Optimization of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell catalyst layer with bidirectionally-graded composition

Cetinbas, Firat C.; Advani, Suresh G.; Prasad, Ajay K.

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2015.06.056

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…For instance, by assuming that the catalyst distribution varies only in the x-direction, Ebrahimi et al 15 obtain that the catalyst density, denoted by h(x) in their study should be 6-8 times larger at the membrane than at the GDL layer. Cetinbas et al 43 obtain that the catalyst density should by only 3.5 times larger at the membrane than at the GLD layer, while Song et al 53 obtain an increase of over 4 times. Due to the low cell current and relatively small diameters of the agglomerate particles the platinum should be deposited relatively uniformly in the y-direction (along the membrane interface).…”

Section: Journal Of Thementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fig. 10 15 who computed the optimum catalyst distribution using the Nelder-Mead Simplex technique and obtained an increase in the power density of 7% and by Cetinbas et al 43 who obtained an increase of 10-14%. Figures 11a and 11b present the optimized catalyst distributions for the two average Pt loadings, respectively.…”

Section: Journal Of Thementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For more details about the transport and electrochemical model we recommend the literature. 43,60 Hydrogen gas diffuses from the gas channels to the surface of the agglomerates in the anode CL and, then, through the ionomer to the reaction sites. Similarly, the oxygen diffuses from the gas channels to the surface of the agglomerates in the cathode CL and, then, through the ionomer to the reaction sites.…”

Section: Appendixmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was only recently that a widely spread commercial simulation software, COMSOL, 41 has introduced the adjoint method for the calculation of sensitivities of platinum distribution in PEMFCs and the adjoint method become more popular for optimization purposes. The first to use the adjoint method to optimize the 2-D catalyst distribution was Cetinbas et al 42,43 who used COMSOL to simulate the cathode and calculate the sensitivities of the cell current with respect to the catalyst and ionomer distributions (their finite element simulation did not include the membrane and anode). Then, they used the "fmincon" solver in Matlab to optimize the catalyst iteratively and obtain the bidirectionally-graded catalyst and ionomer profiles.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adjoint Method for the Optimization of the Catalyst Distribution in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Lamb

Mixon

Andrei

2017

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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In this article we present an adjoint method for the optimization of the catalyst distribution in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). By using the theory of functional analysis we derive analytical equations for the sensitivity functions of the cell voltage with respect to the catalyst distribution in a very general framework, independent on the transport model used to simulate the PEMFC. Then we present an efficient numerical algorithm to calculate the sensitivity functions using the adjoint method. The adjoint method has the advantage that it can be applied to the optimization of systems with a large (>10 4 ) number of optimization variables that are computed simultaneously and independently to maximize the objective function. Finally, we apply the method to the optimization of 2-D platinum distribution in PEMFCs. We show that the optimum platinum distribution varies with the operating conditions, position of landings and openings, cell geometry, and dimensions of the catalyst layers. The method presented in this work can be naturally extended to the optimization of other 2-D and 3-D field variables such as the porosity of catalyst and gas diffusion layers, particle size distribution, or microstructure of the cell. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have attracted the attention of the research community because of their high power density, energy efficiency, and environmentally friendly characteristics. Operating at low temperatures, PEMFCs are suitable for a variety of applications ranging from automotive applications to stationary and portable applications. In the area of automotive applications, PEMFCs have already been introduced commercially or for demonstration purposes by all the major car manufacturing companies; in addition, they are increasingly being used in busses, motorcycles, boats, submarines, and airplanes.1,2 In the area of stationary and portable applications, PEMFCs are employed as emergency power systems, such as uninterrupted power supplies, and have the potential to be used for energy storage in electric grid systems.3 Since the technical feasibility of PEMFCs has already been established, a significant amount of current research focuses on increasing the durability and decreasing the total manufacturing cost, which, at large manufacturing volumes, is mainly given by the cost of the catalyst layers (CLs), bipolar plates, and membrane.4-8 (For instance, the US Department of Energy estimates that 45% of the cost of fuel cell stack fabricated at a volume of 500,000 systems/year is due to the cost of platinum, 27% to bipolar plates, 10% to the cost of membrane 9 ). In this article, we address the problem of decreasing the manufacturing cost of the CLs by presenting a large-scale optimization technique to optimize the platinum deposition in the CLs of PEMFCs. The technique can also be applied to the optimization of other two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) field variables, such as porosity distribution and ionomer content, in which the number of optimization p...

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Section: Journal Of Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Journal Of Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Appendixmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adjoint Method for the Optimization of the Catalyst Distribution in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Lamb

Mixon

Andrei

2017

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…The strong interactions of the Nafion ® and Pt catalyst distribution have been elucidated numerically by Song et al [126], indicating that the Nafion ® content and Pt loading should be optimized simultaneously. Recently, Cetinbas et al numerically demonstrated a two-variable optimization in terms of Nafion ® content and Pt loading, resulting in better performance than the single-variable optimization [136]; (2) Multiple-dimensional optimization. Most of the existing studies focused exclusively on in-plane or cross-plane designs, and a comprehensive consideration of the in-plane distribution and the cross-plane distribution is rare [134,136]; (3) Gradient design for ordered CLs.…”

Section: Gradient Design Of Catalyst Layermentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress on the Key Materials and Components for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells in Vehicle Applications

Wang

Peng

et al. 2016

Energies

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Fuel cells are the most clean and efficient power source for vehicles. In particular, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are the most promising candidate for automobile applications due to their rapid start-up and low-temperature operation. Through extensive global research efforts in the latest decade, the performance of PEMFCs, including energy efficiency, volumetric and mass power density, and low temperature startup ability, have achieved significant breakthroughs. In 2014, fuel cell powered vehicles were introduced into the market by several prominent vehicle companies. However, the low durability and high cost of PEMFC systems are still the main obstacles for large-scale industrialization of this technology. The key materials and components used in PEMFCs greatly affect their durability and cost. In this review, the technical progress of key materials and components for PEMFCs has been summarized and critically discussed, including topics such as the membrane, catalyst layer, gas diffusion layer, and bipolar plate. The development of high-durability processing technologies is also introduced. Finally, this review is concluded with personal perspectives on the future research directions of this area.

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Heat and mass transfer in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with gradient distribution of platinum loading along flow channel direction

Guo

2022

Intl J of Energy Research

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The distribution of oxygen concentration along the flow channel direction is uneven in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. To make the full use of the higher oxygen concentration in the inlet area, the platinum loading can be designed to be gradient decreasing distribution from inlet to outlet. A two-dimensional, nonisothermal, two-phase agglomerate model is established to study the segment number and segment length effects on heat and species distributions and the cell performance. Results indicate that the gradient decreasing distribution of platinum loading can enhance the cell performance compared with the uniform distribution. Furthermore, increasing the segment number is unfavorable to the enhancement of cell performance but can make the temperature and oxygen concentration distributions of cathode catalyst layer more uniform.Increasing the segment length near the inlet area can make the cell performance improved, whereas it is unfavorable to the temperature distribution uniformity. K E Y W O R D Sagglomerate model, heat transfer, mass transfer, nonuniform catalyst layer, proton exchange membrane fuel cell

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Optimization of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell catalyst layer with bidirectionally-graded composition

Cited by 20 publications

References 34 publications

Adjoint Method for the Optimization of the Catalyst Distribution in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Adjoint Method for the Optimization of the Catalyst Distribution in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Recent Progress on the Key Materials and Components for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells in Vehicle Applications

Heat and mass transfer in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with gradient distribution of platinum loading along flow channel direction

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