Realizing Optimal Fuel Cell Designs With Advanced Manufacturing Methods

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Realizing Optimal Fuel Cell Designs With Advanced
Manufacturing Methods
Objects of complex geometry built to final form
using additive manufacturing techniques
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Todays Mass Customization Applications

• Scan-Digitize-Manufacture
• Patient-specific orthodontia and joint
  replacements
• Patient-specific hearing aid shells
• Athlete-specific sports shoes soles
• Part, material, and process-specific cooling of
  molds for injection molding
• Replacement of multiple-part assemblies with one
  piece (commercial aerospace applications)

T.Bergman
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Cutting Edge Layered Manufacturing
Titanium cage fabricated 12/03 with
selective laser melting Courtesy S. Hollister
Zirconium oxide cage fabricated with ink jet
printing (Zhao et al., 2002)
T.Bergman
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Tomorrows optimally-designed and manufactured
fuel cell

• Manufacture of truly optimal fuel cell designs
• Selective catalyst seeding for optimal
  performance and minimum cost
• Conformal geometries for bio applications
• Opportunities for revolutionary system design

T.Bergman
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Work in Progress at UConn/Ionomem

• Scale-Up of MEAs
• Performance Characterization
• Single Cell Short Stack
• 300 cm2 Testing

• Optimization of MEAs
• Material Characterization
• Endurance Testing

• Composite membrane (based on Nafion and solid
  proton conductor)
• Nafion-Teflon-phosphotungstic acid (NTPA) HPA
  Stabilization
• Nafion-Teflon-zirconium hydrogen phosphate
  (NTZP)
• Nafion-Zirconium hydrogen phosphate (NZP)
• Increased Thermal Stability (Ionic form of
  Nafion)
• Catalyst layer
• Optimize Proton Conduction
• Optimize Mass Transfer
• Diffusion layer
• Enhance Gas Transfer
• Optimize Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Regions

J. Fenton
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Components of a PEMFC MEA
Anode catalyst Pt-Ru/C 0.3 - 0.5 mg/cm2 0.6 -
1 mils
Cathode catalyst Pt/C 0.3 - 0.5 mg/cm2 0.6 -
1 mils
Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA)
Cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) 14 - 16 mils
Anode gas diffusion layer 14 - 16 mils
J. Fenton
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J. Fenton
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Nafion/Heteropolyacid Composite Membranes
FTIR
XRD

• Rationale
• - Inherently high HPA conductivity at high
  humidities ( 0.2 S/cm)
• - Induction of alternate conduction mechanisms
  i.e. enhancement of proton hopping

J. Fenton
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High Performance under Non-Humidified Conditions
TCell/TA,Hum/TC,Hum, Membrane 1mil NTPA
Membrane, In-house Substrate 0.5 mg/cm2 Pt/C for
cathode , 0.5 mg/cm2 Pt-Ru/C for anode
0.674 V
0.645 V
Remove humidification Lower inlet flow rates of
both Cathode Anode, ? 30 mV loss with
Simpler System, NO humidifier required, HIGHER
utilization.
(Williams Thesis)
J. Fenton
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Conclusion

• High Performance high temperature MEAs
• Developed from 5 25-cm2
• 0.6 V _at_ 400 mA/cm2 (120C, 35R.H./1 atm) R
  0.18 ohm-cm2
• 0.66 V _at_ 400 mA/cm2 (120C, 50R.H./1.5 atm) R
  0.09 ohm-cm2
• Scaled up to full size 300 cm2
• Similar Performance as elemental cell up to 4
  cell stack
• Component Development
• Composite membrane high conductivity
  stabilized
• Catalyst structure kinetics studies optimized
  lt 1st order
• Gas diffusion layer superior than commercial at
  high T/low R.H.
• Unique Applications
• NO external humidification High Perf. (GDL
  Stoi.)
• LOW Flow Rate CO tolerance not much important

J. Fenton
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Under a NSF Grant, UConn Has Fabricated Ceramics
for On-Site Production of Hydrogen from Natural
Gas to Produce a Hydrogen Infrastructure for Fuel
Cell Use.
A reforming catalyst is packed into perovsite
ceramic tubes to convert the natural gas into a
stream containing hydrogen. The hydrogen is
purified since only the hydrogen can pass
through the perovsite tube walls.
UConn Perovsite
R. Kunz
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Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells for Cogeneration Use
Can be Reduced in Cost by the Development of
Alternative Cathodes

• MCFCs operate at a high enough temperature
  (650oC) to allow very efficient cogeneration and
  demonstrations are underway at FuelCell Energy.
• The performance of a MCFC stack is limited by
  cathode catalytic performance.
• Combined electron and oxide ion conductors may
  enhance that catalytic activity.
• Such conductors have been researched for use in
  solid oxide fuel cells.
• Some of these materials have shown stability in
  the MCFC environment and should be evaluated for
  their catalytic properties.

R. Kunz
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Cogeneration Fuel Cell Power Plants Can be
Developed to Efficiently Use Agricultural Wastes
as the Fuel Source

• Ethanol can be made from agricultural materials
  such as corn stalks, straw, wood, grasses and
  waste papers by a fermentation process.
• Methane can be made from such materials by a
  gasification process.
• Traditional processes to make useful products
  from wastes require purification e.g., the
  distillation of water from an ethanol/water
  stream.
• Fuel cells can tolerate some impurities in fuels
  e.g., some fuel cells need water.
• Wastes are frequently too low in value to ship
  long distances.
• Fuel cells can locally consume impure products of
  processed waste to generate both electricity and
  heat for on-site use.

R. Kunz
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• Science Links - Wilson K. S. Chiu
• MODELS ASSISTED BY EXPERIMENTS
• Construct hierarchical modeling methods from
  nano-to-systems using teraflop computing
  capabilities and optimized computational and
  simulation algorithms.
• Design fuel cell validation system.
• REGEN Science reversibility, recharging
  dynamics, severe environments, cycling,
  fabrication and manufacturing.
• COGEN Science thermal management, transient
  operation, recovery of co-products, heat
  exchange, optimization, scaling.
• SSGEN Science fuel consumption, thermal
  management, anode / cathode nanostructural
  design, fabrication and manufacture, accelerated
  characterization.

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Understanding Hole Pattern Formation
DuringMicrostructured Optical Fiber DrawWilson
K. S. Chiu (UConn) and David J. DiGiovanni (OFS
Labs)
Structures of Interest
Draw Process
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Transport Phenomena in the Chemical Vapor
Deposition ofHermetic Optical Fiber
CoatingsWilson K. S. Chiu, UConn
Computational Modeling Design
Film Growth Characterization
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Integrated Fuel Cell Systems Engineering Design
and Manufacturing Research Center

• Educational Efforts
• Multi-University Integrated and Modular Approach
  to Fuel Cell Science Engineering Education -
  The Vision
• Overcomes the difficulties associated with large
  scale curriculum changes
• Allows for integration of fuel cell technology
  education in current curriculums of Mechanical
  Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Engineering
  Mechanics, Chem, etc.
• Integrated as part of electives
• Access to the Experts (ATTE) The Means
• Allows for access to technology and experts at
  other universities that would otherwise not be
  available at one university
• Expands opportunities for learning and research
• Interdisciplinary approach to education
• Distributed Learning The Methods
• Interactive video
• Web based
• Faculty-Student Exchange
• EDS e-engineering

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Integrated Fuel Cell Systems Engineering Design
and Manufacturing Research Center

• Underrepresented Institution
• University of Puerto Rico System
• Carlos R. Cabrera, Chemistry, UPR Rio Piedras
• Vijay K. Goyal-Singhal, Mech Engr., UPR Myaguez
  (UPRM), collaboration with Pratt/UConn EDS
• Ricardo Roman, Vice Chair of the UPRM Sch of
  Engin. Industrial Advisory Board, Hamilton
  Sundstrand PR Electronics in Santa Isabel
• Interactions
• Catalysts
• System engineering (EDS e-engineering)
• Distributed learning
• Technology, Industrial, Fabrication
  Implementation
• PR Economic Development

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ERC Information Technology Enterprise Enabling
the virtual ERC via e-science and e-engineering
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Key enabling technologies Grid-based distributed
collaborative framework
Data Grid overlayed on Computational Grid
Computational Grid, including NPACI/TerraGrid
Access Grid