To improve the life performance of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC), the degradation behavior of the cell is diagnosed at the early stage, and an appropriate treatment should be applied to the cell. Our proposal diagnostics evaluates the transient response which includes the resistance polarization, the activation polarization and the diffusion polarization. The obtained diagnostic parameters from this transient response should include the degradation factors. This paper aims the establishment of diagnostics by clarifying the correlation of diagnostic parameter and each polarization. Because the anode polarization is considerably small compared with the cathode polarization and most fuel cells are controlled by the cathode reaction, the diagnostic parameter focused on the cathode polarization and resistance polarization of the membrane. As a result, the diagnostic parameters can judge each degradation factor, and the degradation factor distribution under the standard operating condition can be measured by applying this diagnostics to the quadrisection electrode.
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