The aim of this paper is the evaluation of the performance of a low pressure PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell stack to step load changes, which are characteristic of standalone fuel cell system applications. The goal is a better understanding of the electrical behavior of the FC (fuel cell), as a result of the electrochemical processes, via the cell’s voltage characteristic during trans...

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells are highly efficient energy converters and provide electrical energy, cathode exhaust gas with low oxygen concentration and water. They are investigated as replacement for auxiliary power units (APU) that are currently used for electrical power generation on aircraft. For generation of oxygen depleted cathode exhaust air (ODA) oxygen concentration m...

An effort is underway to develop a prototype Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell breadboard system for fuhlre space applications. This prototype will be used to develop a comprehensive des ign basis for a space-rated PEM fuel cell powerplant. The prototype system includes reactant pressure regulators, ejector-based reactant pumps, a 4-kW fuel cell stack and cooling system, and a passive, m...

A pilot-scale unitized reversible fuel cell (URFC) system was installed in our laboratory (AIST) and its efficiency was comprehensively evaluated. This URFC system was composed of a proton exchange membrane (PEM)-based cell/stack and balance of plant (BOP) adaptable for both electrolysis (EL) and fuel cell (FC) operationmodes. First, the efficiency of this URFC system was evaluated at both the ...

Fig. 1: Power electronics system driving ac load, powered by a fuel cell. Abstract—A dynamic model of a PEM fuel cell is developed for power electronics simulation. The model accounts for static losses of activation, ohmic, and concentration regions, and dynamic transients due to charge double layer and compressor delay. In this paper, study was given to additional factors, including temperatur...

PEM fuel cell performance and lifetime strongly depend on the polymer membrane and MEA hydration. As the internal moisture is very sensitive to the operating conditions (temperature, stoichiometry, load current, water management. . . ), keeping the optimal working point is complex and requires real-time monitoring. This article focuses on PEM fuel cell stack health diagnosis and more precisely ...

The paper presents a Supervision, Control, Data Acquisition and Simulation (SCADA & Simulator) system that allows for real-time training in the actual operation of a modular PEM fuel cell system. This SCADA & Simulator system consists of a free software tool that operates in real time and simulates real situations like failures and breakdowns in the system. This developed SCADA & Simulator syst...

The fuel cells are considered as one of the most promising devices for standalone/grid connected distributed generations (DGs) due to its cleanliness, modularity and higher potential capability. The barriers in the widespread use of fuel cells are their slow response for sudden load changes and higher installation cost. In this paper a simulation study of dynamic behavior of Nexa 1.2kW PEM fuel...

Experimental analysis and CFD modeling is used in this work to analyze system efficiency related to hydrogen purge based water management in an open-cathode PEM fuel cell system. Excess water in a deadended anode decreases hydrogen concentration at the active catalyst surface and thus causes fuel cell performance losses. Purging the anode with hydrogen removes water and nitrogen that diffused t...

Batteries in a fuel-cell power system are essential to providing the additional power during the sharp load-transients. This necessitates a power-electronics subsystem (PES), which controls the energy flow between the fuel-cell stack, the battery, and the application load during the transient and in the steady states. In this paper, a distributed PES (comprising a multimodule dc-dc boost conver...