An experimental study on the purge characteristics of the cathodic dead-end mode PEMFC for the submarine or aerospace applications and performance improvement with the pulsation effects

In polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for the submarine or the aerospace systems, the pure hydrogen and oxygen are generally supplied to both sides of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Additionally, the fuel cell becomes a dead-end system which needs no fuel and oxidant supplying devices s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of hydrogen energy 2010-04, Vol.35 (8), p.3698-3711
Main Authors: Choi, Jong Won, Hwang, Yong-Sheen, Seo, Jeong-Hoon, Lee, Dae Hueng, Cha, Suk Won, Kim, Min Soo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Cathodic dead-end mode
Effective diffusivity
Electric potential
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Equipments for energy generation and conversion: thermal, electrical, mechanical energy, etc
Exact sciences and technology
Fuel cells
Mean purge interval
Membranes
Oxidants
Oxidizing agents
PEM fuel cell
Pulsation
Pulsation effect
Submarines
Voltage
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Summary:In polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for the submarine or the aerospace systems, the pure hydrogen and oxygen are generally supplied to both sides of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Additionally, the fuel cell becomes a dead-end system which needs no fuel and oxidant supplying devices such as a blower, a fan and a re-circulation unit, therefore, the improvement in efficiency and the simplification of the system are expected. Instead, the purge process for removing the water that is produced in the reaction is necessary for the stable and durable system operation. However, during a purge process, small amount of oxygen can be discharged with the water. Thus, the number of purge cycle should be minimized for saving the oxidant. This paper presents experimental results on the periodic characteristics of the voltage change in the cathodic dead-end mode for various conditions. Moreover, the pulsation effect is introduced and applied to the outlet of the cathode channel for decreasing the purge frequency. The experimental results show that the pulsation effect decreases the voltage decay rate, and makes the interval between two purges about three times longer than that without the pulsation effect, which can make the oxidant efficiency of the dead-end mode operation higher.
ISSN:0360-3199
1879-3487
DOI:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.01.133