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Paper details
Number 2 - June 2023
Volume 33 - 2023
Multi-symptom measurement based fault detection of the PEM fuel cell system
Adam Polak, Marcin Kluczyk
Abstract
The proper functioning of the fuel cell system depends on the proper operation of all its subsystems. One of the key
subsystems is the oxidant supply system, which is responsible for supplying oxygen for the electrochemical reaction taking
place in the cell. It also transports the reaction products, i.e., water, outside the fuel cell stack, and in some cases removes
excess heat generated in the stack. Changes in the technical condition of machine individual elements always result in
changes in operating or residual parameters; however, it is necessary to select appropriate diagnostic methods to be able
to use these changes to assess the machine’s technical condition. This article presents the results of research focused on
assessing the possibilities of diagnosing the oxidant supply subsystem, in particular, too low an oxidant flow leading to
oxygen starvation and cathode flooding, based on the analysis of the voltage occurring in individual cells of the stack as
well as on the basis of vibration and acoustic emission (AE) measurements. The presented results show that the faulty
operation of that system can be indicated either through electrical and vibroacoustic/acoustic emission measurements
Keywords
PEM fuel cells, failure detection, oxygen starvation, cell flooding, acoustic emission, vibrations