Investigation of the purging effect on a dead-end anode PEM fuel cell-powered vehicle during segments of a European driving cycle Alberto Gomez a , Agus P. Sasmito b , Tariq Shamim a,⇑ a Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy), Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, PO Box 54224, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates b Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A3A7, Canada article info Article history: Received 7 July 2015 Accepted 8 October 2015 Keywords: PEM fuel cell Dead end anode Purging Driving cycle abstract The dynamic performance of the PEM fuel cell is one of the key factors for successful operation of a fuel cell-powered vehicle. Maintaining fast time response while keeping stable and high stack performance is of importance, especially during acceleration and deceleration. In this paper, we evaluate the transient response of a PEM fuel cell stack with a dead-end anode during segments of a legislated European driving cycle together with the effect of purging factors. The PEM fuel cell stack comprises of 24 cells with a 300 cm 2 active catalyst area and operates at a low hydrogen and air pressure. Humidified air is supplied to the cathode side and the dry hydrogen is fed to the anode. The liquid coolant is circulated to the stack and the radiator to maintain the thermal envelope throughout the stack. The stack performance deterioration over time is prevented by utilizing the purging, which removes the accumulated water and impurities. The effect of purging period, purging duration, coolant flow rate and cathode stoichio- metry are examined with regard to the fuel cell’s transient performance during the driving cycle. The results show that a low purging duration may avoid the undesired deceleration at a high current, and a high purging period may sustain a better performance over time. Moreover, the coolant flow rate is found to be an important parameter, which affects the stack temperature–time response of the cooling control and the stack performance, especially at high operating currents. Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Air pollution, global warming and depleting petroleum resources are the key factors which drive the search for a new sus- tainable mode of transportation. Electric vehicle (EV), hybrid vehi- cle and fuel cell vehicle (FCV) are some of the solutions proposed to mitigate the harmful environmental impacts of internal combus- tion engines and reduce the dependence on the fluctuating oil prices [1]. The reduced autonomy of the EV battery has increased the interest in the development of the FCV. In the recent years, a number of manufacturers – including major automakers – and var- ious governmental initiatives have supported the ongoing research on the development of fuel cell technology for use in the FCV and other applications [2]. Furthermore, several FCV models will enter the market in the coming years [3]. For these initiatives to be suc- cessful and to compete with the proven internal combustion engine based propulsion system, a fuel cell-based propulsion system for the transportation sector must provide similar or better driving experience and meet various strict requirements. A key requirement is its ability to operate under transient driving conditions (e.g., during start-up, acceleration, and deceleration) with stable performance. Hence, a deep understanding of the FCV performance during realistic driving conditions is required. The polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell has been the focus of the vehicle-power research. It operates at a low tempera- ture, has a high power density and a quick startup; which are cru- cial specifications for an automotive application. Furthermore, improved species and water management strategies can be devel- oped for the dead-end anode mode, which results in an increased fuel cell performance and optimal operation [4,5]. In a dead-end anode mode, higher fuel utilization is expected as the anode outlet is blocked, thus excess hydrogen is not wasted from the system which increase its efficiency. The dead-end anode fuel cells also reduce the complexity of the FCV design as the hydrogen recircu- lation loop sub-system is not required, which reduces the capital cost, weight and size of the overall fuel cell system. From safety point of view, this system is able to reduce the fire hazard as the hydrogen wastage to ambient is minimum. However, this type of http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2015.10.025 0196-8904/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +971 2 810 9158. E-mail addresses: agus.sasmito@mcgill.ca (A.P. Sasmito), tshamim@masdar.ac.ae (T. Shamim). Energy Conversion and Management 106 (2015) 951–957 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Energy Conversion and Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman