Technical Paper
Pressurized and Atmospheric Pressure Gasoline-Fueled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell System Performance
1999-08-02
1999-01-2574
The operating pressure is one of the critical issues in designing a gasoline-fueled PEM fuel cell system for transportation applications. Pressurized (3atm) and atmospheric pressure (1atm) fuel cell systems are being considered by various developers for automotive applications. Systems analyses have been performed for the two systems using GCtool, a computer simulation code developed at Argonne National Laboratory. The two systems were designed for comparable overall system efficiencies at a rated design power of 50 kW. The characteristics and performance of the different components of the two systems were compared at the design power and at part-load operating conditions. Transient analyses were performed to investigate the dynamic response of the two systems during cold startup. The pros and cons of the two systems regarding their performance, size, and preliminary cost estimates are presented.
