Compact Design of 10 kW Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack Systems with Microcontroller Units

Abstract

Abstract:In this study, fuel, oxidant supply and cooling systems with microcontroller units (MCU) are developed in a compact design to fit two 5 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks. At the initial stage, the testing facility of the system has a large volume (2.0 m × 2.0 m × 1.5 m) with a longer pipeline and excessive control sensors for safe testing. After recognizing the performance and stability of stack, the system is redesigned to fit in a limited space (0.4 m × 0.5 m × 0.8 m). Furthermore, the stack performance is studied under different hydrogen recycling modes. Then, two similar 5 kW stacks are directly coupled with diodes to obtain a higher power output and safe operation. The result shows that the efficiency of the 5 kW stack is 43.46% with a purge period of 2 min with hydrogen recycling and that the hydrogen utilization rate µ f is 66.31%. In addition, the maximum power output of the twin-coupled module (a power module with two stacks in electrical cascade/parallel arrangement) is 9.52 kW.

Design, Development, and Performance of a 10 kW Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack as Part of a Hybrid Power Source Designed to Supply a Motor Glider

“…Some electronic devices, in this case certain producers of DC/DC, are sensitive to brief power outages of this type However, there is a lack of data and understanding regarding ways to improve the performance of single MEA cells and to optimise the short-circuiting strategy for fuel cell stacks constructed from smaller modules. The performance of the SCU also has a considerable impact on the integration of other devices, such as DC/DC, into a hybrid power source [31].…”

“…This value is close to that indicated in all data existing in the literature regarding an air-cooled PEMFC stack. According to paper [31], the hydrogen utilisation coefficient was calculated according to the following formula…”

“…According to paper [31], the hydrogen utilisation coefficient was calculated according to the following formula Figure 12. As can be seen, a coefficient of fuel utilisation close to 80% was recorded over a wide range of power, from 1 to 7 kW.…”