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A new approach to optimize the operating conditions of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell based on degradation mechanisms

Roshandel, R ; Sharif University of Technology | 2013

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1007/s12667-012-0075-8
  3. Publisher: 2013
  4. Abstract:
  5. Performance degradation remains as one of the primary limitations for practical applications of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The performance of a PEM fuel cell stack is affected by many internal and external factors, such as fuel cell design and assembly, degradation of materials, operational conditions, and impurities or contaminants. Performance degradation is unavoidable, but the degradation rate can be minimized through a comprehensive understanding of degradation and failure mechanisms. In present work, a single PEM fuel cell for stationary applications is investigated. Membrane and catalyst layers (anode and cathode electrodes) are considered as critical components that affect the degradation of the cell. The model used in this work diagnoses degradation of MEA (platinum degradation in catalyst layers and membrane thinning and dehydration in polymer membrane), and by considering the degradation over operating time, estimates power density over system lifetime. In this paper, also three optimization model with different objective functions are developed tomaximize total energy production. The results show that by continuously optimizing the operating conditions, total energy generation of the system will increase up to 3.16 %. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
  6. Keywords:
  7. Degradation model ; Energy systems ; Operation condition ; Optimization ; PEM fuel cell ; Internal and external factors ; Operation conditions ; Optimizing the operating conditions ; Polymer electrolyte membranes ; Stationary applications ; Catalysts ; Degradation ; Impurities ; Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC)
  8. Source: Energy Systems ; Volume 4, Issue 3 , 2013 , Pages 219-237 ; 18683967 (ISSN)
  9. URL: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12667-012-0075-8