Anode inlet liquid water accumulation diagnosis for fuel cells with ejector-based hydrogen recirculation

Xu Hu, Xiaojie Zhang, Xichen Ye and Tong Zhang

Energy, 2025, vol. 335, issue C

Abstract: Liquid water accumulation in the anode can lead to the irreversible performance degradation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Previous research concentrated on diagnosing the liquid water accumulation in the anode channels of the PEMFCs. For the PEMFCs with hydrogen recirculation, the condensation of the recirculated vapor brings about the liquid water accumulation in the anode inlet, which matters but is little taken into account. To bridge this gap, an algorithm is presented for diagnosing the liquid water accumulation in the anode inlet of the PEMFCs having an ejector-based hydrogen recirculation. It employs the unscented Kalman filter, requiring pressure sensors and temperature sensors. This diagnosis algorithm can be implemented in embedded microcontrollers and operate in real time. It was validated through the measured signals of a real fuel cell system (FCS). The test results demonstrate that this diagnostic approach can detect liquid water accumulation at least 3 s earlier than voltage-based methods. This makes it possible to take measures early to avoid the fuel cell performance degradation caused by anode flooding. This work might provide new insights into diagnosing anode flooding.

Keywords: Hydrogen fuel cells; Anode flooding diagnosis; State observer; Unscented Kalman filter; Modeling; Ejector (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:335:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225035510

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.137909

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