Experimental study of the influence of dynamic load cycle and operating parameters on the durability of PEMFC

Driving conditions and control strategies have closely been associated with proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) durability for vehicle applications. This study tests two identical 3-cell PEMFC stacks for both 1000 h under two dynamic load cycles with different load ranges and inconsistent operating parameters. We calculated and analyzed the attenuation of fuel cell performance under different dynamic load cycles. After 1000 h, the mean cell voltage degradation percentage under (Dynamic load cycles) DLC-01and DLC-02 at 1000 mA cm−2 were 5.90% and 5.67%, respectively. Compared to DLC-01, the voltage degradation percentages of DLC-02 under low current densities were significantly lower, particularly in the first 400 h period. The EIS (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy) revealed the evolution of the ohmic, charge transfer, and mass transport resistances. A more severe catalyst layer degradation was depicted by the significant increase of charge transfer resistance in the first 400 h under the DLC-01. An empirical formula was proposed to calculate the corresponding polarization losses quntitatively; this was key in distinguishing the source of different voltage loss. Collectively, this article uncovers the influence of the operating condition and control strategy on fuel cell durability.