An analytical model of mechanical stress in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) of a hydrogen/air fuel cell with porous Water Transfer Plates (WTP) is developed in this work. The model considers a mechanical stress in the membrane is a result of the
cell load cycling under constant oxygen utilization. The load cycling causes the cycling of the inlet gas flow rate, which results in the membrane hydration/dehydration close to the gas inlet. Hydration/dehydration of the membrane leads to membrane swelling/shrinking, which causes mechanical stress in the constrained membrane. Mechanical stress results in through-plane crack formation. Thereby, the mechanical stress in the membrane causes mechanical failure of the membrane, limiting fuel cell lifetime. The model predicts the stress in the membrane as a function of the cell geometry, membrane material properties and operation conditions. The model was applied for stress calculation in GORE-SELECT.
In this paper, we discuss critical aspects of the mechanisms and features of polymer proton exchange membrane (PEM) degradation in low-temperature H2/O2 fuel cell. In this paper, we focused on chemical mechanism of OH radical generation and their dis
tribution in operational fuel cell. According to the current concept, free radicals are generated from hydrogen and oxygen crossover gases at the surface of Pt particles that precipitated in the membrane. We explicitly calculate Pt precipitation rate and electrochemical potential distribution in the membrane that controls it. Based on radical generation rate and Pt distribution we calculate degradation rate of the membrane taking advantage of simple kinetics equations.
