FUEL CELLS SYSTEM TRAINER

FUEL CELLS SYSTEM TRAINER

This trainer must be designed for the study of fuel cell systems. It must teach their engineering principles and it must allow performing a set of experiments for educational purposes. It must be safe and easy to be operated.
Furthermore, it must be very flexible and suitable for the understanding of basic principles as well as more complex technology concepts. Basically, the trainer must have modular structure consisting in a bench top frame where it must be possible to fix the necessary isolated modules to perform the experiments. The hydrogen fuel cell training kit can support the learning of the following topics:
• Efficiency of PEM fuel cell with constant load without DC/DC module
• Efficiency of PEM fuel cell with constant load using DC/DC module
• Graph showing the current and voltage characteristics of PEM fuel cell with varying load
• Calculation of energy efficiency of PEM fuel cell.
Technical details :
1. Hydrogen Storage Module • Normal capacity: 18.9 g (0.212 Nm3) of Hydrogen,
• Metal Hydride alloy: AB2 model,
• Volume of the entire system: 0.5 liters,
• Mass of the entire system: 2.2 kg,
• Maximum working pressure: 30 bar,
• Maximum test pressure: 300 bar,
• H2 maximum pressure for charging: < 30 bar (static),
• Cooling temperature for the minimum charge: > 5°C,
• Maximum working temperature: < 65°C. 2. PEM fuel cell and sensors module Main module of the trainer and it shall bring together the essential elements such as the PEM fuel cell, its controller, and the necessary sensors for the study. 2.1 Bourdon pressure gauge: instrument used to measure the pressure of the hydrogen coming from the storage module 2.2 Pressure sensor: • two-wire 4 to 20mA output • pressure range 0 – 1bar • supply voltage 9 to 28 Vdc • operating temperature range -4°F to 176°F (-20°C to 80°C) 2.3 Flow sensor: • Flow Range 0 to 3 L/min • Supply Voltage 10.8 to 26.4 Vdc • Analogue Output 1 to 5V • Accuracy ±5%, Temperature Range: 0 to 50°C. 2.4 PEM fuel cell to monitor its temperature: • Linear +10mV/°C scale factor • 0.5°C accuracy (at +25°C) • Rated for full −55°C to +150°C range • Operates from 4 to 30 volts, Less than 60 μA current drain • Low impedance output, 0.1 Ω for 1 mA load. 2.5 PEM Fuel Cell:
• Nominal power: 100W,
• Peak power: 102W,
• Performance: 14V at 7.2A,
• Reagents: Hydrogen and air,
• External temperature: from 5 to 40°C,
• Maximum hydrogen pressure at cell stack (after the pressure regulator): 0.4 – 0.5bar, • Cooling: air 3. Measuring instruments module • H2 pressure and flow instrument to monitor 1 unit • Fuel Cell Temperature instrument to monitor 1 unit • Instruments (for Fuel Cell and for Load or battery Electrical data) to measure the voltages/currents/powers 2 unit 4. DC/DC converter module • Input voltage: 9 to 36 Vdc,
• Output Voltage: 12 Vdc,
• Output Current: Max. 8.0A,
5. Lamps load module: halogen lamp (12V, 20W) and the lower one shall be a LED lamp (12V, 3x1W). 6. Variable rheostat module • Values range: from 1.5 Ω to about 15 Ω,
• Maximum current: 8A,
• Maximum power: 100W.
7. Battery module • Lead Acid universal battery,
• Voltage: 12V,
• Capacity: 7.2Ah.