Modeling and sensitivity analysis of high temperature PEM fuel cells by using Comsol Multiphysics

2016-06-22
Sezgin, Berna
Caglayan, Dilara Gulcin
DEVRİM, YILSER
Steenberg, Thomas
Eroğlu, İnci
The objective of this study is to observe the effect of the critical design parameters, velocities of inlet gases (hydrogen and air) and the conductivity of polymer membrane, on the performance of a high temperature PEM fuel cell. A consistent and systematic mathematical model is developed in order to study the effect of these parameters. The model is applied to an isothermal, steady state, three-dimensional PEM fuel cell in order to observe concentration profiles, current density profiles and polarization curves. The model includes the transport of gases in anode and cathode gas flow channels, diffusion in the catalyst layers, the transport of water and hydronium ion in the polymer electrolyte and in the catalyst layers, and the transport of electrical current in the solid phase. The model is considered as having a single flow channel. The simulation is performed by using licensed Comsol Multiphysics 5.0, Fuel Cells &Batteries Module. The results compare well with the experimental polarization data obtained at 160 degrees C for ohmic and activation regions. The best match with the experimental data is obtained when the inlet hydrogen gas velocity is 0.133 m/s whereas inlet air velocity is 1.3 m/s for proton conductivity of 10 S/m. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY

Suggestions

Modeling of a high temperature PEM fuel cell
Sezgin, Berna; Eroğlu, İnci; Devrim, Yılser; Department of Chemical Engineering (2016)
High temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC) are considered as the next generation of fuel cells since high temperature operation for PEM fuel cells has several advantages such as single phase operation, high carbon monoxide tolerance, low or zero carbon emission and removal of some equipment from the system. In order to obtain high performances, HT-PEMFC systems should be optimized in terms of dimensions, materials, operating conditions and other parameters. Modeling can help to pre-...
Development of polybenzimidazole/graphene oxide composite membranes for high temperature PEM fuel cells
Uregen, Nurhan; Pehlivanoglu, Kubra; Ozdemir, Yagmur; DEVRİM, YILSER (2017-01-26)
In this study, phosphoric acid doped Polybenzimidazole/Graphene Oxide (PBI/GO) nano composite membranes were prepared by dispersion of various amounts of GO in PBI polymer matrix followed by phosphoric acid doping for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) application. The structure of the PBI/GO composite membranes was investigated by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The introduction of GO into the FBI polymer matri...
PEM fuel cell short stack performances of silica doped nanocomposite membranes
DEVRİM, YILSER; Devrim, Huseyin (2015-06-29)
In this study, an air-cooled Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) short stack with Nafion/Silica nanocomposite membrane was designed and fabricated for net 100 W net power output to improve the stack performance at low relative humidity conditions. Composite membrane was prepared by solution casting method. Gas Diffusion Electrodes (GDE's) were produced by ultrasonic spray coating technique. Short stack design was based on electrochemical data obtained at 0.60 V was 0.45 A/cm(2) from performance tests...
Development of self-humidifying nano-composite membrane for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell
Çaçan, Umut Baki; Özkan, Necati; Devrim, Yılser; Department of Polymer Science and Technology (2015)
Low humidity self-humidifying nano-composite membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) were developed for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) working at elevated temperatures. The nano-composite membranes were prepared by adding nano-sized silica particles (SiO2) or inorganic fillers with a size of approximately 20 nm to a polymeric material which is commercially named as Nafion (Perfluoro Sulfonic Acid/PFSA). The particle content of the nano-composite membranes were between 2.5 – 10 wt. %. In this man...
Electrocatalyst development and modeling of nonisothermal two-phase flow for PEM fuel cells
Fıçıcılar, Berker; Eroğlu, İnci; Department of Chemical Engineering (2011)
A macro-homogeneous, nonisothermal, two-phase, and steady state mathematical model is developed to investigate water and thermal management in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. An original two-phase energy balance approach is used to catch the thermal transport phenomena in cases when there is a signi cant temperature di erence between the fuel cell temperature and the reactants inlet temperatures like during cold start-up. Model considers in depth electrode kinetics for both anode and cathode ...
Citation Formats
B. Sezgin, D. G. Caglayan, Y. DEVRİM, T. Steenberg, and İ. Eroğlu, “Modeling and sensitivity analysis of high temperature PEM fuel cells by using Comsol Multiphysics,” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY, pp. 10001–10009, 2016, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/56892.