An open-source zero-gradient cell hardware to improve and accelerate durability testing of PEM Fuel Cells

Dataset related to the publication: Elena Colombo, Delio Casadei, Andrea Baricci, Andrea Casalegno, An open-source zero-gradient cell hardware to improve and accelerate durability testing of PEM Fuel Cells, HardwareX, 2023.

This dataset contains the CAD files of an open zero-gradient hardware. The hardware is thought for characterizing single Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), specifically Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs), with a focus on transport application. The objective of the proposed design is to minimize both operation and degradation heterogeneities over the cell active area in order to evaluate material properties only. It is indeed specifically intended to quantify the PEMFC materials performance without accounting for any interdependency between the layers of the MEA and the cell hardware design (e.g. heating/cooling system and flow field features). This is granted by combining high stoichiometry ratios of the gas reactants and limited pressure drops: they indeed keep uniform operating conditions (concentration in the gas phase, relative humidity, pressure and temperature), as verified by the electrochemical and operational characterization. With such characteristics, accurate information about both the performance and the degradation of the MEA materials can be provided. This tool is powerful for assessing the ranking in terms of performance and durability of different PEMFCs, as well as for application in the field of the materials local diagnostics.

本数据集关联出版物：Elena Colombo、Delio Casadei、Andrea Baricci、Andrea Casalegno 撰写的《用于改进与加速质子交换膜燃料电池耐久性测试的开源零梯度单元硬件》，发表于HardwareX期刊，2023年。

本数据集包含开源零梯度硬件的计算机辅助设计（CAD）文件。该硬件用于表征单质子交换膜燃料电池（Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, PEMFCs），尤其针对膜电极组件（Membrane Electrode Assemblies, MEAs）开展表征，应用场景聚焦交通运输领域。

本设计的核心目标为最小化电池活性区域内的运行与衰减异质性，从而仅针对材料本征性能开展评估。

本工具专门用于量化PEMFC材料性能，无需考虑MEA各层与电池硬件设计（如加热/冷却系统、流场结构）之间的相互影响。

通过采用高化学计量比的气体反应物与有限压降即可实现上述目标：该设置可维持气相浓度、相对湿度、压力与温度的均匀运行条件，该结论已通过电化学与运行表征得到验证。

凭借上述特性，本工具可提供MEA材料性能与衰减的精准量化信息。

该工具可用于评估不同PEMFC的性能与耐久性排序，同时适用于材料局部诊断领域的相关研究与应用。