Fall 2016

Fuel Cell Handout

Introduction:
Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that
convert chemical energy into electrical
energy. They are used in a wide range of
applications including the powering of space
missions and automobiles. They come in a
variety of designs, names and abbreviations
including Polymer Electrolyte Membrane
(PEM) fuel cells, Direct Methanol Fuel
Cells (DMFCs) and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
(SOFCs). This lab project involves a PEM
fuel cell with hydrogen gas as the fuel and
oxygen or air as the oxidant (see Fig. 1); it
includes current collector flow plates with
gas flow channels, an anode catalyst and a
membrane electrode assembly (MEA). At
the anode, hydrogen reacts according: H2
2H+ + 2e-; the cathode reaction is: 0.5O2 +
2H+ + 2e- H2O. The overall reaction is
the formation of water; the energy released
by the reaction is converted to electrical
power and heat.
Preparation before lab:
Research how a PEM fuel cell works and why a load is applied to the cell in order to obtain a V-I
plot. Look up the definition of exchange current density.

Locate all items in the Supplies List before beginning.

Equipment:
Start-up Procedure
Log in to your own Tufts account (takes a long time for the computer to set up your desktop).

Run LabVIEW "Main Control Program - 1.vi" and click the arrow at the top left of the screen to
start the program.
Once the program is running, flip all the power switches on the front of the instrument
modules and turn on the variac (heats the heat-tape wrapped around the tubing).
Make sure the back pressure valves (big green knobs) on the MTSA are set to zero (full counterclockwise, 0 psi on gauges).
Check that the pressure at the gas cylinders (in the cylinder corral) is between 20 and 40 psi. If
they are not set right, see your TA for help. Open the yellow valves on the wall behind the Fuel
Cell apparatus to allow gas into the system (parallel to pipe = open) then check the pressure at
the cylinders again to make sure the pressure is still within the above range.
Turn on the temperature monitor to measure the temperature of the heat tape.
On the control screen, click "Enable Unit" then "Initialize" for each of the following units:
MTSA, Hum-1, Hum-2, Oxidant and Fuel (Line-1, Line-2 and EC-DM are not being used). The
MTSA controls the cell. The Hum-1 and Hum-2 add heat and humidity to the gases before they
enter the cell to keep the membrane moist. Oxidant and Fuel control the flowrates of the 2 gases.
The heat tape around the tubing maintains the temperature of the gases.
Type in the desired value for cell temperature (carefully read the Data Sets and Analysis
section below) and hit "enable" after inputting the value. Check the front of the instrument
panels to make sure the setpoint has registered. You may have to enable it more than once. Do
the same for your humidity temperatures and gas flow rates.
Click on "continuous measure" to get a read-back value.
Check that both gases are flowing by looking for bubbles in the 2 containers in the hood (bubble
flask for the Hydrogen and cup of water for the Air). If you dont see bubbles from both gas
lines, ask your TA for help.
Adjust the setting of the variac so that the temperature of the heat tape is the same as the
humidity setting this takes a while (80C 80 on the variac).
Wait at least 15 minutes for everything to stabilize to the above settings.
On the MTSA, flip the toggle switches to "load on", "voltage control" and "20V/20A". Make
sure the voltage is at its highest value but be careful not to turn the dial too far the dial is
backwards in the sense that the voltage will decrease when turning the knob clockwise.
When you are ready to begin, type a save as name and location into the designated box then
start recording data in 1 second intervals. Slowly dial down the voltage until it stops adjusting.
The area of the fuel cell is 25 cm2.

Shutdown Procedure:
Turn off the load. Close the gas valves on the wall. Set the cell and humidity temperatures to
room temperature. Dial the variac to zero and turn it off. Turn off the heat-tape monitor. Wait
for a few minutes to make sure the temperatures are starting to drop then turn off the power to
the modules and shutdown the computer (this resets the LabView software and avoids error
messages the next time the program is turned on).
Data Sets and Analysis:
In general, you will vary cell temperature and flow rate independently and record the voltage vs.
current density for each setting. See Professor Mess for more details. The values for each
variable are: 60, 80 and 100C for cell temperature and 100, 150 and 200mL/min for flow rate.
The humidity should be set to 80C throughout the experiment and the pressure should stay at
0 psi. You can use the fan to help speed the cooling process if desired.
Plot voltage vs. current density and power vs. current density for each data set.
Using the plot of voltage vs. current density for the 80C cell temperature and 150 mL/min flow
rate conditions, define the 3 regions: (1) charge-transfer-limited, (2) membrane-limited and (3)
mass-transfer-limited. Calculate the following characteristics in each of the regions:
(1)

exchange current density, io

transfer coefficient,

(2)

membrane resistance, R()

membrane resistivity (/cm2)

(3)

extent of mass transfer effects, c

extent of fuel/oxidant utilization

Supplies List:
Fuel cell
humidity controller
power supply for fuel cell
fuel/oxidant controller
laptop with control software
computer interfaces and USB hub

Hydrogen & Air compressed gas cylinders

bubble flask and water-filled beaker in hood
variac
temperature meter
fan