Development of cylindrical PEM fuel cells with semi-cylindrical cathode current collectors |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Urmia University, Urmia 57561-15311, Iran;2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada;3. Laboratory for Alternative Energy Conversion (LAEC), School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, BC V3T 0A3, Canada;4. Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic) and Energy Systems and Transport Phenomena Lab (ESTP), University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 3P6, Canada;5. Vancouver International CleanTech Research Institute, 4475 Wayburne Dr. Suite 310, Burnaby, BC V5G 4X4, Canada;1. Université Grenoble Alpes, 621 avenue Centrale, 38400, Saint Martin d''Hères, France;2. CEA-LITEN, DTNM/SENCI/LMSE, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054, Grenoble Cedex 9, France;3. CEA-DSM, INAC/SPrAM/PCI, UMR-5819, CEA-CNRS-UJF, 17 Rue de Martyrs, 38054, Cedex 9 Grenoble, France;4. Electrochemistry Laboratory (LEC) and Neutron Imaging and Activation Group (NIAG), Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232, Villigen, PSI, Switzerland;1. School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran;2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran;3. School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran;1. Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune, 411008, India;2. Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Stremayrgasse 9, A-8010, Graz, Austria;1. Department of Energy and Refrigerating Air-Conditioning Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 10608, Taiwan;2. Research Center of Energy Conservation for New Generation of Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Sectors, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 10608, Taiwan;3. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, National Chiayi University, Chiayi City, 60004, Taiwan;4. Mechanical and Energy Engineering Department, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran;5. School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, 4072, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are attractive because of advantages such as low-temperature operation, no emission of harmful gases and high efficiency. However, the bipolar plates used in the state-of-the-art planar architecture are costly and increase the dead weight of the cell. In addition, the flow channels in the planar fuel cell increase the difficulty in removing the water produced in the cathode during cell operation. Cylindrical PEM fuel cells, on the other hand, do not require bipolar plates and there is no need for precisely machined flow channels. Thus, cylindrical PEM fuel cells are cheap, efficient in water management, and possess higher volumetric and gravimetric power density compared to planar PEM fuel cells. The design of a cylindrical fuel cell is very simple, but the fabrication of the same is fairly complex. In this work, a novel cathode current collector design for cylindrical PEM fuel cell has been developed. The cell performance was limited by low open circuit voltage and high ohmic resistance. The open circuit voltage of the cell is increased from 0.85 V to 0.95 V using an acrylic based adhesive to seal the membrane edges. The contact resistance of the cell is reduced from 75 mOhm to 50 mOhm by increasing the contact pressure on the membrane electrode assembly and it is further reduced to 30 mOhm by gold coating the current collectors. Furthermore, a cumulative 40% increase in peak power has been achieved from the optimization of cathode rib width and hydrogen flow rate. The optimized cell delivered a current density of 400 mA/cm2 at 0.6 V and peak power of 2 W, which is appreciable considering the fact that the cell is air-breathing and operated with very minimal subsystems. |
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| Keywords: | Cylindrical PEM fuel cell Cathode current collector Membrane sealing Contact pressure Gold coating |
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