Abstract
The operating conditions (relative humidity) of a fuel cell are not ideal, and directly influence performance. A high relative humidity of fuel facilitates flooding with water downstream in the fuel cell, worsening its performance. In this study, a flexible micro humidity sensor is fabricated on a stainless steel foil using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). It has the advantages of high temperature resistance, small size, high sensitivity, and precision of measurement position. Flexible micro humidity sensors are embedded in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Experimental results obtained at a high current density and relative humidities of 100% and 75% demonstrate that the relative humidity midstream and downstream saturated, because of serious flooding by water.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was accomplished with much needed support and the authors would like to thank for the financial support by Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economy Affair of R.O.C. through grants 101-D0204-4. The authors would also like to thank Professors Shuo-Jen Lee, Shih-Hung Chan, Ay Su, Fangbor Weng, and Guo-Bin Jung of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yuan Ze University for valuable advice and assistance in the experiments. In addition, we would like to thank the YZU Fuel Cell Center and Yuan Ze University Common Lab for providing access to their research facilities.