Analysis and proposition of limiting current density measurement protocol

Limiting current density at different temperatures, backpressures, and balance gases can be used to separate molecular diffusion resistance, Knudsen diffusion resistance and local transport resistance of membrane electrode assembly (MEA). However, the measurement of limiting current density has no unified protocol. The diverse choices in the literature, either in the control of current or voltage or in the atmosphere like relative humidity and O₂ concentrations, make it difficult to compare the results and identify the true bottleneck hindering the mass transport. In this work, the current-voltage curves obtained by current scanning/stepping and voltage scanning/stepping methods under dilute O₂ of different concentrations and a wide range of relative humidity were measured and analyzed systematically. It is found that the voltage stepping method is superior to the other three ways of control for the reliable determination of the limiting current density. Aided with simultaneous electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement, the limiting current density can be determined with pinpoint accuracy. When the limiting current density is just used to qualitatively evaluate different MEA, the voltage scanning method can be used instead for its high time efficiency. The selection of the atmosphere also plays an important role in suppressing the distortion from excessive water and reducing the spurious contribution from proton conduction resistance. It is found that O₂ concentrations at 0.5 vol% and relative humidity at 90% can give the best estimation of O₂ transport resistance in membrane electrode assembly.     

Nacre-Inspired,Liquid Metal-Based Ultrasensitive Electronic Skin by Spatially Regulated Cracking Strategy

The realization of liquid metal-based wearable systems will be a milestone toward high-performance, integrated electronic skin. However, despite the revolutionary progress achieved in many other components of electronic skin, liquid metal-based flexible sensors still suffer from poor sensitivity due to the insufficient resistance change of liquid metal to deformation. Herein, a nacre-inspired architecture composed of a biphasic pattern (liquid metal with Cr/Cu underlayer) as “bricks” and strain-sensitive Ag film as “mortar” is developed, which breaks the long-standing sensitivity bottleneck of liquid metal-based electronic skin. With 2 orders of magnitude of sensitivity amplification while maintaining wide (>85%) working range, for the first time, liquid metal-based strain sensors rival the state-of-art counterparts. This liquid metal composite features spatially regulated cracking behavior. On the one hand, hard Cr cells locally modulate the strain distribution, which avoids premature cut-through cracks and prolongs the defect propagation in the adjacent Ag film. On the other hand, the separated liquid metal cells prevent unfavorable continuous liquid-metal paths and create crack-free regions during strain. Demonstrated in diverse scenarios, the proposed design concept may spark more applications of ultrasensitive liquid metal-based electronic skins, and reveals a pathway for sensor development via crack engineering.     

下一代车载时间敏感网络架构设计与调度评估

智能网联汽车(Intelligent Connected Vehicle, ICV)是未来汽车行业发展的主要方向之一,其对车载网络通信的带宽、延迟出了较高的要求。针对该要求,提出了基于以太网的电子电气架构(Electronic/Electrical Architecture, EEA);在分析基于IEEE802.1Qbv的时间敏感网络(Time-sensitive Networking, TSN)传输调度机制的基础上,实现了控制数据流和传感器数据流的增量式调度。通过评估和对比,TSN拥有更高的带宽、更低的传输时延,有望成为下一代车载网络。     

A framework for allocating greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation to plug-in electric vehicle charging

This paper describes a number of different allocation methods for assigning greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation to charging plug-in electric vehicles. These methods for calculating the carbon intensity of electricity are discussed in terms of merits and drawbacks and are placed into a framework to aid in understanding the relation with other allocation methods. Three independent decisions are used to define these methods (average vs. marginal, aggregate vs. temporally-explicit, and retrospective vs. prospective). This framework is important because the use of different methods can lead to very different carbon intensities and studies or analyses that do not properly identify the methods used can confuse policymakers and stakeholders, especially when compared to other studies using different methods.     

Relationship between pressure drop and cell resistance as a diagnostic tool for PEM fuel cells

An increase in pressure drop, particularly on the cathode side of PEM fuel cell, is a reliable indicator of PEM fuel cell flooding, while an increase in cell resistance is a reliable indicator of fuel cell drying. By monitoring both pressure drop and cell resistance in an operational fuel cell stack it was possible to diagnose either flooding or drying conditions inside the stack. These parameters may be used for making decisions on corrective actions.     

基于支持向量机的氢混天然气发动机性能预测

为提高氢混天然气（HCNG）发动机的标定效率,精确预测发动机参数,对一台氢气体积分数为20%的HCNG燃料发动机进行试验研究和性能预测分析。基于高转速低负载工况稳态标定试验数据,采用支持向量机（SVM）方法建立发动机参数关联模型,并利用不同寻优算法为模型寻找最优参数,以提高各项参数的预测精度。结果显示：若发动机运行于最大扭矩点火正时,则等效天然气比消耗（BSFC）最小,NO_x比排放（BSNO_x）也处于较理想的水平,尤其在增加氢气比例时,这些外特性有更加显著的提升;SVM模型可以较好地描述发动机输入参数与输出参数之前的非线性关系,自变量与因变量之间的相关性较强（决定系数R²均大于0.97）,模型的预测精度较高,利用遗传算法得出的最优预测模型具有较高的泛化能力,扭矩、BSFC、BSNO_x的平均绝对百分比误差分别仅为1.23%、1.98%、5.43%。     

考虑系统变形的电驱动桥齿轮啮合效率研究

传动效率是电驱动桥重要性能指标之一,实际使用条件下,由于齿轮、轴、轴承以及壳体等部件的负载变形,齿轮副之间存在啮合错位。为了准确预测电驱动桥传动系的啮合效率,提出了一种考虑系统变形的电驱动桥齿轮啮合效率计算方法。首先基于传动系等效啮合模型,计算不同载荷工况下传动系每个齿轮副之间的啮合错位量,采用考虑摩擦的齿轮加载接触分析方法(FLTCA)和混合润滑摩擦系数模型对齿轮副的齿面接触力和齿面摩擦系数分布进行计算,得到系统功率损失及啮合效率。然后,与商用有限元软件计算结果进行对比,验证了计算方法的准确性。最后,针对不同载荷工况和不同转速分析了考虑和不考虑系统变形的系统啮合效率,结果表明：随着转矩的增加,系统变形增大,齿轮副之间的错位量增加,导致齿轮副之间发生偏载,齿面摩擦系数增加,系统啮合效率呈下降趋势。     

Design and economic analysis of high-pressure proton exchange membrane electrolysis for renewable energy storage

The proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis with a high-pressure cathode can help avoid the utilization of a hydrogen compressor and improve the efficiency of hydrogen transmission. The economic analysis of the entire process from hydrogen production to transportation was conducted in this study, and the advantages of high-pressure PEM electrolysis were proved. The economic analysis has also illustrated the influence of the cathode pressure and membrane thickness involved in PEM electrolysis on the energy consumption and capital expenditure of the electrolyzer from the perspectives of hydrogen permeability, ohmic impedance, and structural design. Although the output pressure of hydrogen is increased several tens of times, the proper structure and unchanged thickness of the membrane can help satisfy the strength and safety requirements of the electrolyzer simultaneously. In addition, the energy consumption and cost increase associated with the high-pressure electrolyzer can be limited to an acceptable range. The impact of the renewable energy scale on the decision and selection for PEM or ALK is also analyzed; PEM has an advantage over ALK in large-scale renewable energy hydrogen production scenarios because of its own wider upper and lower load limits compared to those of ALK.     

Exploration of the oxygen transport behavior in non-precious metal catalyst-based cathode catalyst layer for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

High cost has undoubtedly become the biggest obstacle to the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), in which Pt-based catalysts employed in the cathodic catalyst layer (CCL) account for the major portion of the cost. Although non-precious metal catalysts (NPMCs) show appreciable activity and stability in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the performance of fuel cells based on NPMCs remains unsatisfactory compared to those using Pt-based CCL. Therefore, most studies on NPMC-based fuel cells focus on developing highly active catalysts rather than facilitating oxygen transport. In this work, the oxygen transport behavior in CCLs based on highly active Fe-N-C catalysts is comprehensively explored through the elaborate design of two types of membrane electrode structures, one containing low-Pt-based CCL and NPMC-based dummy catalyst layer (DCL) and the other containing only the NPMC-based CCL. Using Zn-N-C based DCLs of different thickness, the bulk oxygen transport resistance at the unit thickness in NPMC-based CCL was quantified via the limiting current method combined with linear fitting analysis. Then, the local and bulk resistances in NPMC-based CCLs were quantified via the limiting current method and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Results show that the ratios of local and bulk oxygen transport resistances in NPMC-based CCL are 80% and 20%, respectively, and that an enhancement of local oxygen transport is critical to greatly improve the performance of NPMC-based PEMFCs. Furthermore, the activity of active sites per unit in NPMC-based CCLs was determined to be lower than that in the Pt-based CCL, thus explaining worse cell performance of NPMC-based membrane electrode assemblys (MEAs). It is believed that the development of NPMC-based PEMFCs should proceed not only through the design of catalysts with higher activity but also through the improvement of oxygen transport in the CCL.     

Internal battery temperature estimation using series battery resistance measurements during cold temperatures

A technique has been developed to estimate the internal battery temperature (T_bat) of secondary batteries by measuring the series battery resistance (R_B) at cold ambient temperatures. Tests were performed on both lead-acid and nickel metal hydride batteries at different cold temperatures to obtain useful plots of R_B versus T_bat. R_B was measured by using a pulse discharge circuit to apply a short-duration current pulse (I_B) directly to the battery. The test results indicated that R_B not only varies with temperature but also varies with the amplitude of I_B. The R_B versus T_bat plots were later utilized to predict T_bat from R_B during alternating current (AC) battery heating at cold ambient temperatures.