Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are electrochemical devices which
convert the chemical energy of hydrogen into electrical energy with a high
efficiency. They are compact and produce a powerful electric current relative to their
size. Different from the batteries they do not need to be recharged. They operate as
long as the fuel is supplied. Fuel cells, therefore, are considered as one of the most
promising options to replace the conventional power generating systems in the
future.
In this study five PEMFCs / namely EAE1, AOY001, AOY002, AOY003 and
AOY004 were manufactured with different methods and in different structures. A
test station was built to make the performance tests. Performances of the PEMFCs
were compared by comparing the voltage-current (V-i) diagrams obtained during the
initial tests at 25 º / C of fuel cell and gas humidification temperatures. AOY001
showed the best performance among all PEMFCs with a current density of 77.5
mA/cm2 at 0.5 V and it was chosen for further parametric studies where the effect of
different flow rates of H2 and O2 gases, gas humidification and fuel cell temperatures
on the performance were investigated.
It was found that increasing fuel cell and gas humidification temperatures
increased the performance. Excess flow rate of reactant gases had an adverse effect
on the performance. On the other hand increasing the ratio of flow rate of oxygen to
hydrogen had a positive but limited effect. AOY001 delivered a maximum current
density of 183 mA/cm2 at 0.5 V. The highest power obtained was 4.75 W
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/1054402/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 January 2003 |
| Creators | Yazaydin, Ahmet Ozgur |
| Contributors | Eroslu, Inci |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | M.S. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | To liberate the content for public access |
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