PhD Thesis

Experimental and model-based analysis for performance and durability improvement of PEM fuel cells

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Information

  • Started: 01/09/2011
  • Finished: 07/11/2014

Description

Increasing global energy demand, growing carbon emissions and the depletion of fossil fuel sources are some of the most important driving forces for the development of sustainable energy solutions. Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells have been demonstrated to be a potential candidate for clean energy conversion in a wide range of applications reaching from highly dynamic transportation systems to stationary systems. Despite their benefits, such as high efficiency and wide operating range, PEM fuel cells must still meet or exceed the technological advantages, such as durability and cost, of conventional power systems in order to be truly competitive. Thus, current research is focused on improving these aspects. This doctoral thesis combines experimental and model-based studies in order to improve performance and durability of PEM fuel cells, that work without external humidification, as demanded by recent government-supported research programs. Improved performance and durability can be obtained by proper system control. The key factor for the development of successful control strategies is adequate thermal and water management considering their interconnections. Therefore, this work investigates the important links between performance, efficiency and lifetime with respect to fuel cell temperature and humidification. The experimental evaluation of temperature-related and purge-related effects shows the great potential of improving the system performance by proper thermal management. In-situ and ex-situ experiments, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), gas chromatography (GC), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized in order to explore short-term and long-term effects of operation modes on performance and durability. To provide a better understanding of the experimentally observed phenomena and their different dynamics with respect to the development of efficient controllers, mathematical models have been derived. The dynamic models allow for relating electrode structure to the cell voltage transient behavior during changes in fuel cell temperature and humidification, including important phase change and ionomer sorption dynamics of water. The experimentally validated, model-based analysis provides recommendations of proper operating conditions and catalyst structure, such as optimal fuel cell temperature and adequate pore-size-distribution, in order to improve the PEM fuel cell performance. The modular character and inherent adaptability of the models has been successfully demonstrated in the study of water transport in a high temperature PEM fuel cell stack. It is shown how mathematical modeling can improve the interpretation of experimental results and provide insight into experimentally non-observable interactions. In conclusion, the presented laboratory and model-based work, including the developed experimental and mathematical tools, contribute to current international research targets for advancing sustainable energy solutions.

The work is under the scope of the following projects:

  • MESPEM: Desarrollo de sistemas de control para la mejora de la eficiencia y la vida útil en sistemas basados en pilas de combustible PEM (web)
  • PUMA MIND: Physical bottom Up multiscale Modelling for Automotive PEMFC Innovative performance and Durability optimization (web)