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Experimental investigation on PEM fuel cell cold start behavior containing porous metal foam as cathode flow distributor

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  • Huo, Sen
  • Cooper, Nathanial James
  • Smith, Travis Lee
  • Park, Jae Wan
  • Jiao, Kui

Abstract

Metal foam has been regarded as one of the most important replacement for the conventional flow distributor of commercial fuel cells in recent years. One critical issue for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is the successful startup from subzero temperatures. In this study, experimental tests on a PEM fuel cell using nickel metal foam as the cathode flow distributor are carried out to investigate the cold start performance. The cold start performance is also compared to a PEM fuel cell with parallel flow channels. Both galvanostatic and potentiostatic control are considered. The results show that under normal operating conditions the metal foam PEM fuel cell exhibits higher maximum net power density than the cell with parallel flow channels, whereas the parallel channel case exhibits slightly better performance at lower current densities. For cold start tests, metal foam is superior to the conventional parallel flow channel under galvanostatic control, due to its extremely porous structure, uniform mass and heat distribution. It is more difficult for PEM fuel cell under potentiostatic control to successfully start up due to possible ice blockage at the outlet.

Suggested Citation

  • Huo, Sen & Cooper, Nathanial James & Smith, Travis Lee & Park, Jae Wan & Jiao, Kui, 2017. "Experimental investigation on PEM fuel cell cold start behavior containing porous metal foam as cathode flow distributor," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 101-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:203:y:2017:i:c:p:101-114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.06.028
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    5. Lu, Xu & Wang, Yifei & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Xuan, Jin & Wang, Huizhi, 2018. "A counter-flow-based dual-electrolyte protocol for multiple electrochemical applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 241-248.
    6. Lopes, Thiago & Beruski, Otavio & Manthanwar, Amit M. & Korkischko, Ivan & Pugliesi, Reynaldo & Stanojev, Marco Antonio & Andrade, Marcos Leandro Garcia & Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N. & Perez, Joelma , 2019. "Spatially resolved oxygen reaction, water, and temperature distribution: Experimental results as a function of flow field and implications for polymer electrolyte fuel cell operation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Wu, Horng-Wen & Shih, Gin-Jang & Chen, Yi-Bin, 2018. "Effect of operational parameters on transport and performance of a PEM fuel cell with the best protrusive gas diffusion layer arrangement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 47-58.
    8. Baik, Kyung Don & Seo, Il Sung, 2018. "Metallic bipolar plate with a multi-hole structure in the rib regions for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 333-339.
    9. Knorr, Florian & Sanchez, Daniel Garcia & Schirmer, Johannes & Gazdzicki, Pawel & Friedrich, K.A., 2019. "Methanol as antifreeze agent for cold start of automotive polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-10.
    10. Amamou, A. & Kandidayeni, M. & Boulon, L. & Kelouwani, S., 2018. "Real time adaptive efficient cold start strategy for proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 21-30.
    11. Song, Zhen & Pan, Yue & Chen, Huicui & Zhang, Tong, 2021. "Effects of temperature on the performance of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    12. Zang, Linfeng & Hao, Liang & Zhu, Xiaojing, 2023. "Effect of the pore structure of cathode catalyst layer on the PEM fuel cell cold start process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    13. Kermani, M.J. & Moein-Jahromi, M. & Hasheminasab, M.R. & Ebrahimi, F. & Wei, L. & Guo, J. & Jiang, F.M., 2022. "Application of a foam-based functionally graded porous material flow-distributor to PEM fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    14. Xia, Zhifeng & Chen, Huicui & Zhang, Ruirui & Weng, Qianyao & Zhang, Tong & Pei, Pucheng, 2023. "Behavior analysis of PEMFC with geometric configuration variation during multiple-step loading reduction process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    15. Huo, Sen & Jiao, Kui & Park, Jae Wan, 2019. "On the water transport behavior and phase transition mechanisms in cold start operation of PEM fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 776-788.
    16. Bao, Zhiming & Niu, Zhiqiang & Jiao, Kui, 2020. "Gas distribution and droplet removal of metal foam flow field for proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    17. Lin, Rui & Zhu, Yike & Ni, Meng & Jiang, Zhenghua & Lou, Diming & Han, Lihang & Zhong, Di, 2019. "Consistency analysis of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack during cold start," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 420-432.
    18. Xu, Sheng & Yin, Bifeng & Li, Zekai & Dong, Fei, 2023. "A review on gas purge of proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Mechanisms, experimental approaches, numerical approaches, and optimization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    19. Myo-Eun Kim & Young-Jun Sohn, 2020. "Study on Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells with Nonhumidification Using Metal Foam in Dead-Ended Operation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-12, March.

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