Parametric study of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell for investigation of enhanced performance used in fuel cell vehicles

Abstract

This study focuses on the parametric analysis of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) to enhance its performance used in Fuel cell vehicles. The study involves fabrication of membrane electrode assembly at 40% Pt/C loading and experimenting with different parameters, viz, cell temperatures, oxygen and hydrogen flow rates and cathode and anode humidification temperatures. The results show that cell temperature has significant effect on the performance of the PEMFC, whereas other parameters produce variation only in the activation polarization region and in the concentration polarization region. A prototype model of FCV, indigenously powered by a fuel cell stack and run continuously without any auxiliary power supply is developed as a viable model for a higher power vehicle. The vehicle’s performance is studied by conducting various load tests. Keywords: PEMFC, Cell temperature, Flow rate, Humidification temperature, Operating parameters