Abstract:

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the cold start process of a 36 kW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell system for automotive application in a climate chamber under -10 ℃. Based on the current system and test bench configuration, the time and energy required by the fuel cell system was calculated and the reasonable test procedures and control strategies were designed. The system design was validated by a successful -10 ℃ cold start. The system structure and operation process were specified through the analysis of the system output characteristics over the start-up processes. The nonuniform distribution of the individual cell voltage in the stack and the main components of auxiliary system were analyzed. The results show that the low temperature during the sub-zero start-up not only affects if the subzero start-up process completes, but also have a direct impact on the stack performance. It is the key effective method to heat up the stack rapidly during the sub-zero start-up process.

Key words: automobile power, fuel cell system, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), sub-zero start-up