In-situ diagnostic tools for hydrogen transfer leak characterization in PEM fuel cell stacks part I: R&D applications

This paper describes a diagnostic tool for in-situ characterization of hydrogen transfer leak in individual cells of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack, suitable for Research and Development (R&D) applications. The technique is based on supplying hydrogen and nitrogen to the anode and cathode of a PEM fuel cell stack while maintaining a prescribed anode overpressure. Under these conditions, hydrogen crosses over from the anode to the cathode, and the Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) represents the ratio of hydrogen partial pressure in the two electrodes. It is shown that by measuring temperature, pressure, flow, humidity, and individual OCVs, the proposed technique can accurately estimate the rate of hydrogen transfer leak in individual cells of a PEM fuel cell stack. This diagnostic tool is suitable for characterizing hydrogen transfer leaks during fuel cell R&D, as it only requires gasses and measurements that are readily available on fuel cell test stations, and does not need disassembling or modifying the fuel cell stack.