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Novel approach to determine cathode two-phase-flow pressure drop of proton exchange membrane fuel cell and its application on water management

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  • Li, Yuehua
  • Pei, Pucheng
  • Wu, Ziyao
  • Xu, Huachi
  • Chen, Dongfang
  • Huang, Shangwei

Abstract

In proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), pressure drop at cathode can be used in water management. However, the equation to determine the cathode two-phase-flow pressure drop online and in real time has not been reported. This paper aims to develop a novel approach to calculate this pressure drop. The originalities are the fact that cathodic pressure drop actually experiences two jumps as it rises through two levels during flooding process and the proposal of spatial average water film to determine the pressure drop online. Firstly, the equation to calculate the pressure drop of cathode single-phase-flow, covering all operating conditions, is proposed and is verified at a 10kW fuel cell stack. Secondly, we find that there exists a steady two-phase-flow pressure drop linked to an equivalent film flow in unit channel and put forward a novel approach to determine this pressure drop. Finally, water management strategy based on pressure drop is applied to a 34cm2 fuel cell and the voltage drop rate decreases by 35%, from 72mV/h down to 47mV/h, at a low cathode stoichiometric ratio 2.0 in long time operation, and the parasitic consumption is reduced by up to 50%. Hence, this strategy is shown to be effective in avoiding flooding, reducing air compressor consumption and extending the running time of single operation and the lifetime of fuel cell. This paper will contribute to the commercialization of fuel cells.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Yuehua & Pei, Pucheng & Wu, Ziyao & Xu, Huachi & Chen, Dongfang & Huang, Shangwei, 2017. "Novel approach to determine cathode two-phase-flow pressure drop of proton exchange membrane fuel cell and its application on water management," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 713-724.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:190:y:2017:i:c:p:713-724
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.01.010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pei, Pucheng & Chen, Huicui, 2014. "Main factors affecting the lifetime of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells in vehicle applications: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 60-75.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Fuxiang & Qiu, Diankai & Xu, Zhutian & Peng, Linfa & Lai, Xinmin, 2021. "Analysis and improvement of flow distribution in manifold for proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    2. Chen, Huicui & Zhang, Ruirui & Xia, Zhifeng & Weng, Qianyao & Zhang, Tong & Pei, Pucheng, 2023. "Experimental investigation on PEM fuel cell flooding mitigation under heavy loading condition," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    3. Ashrafi, Moosa & Shams, Mehrzad, 2017. "The effects of flow-field orientation on water management in PEM fuel cells with serpentine channels," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 1083-1096.
    4. Yanzhou Qin & Xuefeng Wang & Rouxian Chen & Xiang Shangguan, 2018. "Water Transport and Removal in PEMFC Gas Flow Channel with Various Water Droplet Locations and Channel Surface Wettability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Li, Yuehua & Pei, Pucheng & Ma, Ze & Ren, Peng & Wu, Ziyao & Chen, Dongfang & Huang, Hao, 2019. "Characteristic analysis in lowering current density based on pressure drop for avoiding flooding in proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 321-329.
    6. Li, Yuehua & Pei, Pucheng & Ma, Ze & Ren, Peng & Huang, Hao, 2020. "Analysis of air compression, progress of compressor and control for optimal energy efficiency in proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    7. Ewa Janicka & Michal Mielniczek & Lukasz Gawel & Kazimierz Darowicki, 2021. "Optimization of the Relative Humidity of Reactant Gases in Hydrogen Fuel Cells Using Dynamic Impedance Measurements," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-11, May.
    8. Ren, Peng & Pei, Pucheng & Li, Yuehua & Wu, Ziyao & Chen, Dongfang & Huang, Shangwei & Jia, Xiaoning, 2019. "Diagnosis of water failures in proton exchange membrane fuel cell with zero-phase ohmic resistance and fixed-low-frequency impedance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 785-792.
    9. Ijaodola, O.S. & El- Hassan, Zaki & Ogungbemi, E. & Khatib, F.N. & Wilberforce, Tabbi & Thompson, James & Olabi, A.G., 2019. "Energy efficiency improvements by investigating the water flooding management on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 246-267.
    10. Li, Qifeng & Sun, Kai & Suo, Mengshan & Zeng, Zhen & Guan, Chengshuo & Liu, Huaiyu & Che, Zhizhao & Wang, Tianyou, 2024. "Water transport in PEMFC with metal foam flow fields: Visualization based on AI image recognition," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 365(C).
    11. Hasheminasab, M. & Kermani, M.J. & Nourazar, S.S. & Khodsiani, M.H., 2020. "A novel experimental based statistical study for water management in proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    12. Liu, Yongfeng & Fan, Lei & Pei, Pucheng & Yao, Shengzhuo & Wang, Fang, 2018. "Asymptotic analysis for the inlet relative humidity effects on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 573-584.
    13. Chen, Huicui & He, Yuxiang & Zhang, Xinfeng & Zhao, Xin & Zhang, Tong & Pei, Pucheng, 2018. "A method to study the intake consistency of the dual-stack polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system under dynamic operating conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 1050-1058.
    14. Lu Zhang & Yongfeng Liu & Pucheng Pei & Xintong Liu & Long Wang & Yuan Wan, 2022. "Variation Characteristic Analysis of Water Content at the Flow Channel of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-20, April.
    15. Li, Yuehua & Pei, Pucheng & Wu, Ziyao & Ren, Peng & Jia, Xiaoning & Chen, Dongfang & Huang, Shangwei, 2018. "Approaches to avoid flooding in association with pressure drop in proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 42-51.
    16. Pei, Pucheng & Ren, Peng & Li, Yuehua & Wu, Ziyao & Chen, Dongfang & Huang, Shangwei & Jia, Xiaoning, 2019. "Numerical studies on wide-operating-range ejector based on anodic pressure drop characteristics in proton exchange membrane fuel cell system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 729-738.

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