Determining Water Content and Distribution in PEMFCs to Predict Aging While in Storage

Journal Article · Thu Aug 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · ECS Transactions (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/08008.0377ecst· OSTI ID:1415414

Stariha, Sarah ^[1]; Wilson, Mahlon Scott  ^[1]; LaManna, Jacob M. ^[2]; Jacobson, David L. ^[2]; Hussey, Daniel S. ^[2]; Macauley, Natalie ^[3]; Rau, Jonathan A.  ^[1]; Borup, Rodney L.  ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
3. Ballard Power Systems, Burnaby (Canada)

Proton membrane exchange fuel cells (PEMFCs) have the potential to be long term backup power sources with a startup time on the order of seconds. Water management is the key issue in being able to successfully store PEMFCs for extended periods of time. In this work custom made PEMFCs were humidified at various relative humidities (%RH) and subsequently stored for different lengths of time. The fuel cell’s water content was then imaged at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) neutron imaging facility. In conclusion, the cells’ startup performances were measured simulating quick startup conditions to define the effect of different water distributions.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC52-06NA25396
• OSTI ID: 1415414
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-17-25967
• Journal Information: ECS Transactions (Online), Vol. 80, Issue 8; ISSN 1938-6737
• Publisher: Electrochemical Society
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY