Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Stack: Design, Testing, and System Integration is a practical reference that provides a concise step-by-step guide to designing a PEM fuel cell stack. Taking an engineering approach, the book guides the reader through the theoretical and practical aspects of stack design, manufacture, and testing.
The book addresses all the elements that make up a PEM fuel cell stack in the order in which they should be considered. The first two chapters discuss energy, its source and effect on global warming, before looking at the Hydrogen Economy, its benefits, production, and storage needs. The book then examines the fundamentals of fuel cells, including the thermodynamics and electrochemistry, before progressing onto the components, stack sizing, designing, conditions for use, and applications. Dr Barbera uses his many years of practical experience to provide calculations, analytical tools, and conceptual schema throughout to allow readers a practical guide to stack design.
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Stack is a valuable resource for anyone looking for a comprehensive guide to the design of PEM fuels cells and their application in the hydrogen economy but will be of particular value to students and early career professionals. The book will also be of interest to practicing fuel cell engineers, and researchers working in the wider areas of renewable energy looking to broaden their knowledge.
Table of Contents
1. Energy2. The hydrogen economy
3. Fuel cells: general aspects
4. Polymeric membrane cells: thermodynamics and electrochemistry
5. The fuel cell parts
6. Sizing of a fuel cell stack: the operating conditions
7. Fuel cell stack design
8. Characterisation and diagnostics of a PEM fuel cell stack
9. Fuel cell systems design and applications
Authors
Orazio Barbera Researcher, CNR-ITAE (National Research Council of Italy - Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies), Italy. Orazio Barbera is currently a permanent researcher at CNR-ITAE (National Research Council of Italy - Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies). He graduated from Politecnico di Milano in 1994 in Mechanical Engineering and received a PhD in Materials for Environment and Energy from the University of Tor Vergata, Rome, in March 2017.Dr Barbera has 19 years experience developing electrochemical power generation and storage technologies based on low-temperature fuel cells and batteries and focusses on hydrogen/methanol fuel cells, metal-air batteries, and photoelectrochemical cell engineering.
In this field, Dr Barbera has developed a reliable methodology for fuel cell stack and batteries design and test. Prototyping is the direct expression of this research activity; it allows the technology to transfer from the lab scale to practical use. Numerous prototypes of fuel cell stacks for stationary, marine, space, and portable applications have been designed, manufactured, and tested. He designed, manufactured, and tested lab-scale metal-air batteries. This has allowed him to study behaviour and validate the general methodology for the executive plans.
