Influence of Assembly Force in a PEMFC under a Lifetime Test

Authors

Fan XU, Department of Chemistry,College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,Xiamen University,Xiamen 361005,Fujian,China;
Xuan CHENG, Department of Materials Science and Engineering,College of Materials,Xiamen University,Xiamen 361005,Fujian,China;State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces,Xiamen University,Xiamen 361005,Fujian,China;
Ying ZHANG, Department of Materials Science and Engineering,College of Materials,Xiamen University,Xiamen 361005,Fujian,China;
Qin-bai FAN, Gas Technology Institute,Des Plaines,IL 60018,USA;

Abstract

The lifetime performance was investigated by assembling the single cell of PEMFC under a series of holding forces ranging from 0.45 to 11.3 MPa and reassembled under optimal holding force.The polarization and power density curves were obtained during different periods of operating time up to 2000 hours and the fuel cell catalyst activation regions in the polarization curves were analyzed to evaluate the electrochemical kinetic parameters.The results revealed that the holding forces affected not only the internal contact resistances,but also the kinetic parameters which might be caused by the change of the MEA microstructures.The apparent degradation observed at higher current densities after 2000 h lifetime test under the optimal holding force of 3.2 MPa was due mainly to the increases of the catalyst particle sizes.However,the agglomeration in the particle sizes of cathode catalyst after 2000 h lifetime test at 3.2 MPa was less severe than that without optimal assembly force control.

Keywords

proton exchange membrane fuel cell, contact resistance, assembly force, membrane electrode assembly, lifetime performance

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.61558/2993-074X.1889

Publication Date

2008-05-28

Online Available Date

2008-05-28

Revised Date

2008-05-28

Received Date

2008-05-28

Recommended Citation

Fan XU, Xuan CHENG, Ying ZHANG, Qin-bai FAN. Influence of Assembly Force in a PEMFC under a Lifetime Test[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2008 , 14(2): 190-196.
DOI: 10.61558/2993-074X.1889
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol14/iss2/16

References

[1]Hinds G.Performance and durability of PEMfuel cells:A review.NPL Report DEPC-MPE 002,Vol.Tedding-ton Middlesex UK TW11[M].0LW:National PhysicalLaboratory,2004.
[2]Cheng X,Chen L,Peng C,et al.Catalyst microstruc-ture examination of PEMFC membrane electrode assem-blies vs.time[J].Journal of the Electrochemical Soci-ety,2004,151:48-52.
[3]Cheng X,Peng C,You M,et al.Characterization ofcatalysts and membrane in DMFC lifetime testing[J].Electrochimica Acta,2006,51:4620-4625.
[4]Knights S D,Colbow K M,St-Pierre J,et al.Agingmechanisms and lifetime of PEFC and DMFC[J].Jour-nal of Power Sources 2004,127:127-134.
[5]Cleghorn S J C,Mayfield D K,Moore D A,et al.Apolymer electrolyte fuel cell life test:3 years of continu-ous operation[J].Journal of Power Sources,2006,158:446-456.
[6]Huang X,Solasi R,Zou Y,et al.Mechanical endur-ance of polymer electrolyte membrane and PEMfuel celldurability[J].Journal of Polymer Science Part B:Pol-ymer Physics,2006,44:2346-2357.
[7]Santarelli M G,Torchio M F.Experimental analysis ofthe effects of the operating variables on the performanceof a single PEMFC[J].Energy Conversion and Man-agement,2007,48:40-51.
[8]Neyerlin K C,Gasteiger Hubert A,Mittelsteadt CortneyK,et al.Effect of relative humidity on oxygen reductionkinetics in a PEMFC[J].Journal of the Electrochemi-cal Society,2005,152:1073-1080.
[9]Cho E,Lee J,Kim H,et al.Effects of shutdown proce-dure on long-term stability of PEM fuel cells[C]//PBFC2_B-Second International Conference on PolymerBatteries and Fuel Cells Vol.Las Vegas:Nevada,2005.
[10]Lee Wk,Ho C H,Zee J W V,et al.The effects ofcompression and gas diffusion layers on the perform-ance of a PEM fuel cell[J].Journal of PowerSources,1999,84:45-51.
[11]Zhou P,Wu C W,Ma G J.Contact resistance predic-tion and structure optimization of bipolar plates[J].Journal of Power Sources,2006,159:1115-1122.
[12]Ge J,Higier A,Liu H.Effect of gas diffusion layercompression on PEM fuel cell performance[J].Jour-nal of Power Sources,2006,159:922-927.
[13]Kumar A,Reddy R G.Modeling of polymer electrolytemembrane fuel cell with metal foam in the flow-field ofthe bipolar/end plates[J].Journal of Power Sources,2003,114:54-62.
[14]Wang H,Sweikart MA,Turner J A.Stainless steel asbipolar plate material for polymer electrolyte membranefuel cells[J].Journal of Power Sources,2003,115:243-251.
[15]Lee S J,Huang C H,Lai J J,et al.Corrosion-resist-ant component for PEMfuel cells[J].Journal of Pow-er Sources,2004,131:162-168.
[16]Mishra V,Yang F,Pitchumani R.Measurement andprediction of electrical contact resistance between gasdiffusion layers and bipolar plate for applications toPEM fuel cells[J].Journal of Fuel Cell Science andTechnology,2004,1:2-9.
[17]Ihonen J,Jaouen F,Lindbergh G,et al.Anovel poly-mer electrolyte fuel cell for laboratory investigationsand in-situ contact resistance measurements[J].Elec-trochimica Acta,2001,46:2899-2911.
[18]Scholta J,Escher G,Zhang W,et al.Investigation onthe influence of channel geometries on PEMFC per-formance[J].Journal of Power Sources,2006,155:66-71.