Understanding the Ebalance for water management in hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells

Shi, Lin; Setzler, Brian P.; Yan, Yushan

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2022.231514

Understanding the E_balance for water management in hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells

Journal Article · Fri Apr 29 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Journal of Power Sources

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2022.231514· OSTI ID:1977401

^[1]; Setzler, Brian P. ^[2]; ^[2]

Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States); OSTI
Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)

As a key challenge for hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells (HEMFCs), understanding water management deeply is critical for performance and durability improvement. Here, in this work, we show that the balance between water generation and phase-change-induced (PCI) flow is the main factor controlling cell voltage over a wide range of conditions where the cells are vulnerable to severe flooding. The regulation of flooding by heat generation can be reflected by a stable voltage with increase of current density in the polarization curve. This PCI balance voltage (E_balance), which determines the shape of polarization curve, is modeled as a function of cell operating conditions and gas diffusion layer (GDL) properties. Temperature, pressure, and thermal conductivity of GDL were found important for tuning the level of E_balance, both in HEMFCs and proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The understanding of E_balance will help to generate strategies for resolving flooding in HEMFCs, and it offers a new perspective for polarization curve interpretation.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

Grant/Contract Number:: AR0001034

OSTI ID:: 1977401

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1961429

Journal Information:: Journal of Power Sources, Journal Name: Journal of Power Sources Journal Issue: C Vol. 536; ISSN 0378-7753

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Understanding the Ebalance for water management in hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells

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Understanding the E_balance for water management in hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells