Endplate effect in an open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack: Phenomenon and resolution

Xianxian Yu, Yang Liu, Zhengkai Tu and Siew Hwa Chan

Renewable Energy, 2023, vol. 219, issue P1

Abstract: Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have garnered substantial attention as highly promising devices for energy conversion. The operational lifespan and overall output performance of such stacks are inherently governed by the performance of the weakest fuel cell, a phenomenon often referred to as the “Bucket Effect.” Evidently, cells located proximate to the hydrogen inlet endplate exhibit poor performance in comparison to the remaining cells in a 95 cells open-cathode fuel cell stack. In response to this challenge, an innovative approach involving endplate heating has been proposed to mitigate the observed endplate effects. Experimental validation of this approach has been conducted, yielding pertinent results. Furthermore, the internal temperature distribution across the stack exhibits an asymmetric parabolic profile, largely attributed to the intricate interplay of the endplate effects. Comparative analysis against a counterpart stack without endplate heating indicates that an application of 80 W heating power leads to a prolongation of operational duration by 156 s, while 100 W heating extends the operational period by 333 s. 80 W heating increased stack power by 31.5 W while improving output power efficiency by 1.9%, and 100 W heating increased stack power by 45.6 W while improving output power efficiency by 2.74%.

Keywords: Proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack; Open-cathode; Endplate effects; Buckets effects; Anode water flooding (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148123013071
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:219:y:2023:i:p1:s0960148123013071

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2023.119392

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides

More articles in Renewable Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().