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Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering
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Mechanisms of accelerated degradation in the front cells of PEMFC stacks and some mitigation strategies

Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering volume 26, pages 1250–1258 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

The accelerated degradation in the front cells of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) stack seriously reduces the reliability and durability of the whole stack. Most researches only focus on the size and configuration of the gas intake manifold, which may lead to the maldistribution of flow and pressure. In order to find out the mechanisms of the accelerated degradation in the front cells, an extensive program of experimental and simulation work is initiated and the results are reported. It is found that after long-term lifetime tests the accelerated degradation in the front cells occurs in all three fuel cell stacks with different flow-fields under the U-type feed configuration. Compared with the rear cells of the stack, the voltage of the front cells is much lower at the same current densities and the membrane electrode assembly(MEA) has smaller active area, more catalyst particle agglomeration and higher ohmic impedance. For further investigation, a series of three dimensional isothermal numerical models are built to investigate the degradation mechanisms based on the experimental data. The simulation results reveal that the dry working condition of the membrane and the effect of high-speed gas scouring the MEA are the main causes of the accelerated degradation in the front cells of a PEM fuel cell stack under the U-type feed configuration. Several mitigation strategies that would mitigate these phenomena are presented: removing cells that have failed and replacing them with those of the same aging condition as the average of the stack; choosing a Z-type feed pattern instead of a U-type one; putting several air flow-field plates without MEA in the front of the stack; or exchanging the gas inlet and outlet alternately at a certain interval. This paper specifies the causes of the accelerated degradation in the front cells and provides the mitigation strategies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Pengcheng Li & Yongling He

  2. State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Pucheng Pei, Xing Yuan, Pengxiang Chao & Xizhong Wang

Authors
  1. Pengcheng Li
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  2. Pucheng Pei
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  3. Yongling He
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  4. Xing Yuan
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  5. Pengxiang Chao
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  6. Xizhong Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pucheng Pei.

Additional information

This project is supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Grant No. 2012CB215500), National Hi-tech Research and Development Program of China(863 Program, Grant Nos. 2012AA1106012, 2012AA053402), National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 20976095), and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education, China(Grant No. 20090002110074)

LI Pengcheng, born in 1981, is currently a PhD candidate at School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, China. He received his bachelor degree from Beihang University, China, in 2004. His research interests include fuel cell design and computational fluid dynamics.

PEI Pucheng, born in 1965, is currently a professor at State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Tsinghua University, China. His research interests include lifetime evaluation of automotive fuel cell and engine electronic control.

HE Yongling, born in 1963 is currently a professor at School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, China. His research interests include engine design and electronic control.

YUAN Xing, born in 1982, is a doctor at State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Tsinghua University, China.

CHAO Pengxiang, born in 1985, is a master at State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Tsinghua University, China.

WANG Xizhong, born in 1968, is a laboratory assistant at State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Tsinghua University, China. She received her B E degree in thermal power engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1989

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Li, P., Pei, P., He, Y. et al. Mechanisms of accelerated degradation in the front cells of PEMFC stacks and some mitigation strategies. Chin. J. Mech. Eng. 26, 1250–1258 (2013). https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2013.06.1250

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2013.06.1250

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