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Automotive Engineering ›› 2023, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (11): 2123-2129.doi: 10.19562/j.chinasae.qcgc.2023.11.013

Special Issue: 新能源汽车技术-动力电池&燃料电池2023年

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An Experimental Study on Low Temperature Shutdown and Purging of Vehicle Fuel Cell Stack

Lü Ping,Xin Sun,Youwei Xu,Bao Zhang,Jiahui Xu,Danmin Xing()   

  1. Sunrise Power Co. ,Ltd. ,Dalian  116000
  • Received:2023-03-24 Revised:2023-05-15 Online:2023-11-25 Published:2023-11-27
  • Contact: Danmin Xing E-mail:dmxing@fuelcell.com.cn

Abstract:

Gas purging during shutdown is an important method for proton exchange membrane fuel cells to ensure the safe storage and normal cold start in a low temperature environment. In order to achieve the quick shutdown purging, and meet the requirement of -40 ℃ non-destructive storage and cold start, relevant research is carried out in this paper. Firstly, a water balance model is established to analyze the generation and removal of water during the purge process. Secondly, the sensitivity analysis of the main parameters of shutdown purge is carried out, and it is determined that the cell temperature is a strong sensitive parameter, the humidification temperature is a medium sensitive parameter, and the gas flow is a weak sensitive parameter. Thirdly, 30 freezing/thawing cycles at -40 ℃/60 ℃ are carried out on the purge results, and the physical morphology and electrochemical analysis of the fuel cell after the test are carried out. Finally, the -40 ℃ cold start is carried out to verify whether the purging results can meet the requirements of -40 ℃ start-up. The results show that the low temperature purge time during shutdown is greatly shortened by optimizing the purging parameters. The performance of the fuel cell stack does not degrade and the physical morphology does not change significantly after storage at -40 ℃, and the fuel cell stack can achieve cold start at -40 ℃.

Key words: proton exchange membrane fuel cell, shutdown purge, -40 ℃ storage, cold start