Intra-fuel cell stack measurements of transient concentration distributions

W. P. Partridge, T. J. Toops, J. B. Green, T. R. Armstrong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Intra-fuel-cell measurements are required to understand detailed fuel-cell chemistry and physics, validate models, optimize system design and control, and realize enhanced efficiency regimes; in comparison, conventional integrated fuel-cell supply and effluent measurements are fundamentally limited in value. Intra-reactor measurements are needed for all fuel cell types. This paper demonstrates the ability of a capillary-inlet mass spectrometer to resolve transient species distributions within operating polymer-electrolyte-membrane (PEM) fuel cells and at temperatures typical of solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC). This is the first such demonstration of a diagnostic that is sufficiently minimally invasive as to allow measurements throughout an operating fuel cell stack. Measurements of transient water, hydrogen, oxygen and diluent concentration dynamics associated with fuel-cell load switching suggest oxygen-limited chemistry. Intra-PEM fuel cell measurements of oxygen distribution at various fuel-cell loads are used to demonstrate concentration gradients, non-uniformities, and anomalous fuel cell operation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)454-461
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Power Sources
Volume160
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 29 2006

Funding

Research sponsored by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725.

Keywords

  • Humidity
  • In situ measurements
  • In-operando measurements
  • Intra-fuel-cell measurements
  • PEMFC
  • SOFC

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