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This paper experimentally analyzes the performance of a PEM fuel cell system when supplying different electrical loads, including DC, single-phase AC, and three-phase AC loads, and estimates the efficiency of the global system.

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Abstract

Abstract One of the most outstanding products of fuel cells is electrical power but, currently, there is a reduced number of publications that provide experimental data about the performance of fuel cells when used for supplying Alternating Current (AC) loads. Most of the existing publications provide experimental data only with direct current (DC) loads, or analyze the performance with AC loads using simulation models. For this reason, this paper analyses experimentally the behavior of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system when feeding different electrical loads. The system tested is constituted by a PEM fuel cell, a storage battery, electronic converters and electrical loads. In the tests, the fuel cell system supplies power to three different loads: DC, single‐phase AC and three‐phase AC. For these cases, voltage, current, power, power factor and efficiency data are shown, at different load levels. From those parameters, efficiency of the global system is estimated. Finally, as the power quality concept is a topic of increasing importance when supplying electricity, the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the electric signals has also been analyzed.

Key findings

  • The fuel cell system shows high efficiency when supplying DC loads, but its performance decreases when supplying AC loads.
  • The power quality of the fuel cell system is affected by the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the electric signals, which increases with the load level.
  • The fuel cell system's efficiency is lower when supplying three-phase AC loads compared to single-phase AC loads.

Keywords

Proton exchange membrane fuel cellTotal harmonic distortionElectric power systemAlternating currentPower (physics)Electricity

Identifiers

DOI
10.1002/fuce.201300092
Journal
Fuel Cells
Year
2014