A Review of the Main Power Electronics' Advances in Order to Ensure Efficient Operation and Durability of PEMFCs

Abstract

Original scientific paperThis article focuses on the main issues that affect the lifetime and performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. The short lifespans of these fuel cells represent a barrier to their massive commercialization and usage in mobile and stationary applications. As fuel cell is a very complex system, a lot of knowledge of different areas is required, such as chemistry, electricity and mechanics, in order to completely understand its operation and all the problems that can occur during it. It is for this reason that an interdisciplinary approach needs to be taken when designing fuel-cell energy systems. This paper focuses on identifying and solving those issues that negatively affect the lifetime and performance of fuel cells. It is hoped that this article would be a valuable aid for power electronics' researchers and engineers for better understanding the presented issues and a useful guide for solving them with the use of proper power electronic-devices. Initially, the basic operation and structure of a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell is explained. Three main issues that can occur during operation of a mobile or stationary fuel cell energy system are pointed out and discussed in details, on the basis of the state-of-the-art on fuel cell technology. These issues are poor water management, reactant gas starvation and fuel cell current ripple. This article provides answers as to why they occur, how they affect the fuel cell, how they can be mitigated, and what are the future trends within this research field.Key words: PEMFC, Water management, Reactant gas starvation, Current ripple, Power electronics.Pregled znanstvenih napredaka u učinskoj elektronici usmjerenih ka osiguravanju efikasnog rada i dužeg životnog vijeka PEM gorivihćelija.Članak se osvrće na ključna pitanja koja utječu na vrijeme rada i performanse gorivihćelija s polimernom membranom kao elektrolitom. Kratak životni vijek gorivihćelija takve vrste prepreka je njihovoj komercijalizaciji i masovnoj upotrebi u mobilnim i stacionarnim stanicama. Budući da su gorivećelije komplicirani sustavi potrebno je znanje iz raznih područja kemije, elektrotehnike i mehanike da bi se u potpunosti mogao razumjeti njihov način rada i problemi koji se dogadaju. Upravo je zbog toga multidisciplinarni pristup nužnost pri razvoju sustava koji koriste gorivećelije. Ovaj ječlanak usmjeren prema identifikaciji i rješavanju onih problema koji negativno utječu na životni vijek i performanse gorivihćelija. Autori se nadaju daće sečlanak pokazati kao korisna pomoć i vodič istraživačima i inženjerima u domeni učinske elektronike pri susretu s navedenim problemima. Objašnjen je način rada i struktura gorivećelije s polimernom membranom kao elektrolitom. Izložena su, i diskutirana do u detalje, tri glavna problema sa stajališta trenutačnih spoznaja u području učinske elektronike. Ti problemi su: loše upravljanje vodom, nestanak reaktantnog plina i strujni trzaji u gorivimćelijama. Objašnjeno je zašto se ovi problemi dogadaju, kako utječu na gorivućelij...

Identification of a Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell’s Model Parameters by Means of an Evolution Strategy

“…In addition, the lifetime of PEMFCs can be significantly reduced when exposed to demanding operating conditions, like high current ripple or sudden load changes that may lead to oxygen and gas starvation [5], [6]. All these things limit the employment of real FCs when testing them in new applications or experimenting with newly developed power conditioning units.…”

Energy Management of a Fuel-Cell Serial–Parallel Hybrid System

“…As a consequence of this limitation, a load transient will cause a high voltage drop after a short time, which is a symptom of the oxygen starvation phenomena [14]- [17]. This operational condition is harmful for the FC because it accelerates the catalyst losses and the carbon-support corrosion [16], [18]- [20] and for this reason a FC is considered to be a slow dynamic response equipment with respect to the transient load requirements [21]. Different approaches to prevent the oxygen starvation phenomenon have been proposed in the literature.…”

Performance Analysis of a PWM DC–DC Converter for PEMFC Stack Power Conditioning Applications

“…However, the resulting FC stack voltage is unregulated and of small magnitude for most practical power supply voltage requirements [19]. In order to overcome the limitations of the generated FC stack voltage, a power conditioning system (PCS) is necessary [20], [21]. Often, a PCS is connected intermediate the FC stack and the load.…”

“…A PCS primarily consists of a dc-dc converter or dc-ac inverter of a combination of both [20], [22]. Several converter and inverter topologies exist [13], [22]- [24], and these can be grouped into current source and voltage source [24]- [28] .…”