Short-Circuit Behavior of a PEM Fuel Cell Stack under Various Operating Conditions

Optimized grid integration of proton exchange membrane fuel cells in various possible applications requires a suitable protection system. For this reason, this paper examines the transient behavior of a fuel cell stack after an external electrical shortening. In order to show the influence of operating parameters on the short-circuit behavior, various experiments with changed anode and cathode humidity, cell temperature and anode and cathode stoichiometry are carried out. With this, manufacturers can estimate the short-circuit magnitude of their stacks and recommend a suitable plant protection system. It could be shown that the peak short-circuit current depends on the operating point as well as the operating conditions. For the steady-state short-circuit current, the gas stoichiometry has an impact on the deliverable current. For all other operating conditions the steady-state short-circuit current is approximately twice the recommended maximum operating current. Furthermore, a method to estimate the effective fuel cell stack capacity out of the transient short-circuit current is presented.