Fuel cell ohmic loss

In most types of fuel cells, ohmic losses are dominated by ionic conductivity losses through the electrolyte. Contacts and electrical conductivity typically play a small, although significant, overall role in the ohmic polarization. The electrolyte is also responsible for many of the durability limitations and overall system cost. 

Useful work (electrical energy) is obtained from a fuel cell only when a reasonable current is drawn, but the actual cell potential is decreased from its equilibrium potential because of irreversible losses as shown in Figure 2-2". Several sources contribute to irreversible losses in a practical fuel cell. The losses, which are often called polarization, overpotential, or overvoltage (ri), originate primarily from three sources (1) activation polarization (r act), (2) ohmic polarization (rjohm), and (3) concentration polarization (ricoiic)- These losses result in a cell voltage (V) for a fuel cell that is less than its ideal potential, E (V = E - Losses). 

It has been observed that solid oxide fuel cell voltage losses are dominated by ohmic polarization and that the most significant contribution to the ohmic polarization is the interfacial resistance between the anode and the electrolyte (23). This interfacial resistance is dependent on nickel distribution in the anode. A process has been developed, PMSS (pyrolysis of metallic soap slurry), where NiO particles are surrounded by thin films or fine precipitates of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) to improve nickel dispersion to strengthen adhesion of the anode to the YSZ electrolyte. This may help relieve the mismatch in thermal expansion between the anode and the electrolyte. 

Partial pressures (normalized to atmospheric pressure) depend on anode/cathode gas pressure and composition while standard potential and ohmic impedance are both temperature dependent. Fuel cell polarization losses are generally dependent on partial pressures, temperature, and current density, and are spatially distributed in an actual cell. In this paper the dynamic model is lumped parameter, where outlet properties are equal to average properties (Ding et al, 1997 Lukas et al, 1999 Lukas et al, 2001). 

Another way to consider the impact of membrane conductivity on fuel cell performance is shown in Fig. 17.5. Figure 17.5a shows the conductivity of a few different EW membranes as a functiOTi of temperature with the atmosphere inside the conductivity cell held at a fixed dew point of 80°C [17]. When the conductivity cell is at 80°C, the %RH is 100%. As the temperature of the cell increases, the %RH at a fixed dew point decreases, causing a decrease in the membrane conductivity. This is similar to the situation in some PEMFC applications where the cell temperature may rise while the humidity level of the incoming gases remains constant. The graph in Fig. 17.5b uses the same data. Here the conductivity is used to calculate the resistance of a 25 pm membrane, and using Ohms law, that resistance is used to calculate the voltage loss (ohmic loss) one would see in a fuel cell at a 0.6 A/cm current density [17]. This represents the fuel cell performance loss due to the loss of membrane conductivity (certainly not the only performance loss under these conditions ). 

In the case of membrane electrode dehydration, membrane electrical conductivity decreases and ohmic resistance increases, and so the internal fuel cell voltage loss will be even more serious, leading... 

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has also been discussed in Chapter 3. EIS is generally used to diagnose the performance limitations of fuel cells. There are three fundamental sources of voltage loss in fuel cells kinetic losses (charge-transfer activation), ohmic losses (ion and electron transport), and mass transfer losses (concentration). EIS can be used to distinguish and... 

Figure 4.23 Experimental Tafel plot of cell voltage versus current, corrected for fuel cell ohmic and other losses, so that only cathode polarization losses are remaining. The results are normalized to platinum loading. Results with open circles are with humidified oxygen, and closed circles are with humidified air. The dashed line represents the Tafel slope behavior. Note that for all loadings the Tafel slope for oxygen reduction on platinum is the same but deviates from this behavior under mass-limiting behavior. Also note that the vertical axis is ohmic corrected fuel cell voltage, not electrode overpotential, so the voltage falls with increasing current density. (Reproduced with permission from [9].)...

Summing up this section, we would like to note that understanding size effects in electrocatalysis requires the application of appropriate model systems that on the one hand represent the intrinsic properties of supported metal nanoparticles, such as small size and interaction with their support, and on the other allow straightforward separation between kinetic, ohmic, and mass transport (internal and external) losses and control of readsorption effects. This requirement is met, for example, by metal particles and nanoparticle arrays on flat nonporous supports. Their investigation allows unambiguous access to reaction kinetics and control of catalyst structure. However, in order to understand how catalysts will behave in the fuel cell environment, these studies must be complemented with GDE and MEA tests to account for the presence of aqueous electrolyte in model experiments. 

Ohmic losses, in fuel cell voltages, 12 207 Ohmic polarization, batteries, 3 425—426 Ohnesorge number, 23 183, 190 Oil absorption, by silica, 22 371 Oil additives... 

Ohmic Polarization Ohmic losses occur because of resistance to the flow of ions in the electrolyte and resistance to flow of electrons through the electrode materials. The dominant ohmic losses, through the electrolyte, are reduced by decreasing the electrode separation and enhancing the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte. Because both the electrolyte and fuel cell electrodes obey Ohm s law, the ohmic losses can be expressed by the equation... 

Ohmic losses predominate in the range of normal fuel cell operation. These losses can be expressed as iR losses where i is the current and R is the summation of internal resistances within the cell, Equation (2-2). As is readily evident from the equation, the ohmic loss and hence voltage change is a direct function of current (current density multiplied by cell area). 

Lifetime performance degradation is a key performance parameter in a fuel cell system, but the causes of this degradation are not fully understood. The sources of voltage decay are kinetic or activation loss, ohmic or resistive loss, loss of mass transport, or loss of reformate tolerance (17). 

Figure 2-1 shows that the reversible cell potential for a fuel cell consuming H2 and O2 decreases by 0.27 mV/°C under standard conditions where the reaction product is water vapor. However, as is the case in PAFC s, an increase in temperature improves cell performance because activation polarization, mass transfer polarization, and ohmic losses are reduced. 

Prasarma et al. [185] were also able to observe an optimum thickness of DLs for fuel cells experimentally. They demonstrated that the thicker DLs experience severe flooding at intermediate current densities (i.e., ohmic region) due to low gas permeation and to possible condensation of water in the pores as the thickness of the DL increases. On the other hand, as the thickness of the DL decreases, the mass transport losses, contact resistance, and mechanical weakness increase significantly [113,185]. Through the use of mathematical modeling, different research groups have reported similar conclusions regarding the effect of DL thickness on fuel cell performance [186-189]. 

Most of the models show that fuel-cell performance is a balance among the various losses shown in Figure 3, in particular, ohmic losses and mass-transport limitations, which both increase with current. The reason for this is that the kinetic losses are hard to mitigate without significantly changing op-... 

Ohmic losses. The finite resistance of the electrolyte, the substrate and the membrane used in a fuel cell will induce a supplementary loss in efficiency. This reduction becomes severe at higher current densities since the power loss is proportional to the square of the current density. The solutions to this problem rely greatly on good engineering practice and on a fundamental understanding of the type of electrode used. 

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