A study of the effect of water management and electrode flooding on the dimensional change of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

AbstractWater management and flooding play an important role in the performance and durability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). In this study, a dynamic electro-mechanical analysis is performed to examine the performance of a working PEFC during hydration transients and flooding events. Cell resistance is measured using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the stress/strain characteristics – cell compression and membrane electrode assembly (MEA) dimensional change – are studied using a controlled compression unit (CCU).Ex-situ measurements of membrane thickness as a function of hydration level provide a direct correlation between ionic conductivity and thickness. During initial hydration of Nafion membranes there is a direct relationship between membrane conductivity and dimensional change (swelling) of MEAs. Electrode flooding is found to result in membrane hydration and an increase in stress or strain, depending on the compression mode of the fuel cell. Results suggest that hydration cycles and flooding events can lead to cell degradation due to the stresses imposed

A Review of Drive Cycles for Electrochemical Propulsion

Automotive drive cycles have existed since the 1960s. They started as requirements as being solely used for emissions testing. During the past decade, they became popular with scientists and researchers in the testing of electrochemical vehicles and power devices. They help simulate realistic driving scenarios anywhere from system to component-level design. This paper aims to discuss the complete history of these drive cycles and their validity when used in an electrochemical propulsion scenario, namely with the use of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and lithium-ion batteries. The differences between two categories of drive cycles, modal and transient, were compared; and further discussion was provided on why electrochemical vehicles need to be designed and engineered with transient drive cycles instead of modal. Road-going passenger vehicles are the main focus of this piece. Similarities and differences between aviation and marine drive cycles are briefly mentioned and compared and contrasted with road cycles. The construction of drive cycles and how they can be transformed into a ‘power cycle’ for electrochemical device sizing purposes for electrochemical vehicles are outlined; in addition, how one can use power cycles to size electrochemical vehicles of various vehicle architectures are suggested, with detailed explanations and comparisons of these architectures. A concern with using conventional drive cycles for electrochemical vehicles is that these types of vehicles behave differently compared to combustion-powered vehicles, due to the use of electrical motors rather than internal combustion engines, causing different vehicle behaviours and dynamics. The challenges, concerns, and validity of utilising ‘general use’ drive cycles for electrochemical purposes are discussed and critiqued

PEMFC Electrochemical Degradation Analysis of a Fuel Cell Range-Extender (FCREx) Heavy Goods Vehicle after a Break-In Period

With the increasing focus on decarbonisation of the transport sector, it is imperative to consider routes to electrify vehicles beyond those achievable using lithium-ion battery technology. These include heavy goods vehicles and aerospace applications that require propulsion systems that can provide gravimetric energy densities, which are more likely to be delivered by fuel cell systems. While the discussion of light-duty vehicles is abundant in the literature, heavy goods vehicles are under-represented. This paper presents an overview of the electrochemical degradation of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell integrated into a simulated Class 8 heavy goods range-extender fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle operating in urban driving conditions. Electrochemical degradation data such as polarisation curves, cyclic voltammetry values, linear sweep voltammetry values, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy values were collected and analysed to understand the expected degradation modes in this application. In this application, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack power was designed to remain constant to fulfil the mission requirements, with dynamic and peak power demands managed by lithium-ion batteries, which were incorporated into the hybridised powertrain. A single fuel cell or battery cell can either be operated at maximum or nominal power demand, allowing four operational scenarios: maximum fuel cell maximum battery, maximum fuel cell nominal battery, nominal fuel cell maximum battery, and nominal fuel cell nominal battery. Operating scenarios with maximum fuel cell operating power experienced more severe degradation after endurance testing than nominal operating power. A comparison of electrochemical degradation between these operating scenarios was analysed and discussed. By exploring the degradation effects in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, this paper offers insights that will be useful in improving the long-term performance and durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells in heavy-duty vehicle applications and the design of hybridised powertrains

An adaptive fuel cell hybrid vehicle propulsion sizing model

As we enter the age of electrochemical propulsion, there is an increasing tendency to discuss the viability or otherwise of different electrochemical propulsion systems in zero-sum terms. These discussions are often grounded in a specific use case; however, given the need to electrify the wider transport sector it is evident that we must consider systems in a holistic fashion. When designed adequately, the hybridisation of power sources within automotive applications has been demonstrated to positively impact fuel cell efficiency, durability, and cost, while having potential benefits for the safety of vehicles. In this paper, the impact of the fuel cell to battery hybridisation degree is explored through the key design parameter of system mass. Different fuel cell electric hybrid vehicle (FCHEV) scenarios of various hydridisation degrees, including light-duty vehicles (LDVs), Class 8 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), and buses are modelled to enable the appropriate sizing of the proton exchange membrane (PEMFC) stack and lithium-ion battery (LiB) pack and additional balance of plant. The operating conditions of the modelled PEMFC stack and battery pack are then varied under a range of relevant drive cycles to identify the relative performance of the systems. By extending the model further and incorporating a feedback loop, we are able to remove the need to include estimated vehicle masses a priori enabling improving the speed and accuracy of the model as an analysis tool for vehicle mass and performance estimation

A Review of Drive Cycles for Electrochemical Propulsion

Automotive drive cycles have existed since the 1960s. They started as requirements as being solely used for emissions testing. During the past decade, they became popular with scientists and researchers in the testing of electrochemical vehicles and power devices. They help simulate realistic driving scenarios anywhere from system to component-level design. This paper aims to discuss the complete history of these drive cycles and their validity when used in an electrochemical propulsion scenario, namely with the use of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and lithium-ion batteries. The differences between two categories of drive cycles, modal and transient, were compared; and further discussion was provided on why electrochemical vehicles need to be designed and engineered with transient drive cycles instead of modal. Road-going passenger vehicles are the main focus of this piece. Similarities and differences between aviation and marine drive cycles are briefly mentioned and compared and contrasted with road cycles. The construction of drive cycles and how they can be transformed into a ‘power cycle’ for electrochemical device sizing purposes for electrochemical vehicles are outlined; in addition, how one can use power cycles to size electrochemical vehicles of various vehicle architectures are suggested, with detailed explanations and comparisons of these architectures. A concern with using conventional drive cycles for electrochemical vehicles is that these types of vehicles behave differently compared to combustion-powered vehicles, due to the use of electrical motors rather than internal combustion engines, causing different vehicle behaviours and dynamics. The challenges, concerns, and validity of utilising ‘general use’ drive cycles for electrochemical purposes are discussed and critiqued

The Importance of Using Alkaline Ionomer Binders for Screening Electrocatalysts in Alkaline Electrolyte

Many electrochemical studies exist using the acidic ionomer Nafion as a binder in the ink formulation when operating in high pH systems. However, Nafion acts as an ionic insulator for OH−, and for reactions such as the hydrogen oxidation reaction, the transport of OH− to the catalyst surface is of utmost importance when elucidating the performance of a catalyst. This work demonstrates that when using an alkaline polymer binder in the ink, the apparent activity of a commercially synthesized Pt/C catalyst is increased due to a lower diffusion resistance for the reaction. In order to obtain accurate values for kinetic data in alkaline media, the use of the acidic binder should be avoided.EPSRC for supporting the Electrochemical Innovation Lab through (EP/M009394/1, EP/G030995/1, EP/I037024/1, EP/M014371/1, EP/K014706/1, EP/K038656/1 and EP/M023508/1). PRS acknowledges the Royal Academy of Engineering for funding

Elucidating the sodiation mechanism in hard carbon by operando raman spectroscopy

Operando microbeam Raman spectroscopy is used to map the changes in hard carbon during sodiation and desodiation in unprecedented detail, elucidating several important and unresolved aspects of the sodiation mechanism. On sodiation a substantial, reversible decrease in G-peak energy is observed, which corresponds directly to the sloping part of the voltage profile and we argue can only be due to steady intercalation of sodium between the turbostratic layers of the hard carbon. The corresponding reversibility of the D-peak energy change is consistent with intercalation rather than representing a permanent increase in disorder. No change in energy of the graphitic phonons occurs over the low-voltage plateau, indicating that intercalation saturates before sodium clusters form in micropores in this region. At the start of the initial sodiation there is no change in G- and D-peak energy as the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) forms. After SEI formation, the background slope of the spectra increases irreversibly due to fluorescence. The importance of in situ/operando experiments over ex situ studies is demonstrated; washing the samples or air exposure causes the G- and D-peaks to revert back to their original states because of SEI removal and sodium deintercalation and confirms no permanent damage to the carbon structure