Experimental investigation of dynamic responses of a transparent PEM fuel cell to step changes in cell current density with operating temperature

The dynamic responses of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) are closely related to the novel water management technique used for the efficient operation of automotive PEMFCs. In order to better understand the dynamic water transport during cell transients, this paper presents an experimental investigation of the transient response of a cell under fully humidified conditions. The cell dynamic performance was measured by employing a transparent cell and investigated with visualization images of the water distribution in the flow channels. Furthermore, the effect of the operating temperature on the cell transients was examined. The results show that the cell dynamic behavior for the tested operating temperature (30-50 °C) conditions is mainly governed by water transport characteristics related to cathode flooding. Also, we show that the time needed for the cell to reach steady-state after a current density step increase is retarded due to excessive water accumulation inside the cell at lower operating temperatures.