Theory of proton exchange membranes fuel cells and the testing of performance characteristics of polymer electrolyte membranes

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells hold great promise as source of power. A hydrogen and oxygen PEM fuel is a simple fuel cell that can be theoretically characterized. The performance of a PEM fuel cell can be characterized if the contents of the two gas lines are known, the back pressure is controlled, the operating temperature of the fuel cell is known and the ohmic resistances of the cell are known. The voltage output will vary with the current density that the cell is loaded with. To completely characterize the fuel cell performance it is required that a fuel cell testing station or equivalent controllers be used to direct the operating conditions. The main aspects that the testing station will control is the temperature of the fuel cell, the relative humidity of the gas lines, the back pressure in the fuel cell, and the load the fuel cell will experience. With the information in this paper it is possible describe the performance characteristics of PEM fuel cell.