IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v311y2022ics0306261922001143.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experimental study on temperature and performance of an open-cathode PEMFC stack under thermal radiation environment

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Jikai
  • Wang, Changjian
  • Zhang, Aifeng

Abstract

The open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack is an air-cooled stack, and has the characteristics of small footprint and high power density because of its unique configuration, combining oxidizer and coolant via axial fan. Depending on the demands of the application, proton exchange membrane fuel cells inevitably operate in harsh environments, such as high pressure, low or high temperature, etc. In this study, the performance of a 10-cell open-cathode PEMFC stack under thermal radiation was evaluated. The variations in cathode air temperature and relative humidity, stack temperature, output power and single-cell voltage under three different radiant heat fluxes were obtained by changing the load current and cathode air flow rate. The experimental results show that, even if the thermal radiation is beneficial to improve the stack temperature, the stack performance is not improved in all tested cases. Conversely, the degradation of stack power and failure of the stack continuous operation can be observed, especially for higher radiant heat flux, higher load current and lower air velocity. For the highest radiant heat flux in current study, the temperature of the first single cell closest to the radiant heat source exceeds the maximum allowable operating temperature of 65 °C due to the insufficient capacity of air cooling and the heating effect of radiant heat source. The significant drop in the first single-cell voltage results in the rapid degradation of the overall performance of the stack, and finally the stack fails to run continuously.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Jikai & Wang, Changjian & Zhang, Aifeng, 2022. "Experimental study on temperature and performance of an open-cathode PEMFC stack under thermal radiation environment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:311:y:2022:i:c:s0306261922001143
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118646
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261922001143
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118646?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liu, Shihua & Chen, Tao & Zhang, Cheng & Xie, Yi, 2020. "Study on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with dead-ended anode in gravity environment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    2. Ismail, M.S. & Ingham, D.B. & Hughes, K.J. & Ma, L. & Pourkashanian, M., 2014. "An efficient mathematical model for air-breathing PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 490-503.
    3. Cao, Tao-Feng & Lin, Hong & Chen, Li & He, Ya-Ling & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2013. "Numerical investigation of the coupled water and thermal management in PEM fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1115-1125.
    4. Wang, Yun & Chen, Ken S. & Mishler, Jeffrey & Cho, Sung Chan & Adroher, Xavier Cordobes, 2011. "A review of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: Technology, applications, and needs on fundamental research," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 981-1007, April.
    5. Baik, Kyung Don & Yang, Seong Ho, 2020. "Development of cathode cooling fins with a multi-hole structure for open-cathode polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    6. Jeon, Seung Won & Cha, Dowon & Kim, Hyung Soon & Kim, Yongchan, 2016. "Analysis of the system efficiency of an intermediate temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell at elevated temperature and relative humidity conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 165-173.
    7. Kurnia, Jundika C. & Sasmito, Agus P. & Shamim, Tariq, 2019. "Advances in proton exchange membrane fuel cell with dead-end anode operation: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Kim, Bosung & Lee, Yongtaek & Woo, Ahyoung & Kim, Yongchan, 2013. "Effects of cathode channel size and operating conditions on the performance of air-blowing PEMFCs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 441-448.
    9. Ling, C.Y. & Cao, H. & Chen, Y. & Han, M. & Birgersson, E., 2016. "Compact open cathode feed system for PEMFCs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 670-675.
    10. Zhai, Yunfeng & St-Pierre, Jean, 2019. "Acetonitrile contamination in the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells and cell performance recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 239-247.
    11. Boukoberine, Mohamed Nadir & Zhou, Zhibin & Benbouzid, Mohamed, 2019. "A critical review on unmanned aerial vehicles power supply and energy management: Solutions, strategies, and prospects," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    12. Kurnia, Jundika C. & Chaedir, Benitta A. & Sasmito, Agus P. & Shamim, Tariq, 2021. "Progress on open cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell: Performance, designs, challenges and future directions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shen, Jun & Du, Changqing & Yan, Fuwu & Chen, Ben & Tu, Zhengkai, 2022. "Experimental study on the dynamic performance of a power system with dual air-cooled PEMFC stacks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    2. Chen, Fengxiang & Pei, Yaowang & Jiao, Jieran & Chi, Xuncheng & Hou, Zhongjun, 2023. "Energy flow and thermal voltage analysis of water-cooled PEMFC stack under normal operating conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    3. Becker, F. & Cosse, C. & Gentner, C. & Schulz, D. & Liphardt, L., 2024. "Novel electrochemical and thermodynamic conditioning approaches and their evaluation for open cathode PEM-FC stacks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 363(C).
    4. Chang, Huawei & Cai, Fengyang & Yu, Xianxian & Duan, Chen & Chan, Siew Hwa & Tu, Zhengkai, 2023. "Experimental study on the thermal management of an open-cathode air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack with ultra-thin metal bipolar plates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    5. Zhu, Kai-Qi & Ding, Quan & Zhang, Ben-Xi & Xu, Jiang-Hai & Li, Dan-Dan & Yang, Yan-Ru & Lee, Duu-Jong & Wan, Zhong-Min & Wang, Xiao-Dong, 2024. "Performance enhancement of air-cooled PEMFC stack by employing tapered oblique fin channels: Experimental study of a full stack and numerical analysis of a typical single cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    6. Wang, Meng & Li, Haiwang & You, Ruquan & Kong, Weidi & Tao, Zhi, 2024. "Experimental research on high-temperature radiation characteristics of film-cooled plate of gas turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    7. Yu, Xianxian & Luo, Xiaobing & Tu, Zhengkai, 2023. "Development of a compact high-power density air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack with ultrathin steel bipolar plates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    8. Weng, Fang-Bor & Dlamini, Mangaliso Menzi & Tirumalasetti, Pandu Ranga & Hwang, Jenn-Jiang, 2024. "Experimental evaluation of flow field design on open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) short stack consisting of three cells," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    9. Fan, Lixin & liu, Yang & Luo, Xiaobing & Tu, Zhengkai & Chan, Siew Hwa, 2023. "A novel gas supply configuration for hydrogen utilization improvement in a multi-stack air-cooling PEMFC system with dead-ended anode," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    10. Ireneusz Pielecha & Filip Szwajca & Kinga Skobiej, 2023. "Load Capacity of Nickel–Metal Hydride Battery and Proton-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cells in the Fuel-Cell-Hybrid-Electric-Vehicle Powertrain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-14, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xing, Shuang & Zhao, Chen & Zou, Jiexin & Zaman, Shahid & Yu, Yang & Gong, Hongwei & Wang, Yajun & Chen, Ming & Wang, Min & Lin, Meng & Wang, Haijiang, 2022. "Recent advances in heat and water management of forced-convection open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    2. Lin, Chen & Yan, Xiaohui & Wei, Guanghua & Ke, Changchun & Shen, Shuiyun & Zhang, Junliang, 2019. "Optimization of configurations and cathode operating parameters on liquid-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks by orthogonal method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Zhou, Kehan & Liu, Zhiwei & Zhang, Xin & Liu, Hang & Meng, Nan & Huang, Jianmei & Qi, Mingjing & Song, Xizhen & Yan, Xiaojun, 2022. "A kW-level integrated propulsion system for UAV powered by PEMFC with inclined cathode flow structure design," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    4. Zhao, Chen & Wang, Fei & Wu, Xiaoyu, 2024. "Analysis and review on air-cooled open cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Bibliometric, environmental adaptation and prospect," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    5. Baik, Kyung Don & Yang, Seong Ho, 2020. "Development of cathode cooling fins with a multi-hole structure for open-cathode polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    6. Kurnia, Jundika C. & Chaedir, Benitta A. & Sasmito, Agus P. & Shamim, Tariq, 2021. "Progress on open cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell: Performance, designs, challenges and future directions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    7. Andersson, M. & Beale, S.B. & Espinoza, M. & Wu, Z. & Lehnert, W., 2016. "A review of cell-scale multiphase flow modeling, including water management, in polymer electrolyte fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 757-778.
    8. Santos, Diogo F.M. & Ferreira, Rui B. & Falcão, D.S. & Pinto, A.M.F.R., 2022. "Evaluation of a fuel cell system designed for unmanned aerial vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    9. Calili-Cankir, Fatma & Ismail, Mohammed S. & Ingham, Derek B. & Hughes, Kevin J. & Ma, Lin & Pourkashanian, Mohamed, 2023. "Air-breathing polymer electrolyte fuel cells: A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 86-108.
    10. Zhao, Chen & Wang, Fei, 2023. "Optimal performance and modeling study of air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell with various bipolar plate structure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).
    11. Pei, Pucheng & Wu, Ziyao & Li, Yuehua & Jia, Xiaoning & Chen, Dongfang & Huang, Shangwei, 2018. "Improved methods to measure hydrogen crossover current in proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 338-347.
    12. Saeidfar, Asal & Yesilyurt, Serhat, 2023. "Numerical investigation of the effects of catalyst layer composition and channel to rib width ratios for low platinum loaded PEMFCs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).
    13. Lan, Shunbo & Lin, Rui & Dong, Mengcheng & Lu, Kai & Lou, Mingyu, 2023. "Image recognition of cracks and the effect in the microporous layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells on performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    14. Shen, Jun & Du, Changqing & Yan, Fuwu & Chen, Ben & Tu, Zhengkai, 2022. "Experimental study on the dynamic performance of a power system with dual air-cooled PEMFC stacks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    15. Amirfazli, Amir & Asghari, Saeed & Sarraf, Mohammad, 2018. "An investigation into the effect of manifold geometry on uniformity of temperature distribution in a PEMFC stack," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 141-151.
    16. Oh, Hwanyeong & Park, Jaeman & Min, Kyoungdoug & Lee, Eunsook & Jyoung, Jy-Young, 2015. "Effects of pore size gradient in the substrate of a gas diffusion layer on the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 186-193.
    17. 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.
    18. Chen, Huicui & Pei, Pucheng & Song, Mancun, 2015. "Lifetime prediction and the economic lifetime of Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 154-163.
    19. Qiu, Diankai & Zhou, Xiangyang & Chen, Minxue & Xu, Zhutian & Peng, Linfa, 2023. "Optimization of control strategy for air-cooled PEMFC based on in-situ observation of internal reaction state," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).
    20. Wu, Horng-Wen, 2016. "A review of recent development: Transport and performance modeling of PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 81-106.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:311:y:2022:i:c:s0306261922001143. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.