Direct measurement of current density under land and two channels in PEM fuel cells with interdigitated flow fields

Interdigitated flow field is one of the commonly used designs in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The knowledge of how the current density differs under the inlet channel, the land and the outlet channel, is critical for flow field design and optimization. In this study, the current densities under the inlet channel, the land and the outlet channel in PEM fuel cell with an interdigitated flow field are separately measured using the technique of partially-catalyzed membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). The experimental results show that the current density under the outlet channel is significantly lower than that under the inlet channel, and the current density under the land is higher than both channels at typical fuel cell operation voltages. Further experimental results show that the pattern of local current density remains the same with different cathode flow rates.     

A multi-instrumented polymer exchange membrane fuel cell: Observation of the in-plane non-homogeneities

A multi-instrumented single polymer exchange membrane fuel cell is tested. It allows measuring local current densities and the temperature field along the gas channels. It is built from transparent PMMA so that an additional observable is the location where liquid water appears in the channels. Some local and transient observations are presented. A result is that the temperature field is strongly correlated with the current density distribution and it is confirmed that both depend strongly on water management. Some local aging effects and the observation of internal currents in open circuit conditions are reported.     

脱硫系统对锅炉内爆影响的模拟试验研究

模拟带有脱硫系统电站锅炉的烟风系统,建立了燃气试验炉。试验从4个典型工况来进行,模拟研究脱硫系统对锅炉内爆的影响规律。试验结果表明:快速切断燃料后,炉膛而非引风机入口产生内爆的可能性最大,加装脱硫系统后,使得这一可能性更大;主燃料跳闸后,切断一次风,进气量减少,加大炉膛产生内爆的几率,加装脱硫系统后内爆的几率更大;延时断燃料,炉膛产生的最大负压减少,增设脱硫系统后,必须用更长的时间断燃料才能降低内爆产生的可能性;低负荷下熄火,炉膛产生内爆的可能性降低,增设脱硫系统使得低负荷下内爆可能性增大。     

Direct measurement of lateral current density distribution in a PEM fuel cell with a serpentine flow field

In a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, local current density can vary drastically in the lateral direction across the land and channel areas. It is essential to know the lateral current density variations in order to optimize flow field design and fuel cell performance. Thus the objective of this work is to directly measure the lateral current density variations in a PEM fuel cell with a serpentine flow field. Five 1 mm-width partially-catalyzed membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), each corresponding to a different location from the center of the gas channel to the center of the land area are used in the experiments. Current densities for fuel cells with each of the partially-catalyzed MEAs are measured and the results provide the lateral current density distribution. The measurement results show that in the high cell voltage region, local current density is the highest under the center of the land area and decreases toward the center of the channel area; while in the low cell voltage region local current density is the highest under the center of the channel area and decreases toward the center of the land area. Besides, the effects of cathode flow rates on the lateral current density distribution have also been studied. Furthermore, comparisons have also been made by using air and oxygen in the cathode and it is found that when oxygen is used the local current density under the land is significantly enhanced, especially in the low cell voltage region.     

A Study of dynamic characteristics of PEM fuel cells by measuring local currents

Dynamic characteristics are important information in analyzing and understanding PEM fuel cell performances and detailed local dynamic information is extremely important in the understanding of fundamental mechanisms. In this study, the input parameters studied include humidification temperature of the reactant gases, operating temperature, and operating backpressure and the local dynamic responses are the local current densities. The fuel cell used is a PEM fuel cell with a single channel serpentine flow field and the local current densities are directly measured using the current density distribution measurement gasket and a multi-channel potentiostat. The experimental results show that very different local dynamic responses exist even though the response of the average current shows very little dynamics. Especially when the humidification temperature increases from a low value to moderate value, the responses of the local current density in the upstream are very different from those in the downstream.     

Thermodynamic modeling of direct internal reforming solid oxide fuel cells operating with syngas

In this paper a direct internal reforming solid oxide fuel cell (DIR-SOFC) is modeled thermodynamically from the energy point of view. Syngas produced from a gasification process is selected as a fuel for the SOFC. The modeling consists of several steps. First, equilibrium gas composition at the fuel channel exit is derived in terms mass flow rate of fuel inlet, fuel utilization ratio, recirculation ratio and extents of steam reforming and water–gas shift reaction. Second, air utilization ratio is determined according to the cooling necessity of the cell. Finally, terminal voltage, power output and electrical efficiency of the cell are calculated. Then, the model is validated with experimental data taken from the literature. The methodology proposed is applied to an intermediate temperature, anode-supported planar SOFC operating with a typical gas produced from a pyrolysis process. For parametric analysis, the effects of recirculation ratio and fuel utilization ratio are investigated. The results show that recirculation ratio does not have a significant effect for low current density conditions. At higher current densities, increasing the recirculation ratio decreases the power output and electrical efficiency of the cell. The results also show that the selection of the fuel utilization ratio is very critical. High fuel utilization ratio conditions result in low power output and air utilization ratio but higher electrical efficiency of the cell.     

Kinetic studies of cathode degradation on PEM fuel cell short stack level undergoing freeze startups with different states of residual water and current draws

One of the biggest challenges for a wide spread introduction of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in automotive applications is the freeze start at subzero temperatures as this poses a severe threat to fuel cell performance and overall lifetime. Therefore, the impact of current draw during stack freeze startup at various rest water contents and current densities was investigated applying state of the art in-situ testing as quasi cyclic voltammetry.The results indicate a clear dependency between number of freeze startups and performance loss, whereas higher initial water content within the stack reduced its destructive impacts.In our earlier work we were able to show the dependency between residual water and degradation for non-freeze-startup-capable systems at the unit cell level [31]. With this work we confirm that the same physical relationship also applies to freeze-startup-capable systems on the short stack level.Furthermore, reversible performance losses that were encountered during this study can be assigned to oxidizable fuel contaminants, which are believed to be CO, and an easy cleansing procedure is being suggested.     

Effects of humidification temperatures on local current characteristics in a PEM fuel cell

It is well known that water plays a very important role in the performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Non-uniform water content in the membrane leads to non-uniform ionic resistance, and non-uniform liquid water fraction in the porous electrode causes varied mass transfer resistances. The objective of this work is to study the effects of different anode and cathode humidification temperatures on local current densities of a PEM fuel cell with a co-flow serpentine flow field. The method used is the current distribution measurement gasket technique [H. Sun, G.S. Zhang, L.J. Guo, H. Liu, J. Power Sources 158 (2006) 326–332]. The experimental results show that both air and the hydrogen need to be humidified to ensure optimal cell performance, and too high or too low humidification temperature can cause severe non-uniform distribution of local current density. From the experimental results of local current density distributions, the local membrane hydration, the optimal humidification temperature, and if flooding occurs can be obtained. Such detailed local measurement results could be very valuable in fuel cell design and operation optimizations.     

Dynamic characteristics of local current densities and temperatures in proton exchange membrane fuel cells during reactant starvations

Reactant starvation during proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) operation can cause serious irreversible damages. In order to study the detailed local characteristics of starvations, simultaneous measurements of the dynamic variation of local current densities and temperatures in an experimental PEMFC with single serpentine flow field have been performed during both air and hydrogen starvations. These studies have been performed under both current controlled and cell voltage controlled operations. It is found that under current controlled operations cell voltage can decrease very quickly during reactant starvation. Besides, even though the average current is kept constant, local current densities as well as local temperatures can change dramatically. Furthermore, the variation characteristics of local current density and temperature strongly depend on the locations along the flow channel. Local current densities and temperatures near the channel inlet can become very high, especially during hydrogen starvation, posing serious threats for the membrane and catalyst layers near the inlet. When operating in a constant voltage mode, no obvious damaging phenomena were observed except very low and unstable current densities and unstable temperatures near the channel outlet during hydrogen starvation. It is demonstrated that measuring local temperatures can be effective in exploring local dynamic performance of PEMFC and the thermal failure mechanism of MEA during reactants starvations.     

Simultaneous measurement of current and temperature distributions in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Using a specially designed current distribution measurement gasket in anode and thin thermocouples between the catalyst layer and gas diffusion layer (GDL) in cathode, in-plane current and temperature distributions in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) have been simultaneously measured. Such simultaneous measurements are realized in a commercially available experimental PEMFC. Experiments have been conducted under different air flow rates, different hydrogen flow rates and different operating voltages, and measurement results show that there is a very good correlation between local temperature rise and local current density. Such correlations can be explained and agree well with basic thermodynamic analysis. Measurement results also show that significant difference exists between the temperatures at cathode catalyst layer/GDL interface and that in the center of cathode endplate, which is often taken as the cell operating temperature. Compared with separate measurement of local current density or temperature, simultaneous measurements of both can reveal additional information on reaction irreversibility and various transport phenomena in fuel cells.     

Hydrogen crossover and internal short-circuit currents experimental characterization and modelling in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Open circuit losses encompass a set of phenomena that reduce PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) efficiency, especially at low current densities. Properly modelling these losses is crucial for obtaining PEMFC models that reproduce accurately the experimental behaviour of PEMFCs operating at low current densities. The open circuit losses can be disaggregated into three distinct contributions: mixed potential, hydrogen crossovers and internal short-circuits. The aim of this work is to obtain a model for the anodic and the cathodic pressure effects on the hydrogen crossovers and the internal short-circuits in a commercial PEMFC. In order to achieve this goal, the hydrogen crossovers and the internal short-circuit were measured experimentally on a commercial PEMFC by linear voltammetry. The measurements were performed at a given temperature and gas inlet humidification level, for different anodic and cathodic pressures.     

Numerical analysis of electrical power generation and internal reforming characteristics in seal-less disk-type solid oxide fuel cells

For seal-less type solid oxide fuel cells, its power generation characteristics and distribution of the gas composition depend on not only the electrochemical reaction, but also complex kinetics and transport phenomena, because the internal reforming reaction and the water-gas shift reaction take place together with reverse diffusion of the ambient gas from the surroundings of the cell. The purpose of this paper is to theoretically explain the experimental results of the anodic concentration profile of gaseous species previously reported in a practical seal-less disk-type cell which used pre-reforming methane with steam as a fuel. A numerical model that takes into account the transport phenomena of the gaseous species and the internal reforming reaction with the water-gas shift reaction together with the assumption of the cell outlet boundary condition was constructed to numerically analyse the gas composition distribution and power generation characteristics. Numerical analyses by the model were conducted for the several cases reported as the experiment. The calculated results in the anode gas concentration profile and in the voltage–current characteristics show good agreement with the experimental data in every case, and then the validity of the simulation model was verified. Therefore, the model is useful for a seal-less disk-type cell which is operated by a fuel including non-reformed methane.     

新型平板式固体氧化物燃料电池的开发和性能分析

利用商业数值分析软件和试验获得的电池各部件材料性能数据,改进了用于分析固体氧化物燃料电池(SOFC)单电池内部复杂物理过程的软件包.应用该软件包,得到了设计的新型高效平板式SOFC单电池内部各气体组分浓度、温度、电势、电流及电流密度等参数的分布规律.分析结果表明:在高燃料利用率情况下,阳极内组分扩散引起的浓度极化损失是影响电池性能的重要因素之一.该新型结构电池可有效改善电池的密封性,但其电解质需要较高的最大离子传导率.     

About internal currents during start-up in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

This paper reports about an experimental and numerical study of the internal currents that occur during fuel cell start-up under open-circuit conditions. The internal currents were measured in a segmented cell specifically designed for this purpose and it was found that they could reach values higher than 1 A cm⁻². They result from the potential that appears at the inlet of the anode compartment while hydrogen pushes oxygen, air, or possibly nitrogen that was introduced for purging water toward the outlet. For a short time, a fraction of the channels is filled with hydrogen while the other part is still occupied by the gas initially present. The model presented in the paper demonstrates that the occurrence of internal currents can be explained mostly by capacitive effects. Carbon oxidation occurs probably simultaneously but its contribution to the internal currents is by all appearances negligible. The model also explains the transient voltage rise (over the steady state open circuit voltage) that is sometimes observed experimentally shortly after the fuel cell start-up.     

Computational analysis of thermo-fluid and electrochemical characteristics of MOLB-type SOFC stacks

A 3D simulation tool for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) was described to simulate the mass, momentum and energy conversions in the mono-block layers built (MOLB)-type SOFC system. Considering the co-flow and counter-flow cell designs, the temperature distributions, variations of reaction species and current densities of the single-unit cell were calculated under the different working conditions. The simulation results show that the co-flow case has more uniform temperature and current density distributions. Similar to the planar SOFC, in co-flow case, increasing fuel delivery rate or hydrogen mass fraction in the fuel, average temperatures of PEN (positive/electrolyte/negative) and current densities rise, but the average temperatures of PEN decrease with increasing the delivery rate of air. In particular, MOLB-type SOFC has some advantages such as: higher hydrogen utilizations, lower temperature difference and higher current density. However the current density distributions are less uniform in MOLB-type SOFC, which is a disadvantage in this type SOFC.     

Different flow fields,operation modes and designs for proton exchange membrane fuel cells with dead-ended anode

Water and nitrogen can accumulate in the anode channel in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with dead-ended anode (DEA) and can affect cell performance significantly. In this paper, the cell performance characteristics in DEA PEMFCs with three different anode flow fields under two operating modes are studied through measuring the cell voltages and local current densities. The effect of the anode exit reservoir is also studied for the three different anode flow fields. The experimental results show that the interdigitated flow field has the most stable cell performance under both constant pressure and pressure swing supply modes. Parallel and serpentine flow fields lead to very non-uniform local current distributions under constant pressure supply mode and experience severe fluctuations and spikes in local current densities under pressure swing supply mode. The results also show that anode pressure swing supply mode can achieve more stable cell performance than anode constant pressure supply mode for parallel and serpentine anode flow fields. The anode exit reservoir can significantly improve cell performance stability for parallel and serpentine flow fields, but has no significant effect on interdigitated flow fields. Besides, the results further show that PEMFCs with DEA can maintain very stable operation with anode serpentine flow field and an anode exit reservoir under pressure swing operation.     

Factors affecting limiting current in solid oxide fuel cells or debunking the myth of anode diffusion polarization

Limiting current densities for solid oxide fuel cells were measured using both button cells and a flow-through cell. The cell anodes were supplied with mixtures of humidified hydrogen and various inert gasses. It was demonstrated that the true limiting current in flow-through cells is reached when either: the hydrogen is nearly or completely depleted at the anode-electrolyte interface near the outlet; or when the concentration of steam at that interface becomes high enough to interfere with adsorption or transport of the remaining hydrogen near the triple-phase boundaries. Choice of inert gas had no effect on limiting currents in the flow-through tests, indicating that diffusion within the porous anode had no significant effect on cell performance at high currents. In the button cells, the apparent limiting currents were significantly changed by the choice of inert gas, indicating that they were determined by diffusion through the bulk gas within the support tube. It was concluded that the apparent limiting currents measured in button cells are influenced more by parameters of the experimental setup, such as the proximity of the fuel tube outlet, than by the physical properties of the anode.     

Internal currents in response to a load change during fuel cell start-up

The transient response of proton exchange membrane fuel cells during start-up is an important issue for backup power systems. These require a very short start-up time which limits the use of batteries during a blackout. In this study the fuel cell was initially inerted with nitrogen at the cathode and thus the start-up procedures occurred in two stages: gas supply in open-circuit and load connection. The influence of the current time-profile, the cell voltage at the connection and the gas flow rates on the voltage variation were investigated using a segmented fuel cell permitting the measurements of the internal local currents. We found that the voltage during the filling of the cathode is not sufficient to determine which fraction of the cathode was filled with oxygen. In the case of a step change in current, the start-up time decreases as the voltage at the moment the cell is connected increases. In response to a ramp, the asymptotic power value is reached quickly.     

Along‐channel flooding prediction of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Non‐uniform current distribution in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells results in local over‐heating, accelerated ageing, and lower power output than expected. This issue is quite critical when a fuel cell experiences water flooding. In this study, the performance of a PEM fuel cell is investigated under cathode flooding conditions. A two‐dimensional approach is proposed for a single PEM fuel cell based on conservation laws and electrochemical equations to provide useful insight into water transport mechanisms and their effect on the cell performance. The model results show that inlet stoichiometry and humidification, and cell operating pressure are important factors affecting cell performance and two‐phase transport characteristics. Numerical simulations have revealed that the liquid saturation in the cathode gas distribution layer (GDL) could be as high as 20%. The presence of liquid water in the GDL decreases oxygen transport and surface coverage of active catalyst, which in turn degrades the cell performance. The thermodynamic quality in the cathode flow channel is found to be greater than 99.7%, indicating that liquid water in the cathode gas channel exists in very small amounts and does not interfere with the gas phase transport. A detailed analysis of the operating conditions shows that cell performance should be optimized based on the maximum average current density achieved and the magnitude of its dispersion from its mean value. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A computational simulation of a hydrogen/chlorine single fuel cell

A two-dimensional, isothermal mathematical model of an H₂–Cl₂ single fuel cell with an aqueous HCl electrolyte is presented. The model focuses on the electrode reactions in the chlorine cathode and also includes the mass and momentum balances for the electrolyte and cathode gas diffusion layer. There is good agreement between the model predictions and experimental results. Distributions of physical parameters such as reactant and product concentrations, solution and solid phase potentials and local current densities and overpotentials as a function of cell voltage are presented. Effects of varying the initial electrolyte concentration and operating pressure are analysed. It was found that an electrolyte inlet concentration of 6 mol dm⁻³ gave the best cell performance and that an increase of operating pressure gave a steady increase of the fuel cell performance.