Experimental Investigation of the Influence of NO on a PEM Fuel Cell System and Voltage Recovery Strategies

Abstract

Air contaminants can have detrimental effects on the performance and durability of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell vehicles. This research focuses on the experimental investigation of the effect of nitrogen monoxide (NO) in the cathode gas stream, which provokes a cell voltage decrease due to the partially reversible adsorption of NO on the platinum catalyst. The concentration and exposure time of NO in the cathode gas stream are varied at selected constant current densities and load ramps to assess the effects throughout the fuel cell system operating range. The results show the cell voltage loss in the presence of NO and reveal a near-catalyst saturation with increased injected NO mass. Additionally, several voltage recovery and mitigation strategies are introduced and discussed by presenting conclusions about the general effect of NO on a fuel cell system in operation. The most promising recovery strategy for fuel cell systems is identified, and the overall system degradation is discussed. All experiments are performed in a test bed environment on a 25 kW low-temperature fuel cell system via controlled injection of NO into the cathode gas stream.

Investigation of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System Cathode Exhaust Gas Composition Based on Test Bed Measurements

“…When a certain amount of NO builds up in the fuel cell, the exhausted NO mass increases rapidly. This supports the findings cited in [18] that the catalyst becomes saturated once around 250 mg NO mass has been injected. The current densities and injection durations are not described in Figure 9, since the findings cited in [18] reveal the low influence of these parameters.…”

“…A fuel cell electric vehicle is exposed to air impurities when operating, including NO, which adsorbs onto the cathode platinum catalyst and causes a partly recoverable reduction in cell voltage. This effect was previously investigated at ITnA with the same fuel cell system and test bed setup, and the results were published in [18]. The exhaust gas calculation model presented in this paper can be used for such air impurity experiments with test beds, which can help researchers understand the adsorption and desorption processes that take place on the catalyst.…”

“…Furthermore, the base model was tested at various steady-state current density levels, covering the fuel cell system operating range, and during dynamic fuel cell operation. Dedicated cathode air pollutant experiments were performed at ITnA and published previously [18]. The calculation model described in this publication was used in the current study to support these results.…”

“…The system was equipped with a number of sensors, which were either installed by the system manufacturer or added by the research group to the test bed. In this article, only the measuring equipment relevant for the described experiments is presented; further information can be found in [18], which describes the use of the same system.…”

Impedance Acquisition of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Using Deeper Learning Network

“…However, the large-scale commercial application of the PEM fuel cell is still impeded by its durability. In complex vehicle conditions, improper membrane water content, liquid water content, and oxygen concentration of the PEM fuel cell can lead to drying, flooding, and starvation, necessitating real-time estimation of the internal state of the PEM fuel cell and conducting IT-based feedback control to effectively avert or alleviate the occurrence of these faults, and enhance its output performance and service life [2].…”