developed in this paper to characterize a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power module. The uniqueness of this model is that it takes into account of the internal temperature of the stack and internal power consumptions by the auxiliary systems. To simplify the model representation, an equivalent circuit model is developed by using operating condition dependent fictitious circuit components. The parameters of these components are nonlinear functions of fuel cell operating conditions, most notably, the output power level and the stack temperature. The specific values of these parameters are determined through a series of experiments on a physical fuel cell power module. The data are then used to construct a nonlinear model to cover a wide fuel cell operating range. To validate the developed model, five characteristic features are used in the experiments. Comparing against the experimental results, it is shown that the developed model produces the minimal amount of errors in comparison with the theoretical model, and a previously developed model. When used to represent a physical fuel cell power source in practice, this model improves the quality of control system design and analysis.

Design of Brake Regeneration Controller and Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power Supply for a Robot

Design of Brake Regeneration Controller and Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power Supply for a Robot

Study on the operating pressure effect on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell power system

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell is a promising clean energy conversion device. Proton exchange membrane fuel cell power system has great potential in the automotive applications. A fuel cell stack and an air compressor are two important components in a fuel cell power system and it is meaningful to study their properties for better system performance. The aim of this study is to enhance the performance of a 20kW vehicular proton exchange membrane fuel cell power system incorporating a fuel cell stack and an air compressor, through the cathode operating pressure optimization. The fuel cell stack is investigated numerically and the air compressor characteristics are obtained experimentally. The fuel cell stack and the air compressor are matched properly, and then the operating pressure optimization for the power system is carried out. The results of this study show that the fuel cell stack power generation is increased with the system operating pressure. The compressor power consumption is also increased with the system operating pressure, but it can be reduced by using a two-speed compressor operation mode. The optimum system operating pressure is found to be 1.2atm. The optimum system operating pressure is influenced by the compressor efficiency and is increased with the compressor efficiency.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Investigation of control schemes for reactants’ flow pressure

ABSTRACTIn this paper, the operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems is introduced by modeling of reactant flow pressure control schemes. Proportional-Integral, Fuzzy logic and Artificial neural network-based schemes are proposed to control the hydrogen and oxygen flow pressure. A MATLAB/Simulink model is developed for the proton exchange membrane fuel cell power generation system by combining the designed controllers. The system performance is tested under different operating conditions for each controller-assisted proton exchange membrane fuel cell and found to be satisfactory. Furthermore, a comparative study is made in terms of controller response and the fuel consumption.

Performance of electric forklift with low-temperature polymer exchange membrane fuel cell power module and metal hydride hydrogen storage extension tank

We present test results of a commercial 3-tonne electric forklift (STILL) equipped with a commercial fuel cell power module (Plug Power) and a MH hydrogen storage tank (HySA Systems and TF Design). The tests included: (i) performance evaluation of “hybrid” hydrogen storage system during refuelling at low (<185 bar) dispensing pressures; (ii) comparison of the forklift performances during heavy-duty operation when changing the powering in the series: standard battery – fuel cell power module (alone) – power module with integrated MH tank; and (iii) performance tests of the forklift during its operation under working conditions. It was found that (a) the forklift with power module and MH tank can achieve 83% of maximum hydrogen storage capacity during 6 min refuelling (for full capacity 12–15 min); (b) heavy-duty operation of the forklift is characterised by 25% increase in energy consumption, and during system operation more uniform power distribution occurs when operating in the fuel cell powering mode with MH, in comparison to the battery powering mode; (c) use of the fully refuelled fuel cell power module with the MH extension tank allows for uninterrupted operation for 3 h 6 min and 7 h 15 min, for heavy- and light-duty operation, respectively.

Joint Particle Filters Prognostics for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Power Prediction at Constant Current Solicitation

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) are promising energy converters, but still suffer from a short life duration. Applying Prognostics and Health Management seems to be a great solution to overcome that issue. But developing prognostics to anticipate and try to avoid failures is a critical challenge. To tackle this problem, a hybrid prognostics approach is proposed. It aims at predicting the power aging of a PEMFC stack working at a constant operating condition and a constant current solicitation. The main difficulties to overcome are the lack of adapted modeling of the aging for prognostics, and the occurrence of disturbances creating recovery phenomena through aging. Consequently, this work proposes a new empirical model for power aging that takes into account these recoveries based on different features extracted from the data. These models are used in a joint particle filter framework directly initialized by an automatic parameter estimate process. When sufficient data are available, the prognostics can give accurate behavior predictions compared to experimentation. Remaining useful life estimates can be given with an error smaller than 5% for a horizon of 500 hours on a life duration of 1750 hours, which is clearly long enough for decision making.