A 4750 hours’ durability investigation of the PEMFC stack based on fuel cell hybrid vehicles conditions

A novel protocol for testing the durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks is developed using real-world road load data obtained from automobiles equipped with a PEMFC system manufactured by Weichai Power Company Limited, and the predetermined methodology is carried out for a cumulative duration of 4750 hours. The empirical results obtained from the durability test reveal that the average cell voltages (ACV) at specific current of 21 A, 105 A, 175 A, and 290 A exhibit degradation rates of 2%, 3.3%, 3.9%, and 10.9%, correspondingly. Furthermore,the polarization curve test results demonstrate ACV decay rates of 2.2% and 6.9% at 21 A and 360 A, respectively. The output voltage decay increases and the consistency of cells diminishes as the current rises. In comparison to the initial stage of the durability test, there is a slight decline in cell consistency observed toward the conclusion. In addition, a sensitivity test of the operational conditions is conducted at the 50th and 500th cycles, respectively. The findings reveal that the sensitivity to the cell consistency and output voltage remains largely stable throughout the durability test, and this suggests that the stack does not exhibit any noticeable alterations in its physicochemical characteristics.