Effects of Accumulated Water on Cell Performance and Mechanism of the Drainage after PEFC Cold Startup

Abstract

For cold startup of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), rapid output increase after the temperature rise is a critical issue. This study investigated the effective operating conditions for this issue. In the experiments, an adiabatic cell was used to simulate the temperature rise of the stack. Flooding occurred after the startup from 4 ℃ with the stoichiometry of 2.5, while dehydration occurred after the sub-zero startup and power increase with the cell from -3 ℃ with the stoichiometry of 5.0. These indicate that the flow rates of supply gases largely affect the accumulation of liquid water.