Title: Membrane Accelerated Stress Test Development for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Durability Validated Using Field and Drive Cycle Testing

Abstract

© The Author(s) 2018. A combined chemical/mechanical accelerated stress test (AST) was developed for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells based on relative humidity cycling (RHC) between dry and saturated gases at open circuit voltage (OCV). Membrane degradation and failure were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. Changes to membrane thickness, hydrophilic domain spacing, and crystallinity were observed to be most similar between field-operated cells and OCV RHC ASTs, where local thinning and divot-type defects are the primary failure modes. While RHC in air also reproduces these failure modes, it is not aggressive enough to differentiate between different membrane types in >1,333 hours (55 days) of testing. Conversely, steady-state OCV tests result in significant ionomer morphology changes and global thinning, which do not replicate field degradation and failure modes. It is inferred that during the OCV RHC AST, the decay of the membrane’s mechanical properties is accelerated such that materials can be evaluated in hundreds, instead of thousands, of hours, while replicating the degradation and failure modes of field operation; associated AST protocols are recommended as OCV RHC at 90°C for 500 hours with wet/dry cycle durations of 30s/45s and 2m/2m for automotive and busmore » operation, respectively.« less

Authors:

Mukundan, Rangachary  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Mukundan, Rangachary"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-5679-3930"

Baker, Andrew M.  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Baker, Andrew M."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-8648-5579"

Kusoglu, Ahmet  ^[2];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-2761-1050"

Beattie, Paul ^[3]; Knights, Shanna ^[3]; Weber, Adam Z.  ^[2];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-7749-1624"

Borup, Rodney L.  ^[1]

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Borup, Rodney L."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-7647-1624"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
3. Ballard Power Systems, Burnaby, BC (Canada)

Publication Date:

Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2018

Research Org.:

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

OSTI Identifier:

1440446

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1466713

Report Number(s):

LA-UR-18-20375
Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4651

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC52-06NA25396; AC02-05CH11231

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 165; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4651

Publisher:

The Electrochemical Society

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

25 ENERGY STORAGE; Energy Sciences; Fuel Cell, durability, AST, accelerated stress test, drive cycle