Bethapudi, VS;
Maier, M;
Hinds, G;
Shearing, PR;
Brett, DJL;
Coppens, MO;
(2019)
Acoustic emission as a function of polarisation: Diagnosis of polymer electrolyte fuel cell hydration state.
Electrochemistry Communications
, 109
, Article 106582. 10.1016/j.elecom.2019.106582.
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Abstract
Understanding water management is a crucial aspect in the development of improved polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Separating the performance degradation due to dehydration, water flooding and reactant starvation in PEFCs is a major challenge. In this study, acoustic emission (AE) analysis, a non-invasive and non-destructive diagnostic tool, is utilised to probe water formation and removal inside an operating fuel cell. In the acoustic emission as a function of polarisation (AEfP) method, AE activity from the PEFC is measured in terms of cumulative absolute AE energy (CAEE) hits during operation at discrete points on the polarisation curve. AEfP can identify the presence of liquid water in flow channels and correlate its formation and removal with the level of cell polarisation, and consequent internal temperature. Correlation between acoustic activity and water generation, supply and removal is achieved by varying current (polarisation), cathode air feed relative humidity (RH) and cell temperature, respectively. Features such as initial membrane hydration, liquid water formation, ‘flushing’ and the transition from ‘wet-channel’ to ‘dry-channel’ operation are identified using AE analysis, thereby providing a powerful and easy to implement diagnostic for PEFCs.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Acoustic emission as a function of polarisation: Diagnosis of polymer electrolyte fuel cell hydration state |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.elecom.2019.106582 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2019.106582 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Acoustic emission, Flushing, Start-up, In-operando, Flooding, Water management |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10085903 |
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