Nafion tubing humidification system for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

HumidityandtemperaturehaveanessentialinfluenceonPEMfuelcellsystemperformance. Thewatercontentwithinthepolymericmembraneisimportantforenhancingprotonconductionand achievinghighefficiencyofthesystem. Thecombinationofnon-stationaryoperationrequestsandthe variabilityofenvironmentconditionsposesanimportantchallengetomaintainingoptimalmembrane hydration. Thispaperpresentsahumidificationandthermalcontrolsystem,topreventthemembrane from drying. The main characteristics of such a device are small size and weight, compactness and robustness, easy implementation on commercial fuel cell, and low power consumption. In particular, the NTHS method was studied in a theoretical approach, tested and optimized in a laboratory and finally applied to a PEMFC of 1 kW that supplied energy for the prototype vehicle IDRA at the Shell Eco-Marathon competition. Using a specific electronic board, which controls several variables and decides the optimal reaction air flow rate, the NTHS was managed. Furthermore, the effects of membrane drying and electrode flooding were presented.