Performance Evaluation of Fuel Cell System for Marine Use

Abstract

  As part of a study designed to build a marine fuel cell system, the authors carried out a series of performance tests on a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) which generates 1 kilowatt of electricity. The tests were aimed at investigating effects of fuel cell temperatures, cell stack inclination and air supply variation on power output. In these tests, the authors also examined how cell output follows load variation. The following results were obtained on the fuel cell stack the authors used: (1) Within a range of 60 to 75 degrees Celsius, the temperature level of the cell stack hardly affected power output. (2) When the cell stack was tilted up to 22.5 degrees, power output was slightly higher than the case in which the cell stack was in the upright position. This imperceptible power increase is thought to be caused by water droplets staying in the anode exhaust pipe, which resulted in a slight rise in the system pressure. (3) Even when the air utilization jumped from 25 to 60 percent, there was no sign of a remarkable drop in power output. (4) When the cell stack was in the upright attitude, power output could follow temporal changes in electrical current values. Even when the cell stack was in an inclined position, it showed high followability to rapid load changes.