Lee Chi-Yuan, Chen Chia-Hung, Tsai Chao-Hsuan, Wang Yu-Syuan
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yuan Ze Fuel Cell Center, Yuan Ze University, Taoyuan 320, Taiwan.
HOMYTECH Global CO., LTD., Taoyuan 33464, Taiwan.
Sensors (Basel). 2018 Jan 13;18(1):213. doi: 10.3390/s18010213.
To prolong the operating time of unmanned aerial vehicles which use proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), the performance of PEMFC is the key. However, a long-term operation can make the Pt particles of the catalyst layer and the pollutants in the feedstock gas bond together (e.g., CO), so that the catalyst loses reaction activity. The performance decay and aging of PEMFC will be influenced by operating conditions, temperature, flow and CO concentration. Therefore, this study proposes the development of an internal real-time wireless diagnostic tool for PEMFC, and uses micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology to develop a wireless and thin (<50 μm) flexible integrated (temperature, flow and CO) microsensor. The technical advantages are (1) compactness and three wireless measurement functions; (2) elastic measurement position and accurate embedding; (3) high accuracy and sensitivity and quick response; (4) real-time wireless monitoring of dynamic performance of PEMFC; (5) customized design and development. The flexible integrated microsensor is embedded in the PEMFC, three important physical quantities in the PEMFC, which are the temperature, flow and CO, can be measured simultaneously and instantly, so as to obtain the authentic and complete reaction in the PEMFC to enhance the performance of PEMFC and to prolong the service life.
为延长使用质子交换膜燃料电池（PEMFC）的无人机的运行时间，PEMFC的性能是关键。然而，长期运行会使催化剂层的铂颗粒与原料气中的污染物（如CO）结合在一起，从而使催化剂失去反应活性。PEMFC的性能衰减和老化会受到运行条件、温度、流量和CO浓度的影响。因此，本研究提出开发一种用于PEMFC的内部实时无线诊断工具，并利用微机电系统（MEMS）技术开发一种无线且薄（<50μm）的柔性集成（温度、流量和CO）微传感器。其技术优势在于：（1）紧凑且具备三项无线测量功能；（2）测量位置灵活且嵌入精准；（3）高精度、高灵敏度且响应迅速；（4）对PEMFC的动态性能进行实时无线监测；（5）可定制设计与开发。该柔性集成微传感器嵌入PEMFC中，能够同时即时测量PEMFC中的三个重要物理量，即温度、流量和CO，从而获取PEMFC中真实完整的反应情况，以提升PEMFC的性能并延长其使用寿命。
