Measurements in the Recirculation Path of a Fuel Cell System

Abstract

The study demonstrates the possibility and in particular the method to derive the efficiency of the entire fuel cell power system by measuring specific data of the recirculation path of the anode circuit of a fuel cell system. The results demonstrate the capabilities of the existing test rig and enable investigations on the suitability of auxiliary components. This study focuses on the hydrogen recirculation path equipped with multiple sensors and a needle valve to enable the required operating conditions of the fuel cell.Running a startup load profile without reaching the equilibrium state at all steps, the dynamic of the system and the requirements to the sensor parameters, such as sampling rate and precision, was seen. Additionally, it became obvious that the recirculation pump used is oversized, but a load point shift compensated this artifact. In detail, the stoichiometry and the efficiency of the entire system was evaluated. It was seen that the hydrogen concentration is approximately constant over the whole range of power of the fuel cell. Furthermore, all the results corresponded to the expectations so that it can be assumed that the test bench is working correctly. Further investigations will follow.