Development of a Fuel Cell Test Protocol for defected GDL material and its statistical validation

This project aims to develop a standard that relates the loss of functionality in the porous transport layer (PTL) due to the presence of defects to the performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. This work attempts to screen defects in the PTL using previously developed testing protocols. Currently there are no existing protocols that specify when to reject defected PTL material from external suppliers. These results will help to avoid falsely rejecting material by developing such guidelines for a failure screening method based on experimental data. This will aid to reduce cost and time of the production process.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Walter Merida

Student:

Maximilian Schwager

Partner:

Mercedes-Benz Canada

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Automotive and transportation

University:

University of British Columbia