SAE_2008-01-1802.pdf (791.38 kB)
Polymer electrolyte fuel cell transport mechanisms: simulation study of hydrogen crossover and water content
conference contribution
posted on 2010-03-09, 12:20 authored by Pratap Rama, Yu Liu, Rui ChenHydrogen crossover and membrane hydration are
significant issues for polymer electrolyte fuel cells
(PEFC). Hydrogen crossover amounts to a quantity of
unspent fuel, thereby reducing the fuel efficiency of the
cell, but more significantly it also gives rise to the
formation of hydrogen peroxide in the cathode catalyst
layer which acts to irreversibly degenerate the polymer
electrolyte. Membrane hydration not only strongly
governs the performance of the cell, most noticeable
through its effect on the ionic conductivity of the
membrane, it also influences the onset and propagation
of internal degradation and failure mechanisms that
curtail the reliability and safety of PEFCs. This paper
focuses on how hydrogen crossover and membrane
hydration are affected by; (a) characteristic cell
geometries, and (b) operating conditions relevant to
automotive fuel cells. The numerical study is based on
the application of a general transport equation developed
previously to model multi-species transport through
discontinuous materials. The results quantify (1) the
effectiveness of different practical mechanisms which
can be applied to curtail the effects of hydrogen
crossover in automotive fuel cells and (2) the
implications on water content within the membrane.
History
School
- Aeronautical, Automotive, Chemical and Materials Engineering
Department
- Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering
Citation
RAMA, P., LIU, Y. and CHEN, R., 2008. Polymer electrolyte fuel cell transport mechanisms: simulation study of hydrogen crossover and water content. SAE International Powertrains, Fuels and Lubricants Congress, Shanghai, China, June 23-25, 2008.Publisher
© SAE InternationalVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Publication date
2008Notes
This is a conference paper, SAE Paper 2008-01-1802 [© 2008 SAE International]. This paper is posted on this site with permission from SAE International. As a user of this site, you are permitted to view this paper on-line, and print one copy of this paper at no cost for your use only. This paper may not be copied, distributed or forwarded to others for further use without permission from SAE. This paper is also available from: http://www.sae.org/ISSN
0148-7191Book series
SAE Technical Paper Series;2008-01-1802Language
- en