PEMFC operation failure under severe dehydration

Kurzfassung

The behavior of a PEM fuel cell working under severe dehydration conditions has been experimentally studied with a segmented cell. When dry feeding gases are used in both electrodes, a drying front forms and propagates through the membrane. The total area of the membrane appears divided in two differentiated zones: a part that remains fully hydrated and another one that becomes dehydrated, both zones being separated by a border (drying front) whose progress entails the spreading of the dry area and finally triggers the complete shut down of the cell. The inner structure of the drying front has