Start-up and dynamic responses to changes in load are reported for a dry feed, autohumidified polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell PEMFC . The fuel cell current can be ignited by water injection; criteria are derived for the required water injection as functions of fuel cell size, temperature, and reactant feed rates. Steady-state multiplicity is observed where the fuel cell current can be ei...

The operation of Fuel Cell Distributed Generation (FCDG) systems in distribution systems is introduced by modeling, controller design, and simulation study of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) distributed generation (DG) system. The physical model of the fuel cell stack and dynamic models of power conditioning units are described. Then, suitable control architecture based on fuzzy logic contro...

This paper focuses on the energy management control strategy for a hybrid fuel cell powered vehicle. A method based on optimal control theory is presented. This control strategy has been applied to a representative hybrid PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell mid-size vehicle. Simulation results on a priori known driving cycle are presented and compared to a sub-optimal strategy. Copyright ©...

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising devices for clean power generation in automotive, stationary, and portable applications. Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers (for example, Nafion) have been the benchmark PEMs; however, several problems, including high gas permeability, low thermal stability, high production cost, and environmental incompatibility, limit the widespre...

In this paper, we demonstrate a monolithic integrated micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) for the first time. The monolithic integrated μDMFC combines proton exchange membrane (PEM) and Pt nanocatalysts, in which PEM is achieved by the functionalized porous silicon membrane and 3D Pt nanoflowers being synthesized in situ on it as catalysts. Sulfo groups functionalized porous silicon membran...

PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cells show characteristics of high power density, low operating temperature and fast start-up capability, which make them potentially suitable to replace conventional power sources (e.g. internal combustion engines) as Auxiliary Power Units (APU) for on-board applications. This paper presents a methodology for a preliminary investigation on either sizing and ...

The present paper explores the impact of an on-board hydrogen harvesting system (fuel reformer) on the overall efficiency of a fuel-cell powered vehicle. Various methods of hydrogen production for automotive applications have been discussed first. As the hydrogen production is one of the major challenges for application of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, especially in vehicular indus...

Energy storage is a promising approach to address the challenge of intermittent generation from renewables on the electric grid. In this work, we evaluate energy storage with a regenerative hydrogen fuel cell (RHFC) using net energy analysis. We examine the most widely installed RHFC configuration, containing an alkaline water electrolyzer and a PEM fuel cell. To compare RHFC’s to other storage...