A transient behavior study of polymer electrolyte fuel cells with cyclic current profiles

Abstract

This paper reports on the effects of different load profiles on the transient behavior of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). A protocol of six tests, each with different current density ramps, was conducted. The corresponding cell voltage, pressure drop response, and ohmic resistance were then experimentally investigated. The time-dependent voltage profiles were applied to represent the cell performance. The cathodic pressure drop and ohmic resistance were utilized to analyze the water dynamic behavior inside the cell. The voltage overshoot and undershoot behavior were observed throughout the experiment. It was found that with an increase of the current change rates, the magnitude of voltage over/undershoots also increased. When the holding time at the constant current density was zero, the overshoot or undershoot behavior disappeared. The results of the pressure drop analysis showed that the load ramp did not have a significant effect on the average pressure drop in the tests. During the load cyclic operation in each test, the two-phase flow tended to reach equilibrium in the cell. Impedance analysis showed that the ohmic resistance changed with the change in the current density; however, the difference between the tests was not obvious.