Vaz Neil, Lim Kisung, Choi Jaeyoo, Ju Hyunchul
Department of Mechanical Engineering & BK21 FOUR Education and Research Team for Overcoming Mechanical Challenges in Carbon Neutrality, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro Michuhol-Gu, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea.
Molecules. 2024 Sep 14;29(18):4381. doi: 10.3390/molecules29184381.
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) have emerged as a pivotal technology in the automotive industry, significantly contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the high material costs of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and bipolar plate (BP) create a barrier for large scale commercial application. This study aims to address this challenge by optimizing the material and design of the cathode, GDL and BP. While deterministic design optimization (DDO) methods have been extensively studied, they often fall short when manufacturing uncertainties are introduced. This issue is addressed by introducing reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) to optimize four key PEMFC design variables, i.e., gas diffusion layer thickness, channel depth, channel width and land width. The objective is to maximize cell voltage considering the material cost of the cathode gas diffusion layer and cathode bipolar plate as reliability constraints. The results of the DDO show an increment in cell voltage of 31 mV, with a reliability of around 50% in material cost for both the cathode GDL and cathode BP. In contrast, the RBDO method provides a reliability of 95% for both components. Additionally, under a high level of uncertainty, the RBDO approach reduces the material cost of the cathode GDL by up to 12.25 $/stack, while the material cost for the cathode BP increases by up to 11.18 $/stack Under lower levels of manufacturing uncertainties, the RBDO method predicts a reduction in the material cost of the cathode GDL by up to 4.09 $/stack, with an increase in the material cost for the cathode BP by up to 6.71 $/stack, while maintaining a reliability of 95% for both components. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the RBDO approach in achieving a reliable design under varying levels of manufacturing uncertainties.
聚合物电解质膜燃料电池（PEMFCs）已成为汽车行业的一项关键技术，对减少温室气体排放做出了重大贡献。然而，气体扩散层（GDL）和双极板（BP）的高材料成本为大规模商业应用造成了障碍。本研究旨在通过优化阴极、气体扩散层和双极板的材料及设计来应对这一挑战。虽然确定性设计优化（DDO）方法已得到广泛研究，但在引入制造不确定性时往往存在不足。通过引入基于可靠性的设计优化（RBDO）来优化四个关键的PEMFC设计变量，即气体扩散层厚度、流道深度、流道宽度和脊宽，解决了这一问题。目标是在将阴极气体扩散层和阴极双极板的材料成本作为可靠性约束的情况下，使电池电压最大化。DDO的结果显示电池电压增加了31 mV，阴极GDL和阴极BP的材料成本可靠性约为50%。相比之下，RBDO方法为两个组件提供了95%的可靠性。此外，在高度不确定性下，RBDO方法可将阴极GDL的材料成本降低多达12.25美元/电池堆，而阴极BP的材料成本增加多达11.18美元/电池堆。在较低的制造不确定性水平下，RBDO方法预测阴极GDL的材料成本降低多达4.09美元/电池堆，阴极BP的材料成本增加多达6.71美元/电池堆同时两个组件的可靠性保持在95%。这些结果证明了RBDO方法在不同制造不确定性水平下实现可靠设计的有效性。
