Degradation in PEM Fuel Cells and Mitigation Strategies Using System Design and Control

Abstract

The rapid miniaturization of electronics, sensors, and actuators has reduced the cost of field sensor networks and enabled more functionality in ever smaller packages. Networks of field sensors have emerging applications in environmental monitoring, in disaster monitoring, security, and agriculture. Batteries limit potential applications due to their low specific energy. A promising alternative is photovoltaics. Photovoltaics require large, bulky panels and are impacted by daily and seasonal variation in solar insolation that requires coupling to a backup power source. Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells are a promising alternative, because they are clean, quiet, and operate at high efficiencies. However, challenges remain in achieving long lives due to catalyst degradation and hydrogen storage. In this chapter, we present a design framework for high-energy fuel cell power supplies applied to field sensor networks. The aim is to achieve long operational lives by controlling degradation and utilizing high-energy density fuels such as lithium hydride to produce hydrogen. Lithium hydride in combination with fuel-cell wastewater or ambient humidity can achieve fuel specific energy of 5000 Wh/kg. The results of the study show that the PEM hybrid system fueled using lithium hydride offers a three-to fivefold reduction in mass compared to state-of-the-art batteries.

Mesh sensitivity analysis for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells using ANSYS Fluent

“…This indicates that the solution is converged. The same result was discovered in another computer simulation conducted by [3] that varying the membrane divisions makes no difference when all of the mesh parameters in the current collector and flow channels are kept constant. c and d).…”

“…All meshes were run to 10,000 iterations to ensure convergence. The material properties and all model parameters were set to be identical to those reported by Arvay et al [3]. The resolution of the Navier-Stokes transport equations is used to represent the three-dimensional fluid flow and heat transmission.…”

“…These include improvements in performance, reliability, durability, size, weight, availability of hydrogen fuel, and reductions in production costs [2]. One way to expedite its technological development is by using computer modeling [3]. Because computer Modeling assists in decreasing the cost and accelerating the speed at which designs can be evaluated while enhancing the fundamental understanding of the operation and performance of fuel cells.…”

A Comparative Review of Lead-Acid, Lithium-Ion and Ultra-Capacitor Technologies and Their Degradation Mechanisms

“…Hydrogen can be stored and transported in either liquid or gas form. The liquid form requires cryogenic temperatures and the gas form requires high compression rates [71]. Both have high energy losses (40% and 13%, respectively) which are large in comparison to those related to the transmission of electrical energy (±9%) [72,73].…”

Materials and Applications for Functional Polymer Membranes

“…However, the usage of a platinum catalyst to separate the electrons and protons of hydrogen increases the expense of the system. Furthermore, if the hydrogen is obtained from a hydrocarbon fuel, the catalyst is also particularly sensitive to carbon monoxide which lead to poisoning, necessitating the use of an extra reactor in order to remove the carbon monoxide [77].…”