GOALI- Fuel Cell Performance and Tolerance in Dead-Ended Anode Operation

0932509Stefanopoulou项目摘要本项目的目的是了解在极端空间和时间变化下耦合的电、多孔弹性和传输行为，例如在聚合物电解质膜（PEM）燃料电池（FC）的死端阳极操作中遇到的行为。在原位测量与中子成像的液体水在燃料电池中的积累和质谱测量的气体浓度在几个位置沿着燃料电池通道将被用于与非原位验尸微观结构评价的催化剂和膜降解相结合。这些测量结果将通过我们的国际合作用于校准和验证计算物理模型，以预测时空模式及其对退化和灾难性FC故障的影响。该模型将被使用和扩展，通过我们的工业合作，以预测在FC启动和关闭的非平衡条件下，这是至关重要的汽车电池堆寿命下流通和再循环阳极operation.Intellectual优点：该项目的预期智力优点包括调查的时空变化模式的两相水，惰性氮和反应物在FC操作。在死端模式下的FC操作中，水和氮通过膜从阴极到阳极的运输和积累提供了可控的和统计上显著的模式，其将用于FC板对板操作中的催化剂和膜降解机制的建模和评估。几个基本问题，如碳载催化剂的非平衡电化学势的耐受性，聚合物电解质膜的液体到液体的传输机制，以及重力在所观察到的FC通道分布的影响将通过所提出的实验和建模任务的组合来解决。更广泛的影响：该项目的预期更广泛影响包括培训两名来自代表性不足的少数群体的本科生和一名博士生。国际和工业合作将使学生们融入一个充满活力和刺激的环境中，培养他们的领导力和学术才能。所开发的方法将被纳入研究生课程“先进电力系统的控制”，这是定期教授的PI在校园和远程学习的学生从工业。研究成果将通过网络研讨会，讲座，迷你课程和与可再生能源利用相关的美国和欧盟研讨会的演示文稿进行传播。最后但并非最不重要的是，PI和她的学生将组织教育访问底特律市中心的高中与控制电化学系统，如燃料电池和电池的演示工具包。我们的目标是让不同的学生接触到FC系统和先进测量技术的高度跨学科领域。拟议的研究结合了计算技术，实验方法和工业参与，以改善对全球可持续能源至关重要的燃料电池系统。

0932509StefanopoulouProject SummaryThe objective of this project is to develop an understanding of the coupled electric, poroelastic, and transport behavior under extreme spatial and temporal variations such as the ones encountered in dead-ended-anode operation of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell (FC). In-situ measurements with neutron imaging of the liquid water accumulation in the fuel cell and mass spectroscopy measurements of the gas concentration in several locations along the fuel cell channels will be used in combination with ex-situ postmortem micro-structural evaluation of the catalyst and the membrane degradation. The measurements will be used through our international collaboration to calibrate and validate a computational physical model for the prediction of the spatio-temporal patterns and their impact on degradation and catastrophic FC failures. The model will be used and extended through our industrial collaboration to predict the non-equilibrium conditions during FC start-up and shut-down which are critical for automotive stack life under flow-through and recirculated anode operation.Intellectual merits: The anticipated intellectual merits of this project include the investigation of spatiotemporal varying patterns of two-phase water, inert nitrogen and reactants in FC operation. The transport and accumulation of water and nitrogen from the cathode to the anode through the membrane in a FC operation under dead-ended mode provides controllable and statistically significant patterns which will be used for the modeling and assessment of the catalyst and membrane degradation mechanisms in a FC plate-to-plate operation. Several fundamental issues such as the tolerance of carbon-supported catalysts to non-equilibrium electrochemical potential, the liquid-to-liquid transport mechanisms of polymer electrolyte membranes, and the effects of gravity in the observed FC channel distributions will be addressed via the combination of the proposed experimental and modeling tasks. Broader impacts: The anticipated broader impacts of this project include the training of two undergraduate students from under-represented minorities and a PhD student. The international and industrial collaborations will embed the students in a very dynamic and stimulating environment that will nurture their leadership and scholarship. The developed methodologies will be integrated in a graduate course on "Control of advanced power systems" which is regularly taught by the PI to on-campus and distance-learning students from industry. The research results will be disseminated through webinars, lectures, mini-courses and presentations in US and EU workshops associated to renewable energy utilization. Last but not least, the PI and her students will organize educational visits to high schools in urban Detroit with demonstration kits of controlled electrochemical systems such as fuel cells and batteries. Our objective is to expose diverse students to the highly interdisciplinary area of FC systems and advanced measuring techniques. The proposed research combines computational techniques, experimental methodologies, and industrial participation for the improvement of fuel cell systems which are important for global sustainable energy.