The dielectric, piezoelectric and electrical properties of relaxor ferroelectric 0.65PMN-0.20PZT-0.15PT ceramic as a function of sintering temperatures was investigated. X-ray diffraction shows that with increasing temperature from 700 °C to 800 °C the pyrochlore unwanted phase reduces and at 850 °C the single phase of perovskite be formed. The studies and reviews reveal that the outstanding electrical properties are obtained with this composition near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). P-E hysteresis loops emphasize that the synthesis optimum temperature is 1250 °C and observed that the best temperature that led to improved properties of dielectric constant, polarization and piezoelectric coefficients is this temperature.

This paper reports the deposition of titanium dioxide thin films on p-type Si(100) substrates using two techniques called conventional magnetron sputtering (CMS) and hollow cathode magnetron sputtering (HCMS). The influence of the plasma parameters on the film characteristics (topography, morphology and crystallinity) was investigated. Films were deposited at different oxygen concentrations (in the Ar + O2 gas mixture) and axial distances for fixed values of working pressure (5.0 mTorr) and DC power (55 W). They were analyzed by profilometry, AFM and XRD. The gas discharge was diagnosed by single Langmuir probe and OES. Under experimental conditions used in this work, results show that HCMS favors the growing of rutile phase due to the increase of the energy on the film surface caused by the hollow cathode effect. On the other hand, films deposited by CMS present preferentially anatase phase due to the low energy transferred to the growing film. Further studies regarding the influence of plasma properties on the films formation were done in order to understand the plasma-surface correlation.

The efficiency of the metastability exchange optical pumping (MEOP) performed at elevated 3He gas pressures in high magnetic field was improved by modifying the spatial profile of the pumping laser beam in such a way that it matched the nonuniform distribution of plasma in the optical pumping cell. Comparing to a conventional Gaussian profile, at the 3He gas pressure equal to 267 mbar, both the achieved nuclear polarization (equal to 26%) and the total magnetization in the cell (equal to 1.37 sccfp) are 60% higher when the annular laser beam profile is applied.

We have prepared free-standing porous silicon (FPS) samples with various porosities using electrochemical etching. The result of a study combining absorption and photoluminescence (PL) from FPS samples with porosities in the range 53–76% is presented. A blue shift of the PL peak position and an increase of the PL intensity with enhancing porosity have been observed. Furthermore, the PL peak and intensity of porous silicon (PS) samples are compared with FPS samples. Our results show that the PL peak intensity reduces 1.5–2.5 times from PS to FPS. However, no notable shift of the PL peak position from PS to FPS has been observed.

This paper presents a new steady state model which contains fewer polarisation curve fitting parameters compared to other semi-empirical models. The established model is also defined at no load operation and can be fitted perfectly to the static polarisation curve for a wide range of cell currents. The model links the fuel cell voltage to the current by a simple function to which various useful derivative laws can be applied. As a result, many analytical expressions, for example, polarisation resistance or power density, can be evaluated directly from the model.

Fuel cell self start at negative temperature conditions is not an easy task due to the water produced by the reduction of oxygen at the cathode. This amount of water can turn into ice and block the reaction before the temperature inside the fuel cell reaches positive values. The mechanism of the physical process which leads to oxidant starvation phenomena when ice appears is not yet well identified. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of this problem, the article presents some experimental investigations conducted on a short fuel cell stack. These experiments simulate vehicle technology operated in cold start conditions not with the primary objective to reach a successful and rapid start-up but much rather to characterise and understand the cold start phenomena until starvation occurs. A number of polarisation curves, electrochemical spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry measurements are done on the stack before, after and also during the cold starts experiments. It is observed that the process of drying and cooling down prior to cold start have a great impact on the electrochemical cathode area. The results obtained show the evolution of the stack behaviour during the low temperature operation with a slow production of frost. The consequence on the individual cells in terms of inhomogeneous degradation is highlighted.

This study considers a Hybrid Electrical Vehicle supplied by a Fuel Cell stack and supercapacitors used as Storage Element. In such an application, real time energy management is of paramount importance in order to increase autonomy and be able to deal on-line with perturbed power demand. Many offline power flow optimization principles are available but online algorithms are preferred and should be derived for optimal management of the instantaneous power splitting between the different available power sources. Based on particle swarm optimization algorithm, this study defines the parameters tuning of such algorithm. The final power splitting allows not only recovering energy braking but also is robust to some disturbances occurring during the trip. The solution provides good-quality and high-robustness results in a certain class of mission profile and power disturbance.

This paper deals with multi-physics modelling of the stationary system. This modelling is the first step to reach the fuel cell system dimensioning aim pursued. Besides this modelling approach based on the stationary energetic system, the novelty in this paper is both the new approach of the photovoltaic EMR modelling and the EMR of the hydrogen storage process. The granular modelling approach is used to model each component of the system. Considering a stand alone PEM fuel cell system, hydrogen is expected to be produced and stored on the spot from renewable energy (photovoltaic) in order to satisfy the fuel availability. In fact, to develop a generic and modular model, energetic macroscopic representation (EMR) is used as graphical modelling tool. Allowing to be easily grasped by the experts even not necessarily gotten used to the modelling formalism, EMR is helpful to model the multi-domains energetic chain. The solar energy through solar module is converted in electrical energy; part of this energy is transformed in chemical energy (hydrogen) thanks to an electrolyser. Then the hydrogen is compressed into a tank across a storage system. The latter part of the solar module energy is stored as electrical energy within supercapacitor or lead-acid battery. Using the modularity feature of the EMR, the whole system is modelled entity by entity; afterwards by putting them together the overall system has been reconstructed. According to the scale effect of the system entities, some simulation and/or experimental results are given. Given to the different aims which are pursued in the sustainable energy framework like prediction, control and optimisation, EMR modelling approach is a reliable option for the energy management in real time of energetic system in macroscopic point of view.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are of great interest due to their high energy efficiency, low emission level, and multiple fuel utilization. SOFC can operate with various kinds of fuels such as natural gas, carbon monoxide, methanol, ethanol, and hydrocarbon compounds, and they are becoming one of the main competitors among environmentally friendly energy sources for the future. In this study, a mathematical model of a co-flow planar anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell with internal reforming of natural gas has been developed. The model simultaneously solves mass, energy transport equations, and chemical as well as electrochemical reactions. The model can effectively predict the compound species distributions as well as the cell performance under specific operating conditions. The main result is a rather small temperature gradient obtained at 800 °C with S/C = 1 in classical operating conditions. The cell performance is reported for several operating temperatures and pressures. The cell performance is specified in terms of cell voltage and power density at any specific current density. The influence of electrode microstructure on cell performance was investigated. The simulation results show that the steady state performance is almost insensitive to microstructure of cells such as porosity and tortuosity unlike the operating pressure and temperature. However, for SOFC power output enhancement, the power output could be maximized by adjusting the pore size to an optimal value, similarly to porosity and tortuosity. At standard operating pressure (1 atm) and 800 °C with 48% fuel utilization, when an output cell voltage was 0.73 V, a current density of 0.38 A cm-2 with a power density of 0.28 W cm-2 was predicted. The accuracy of the model was validated by comparing with existing experimental results from the available literature.

Water management is one of the most crucial issues to drive PEM fuel cells. The challenge is enhanced in the case of micro air-breathing proton exchange membrane fuel cells (μABFC): their thinness and their reduced surface indeed make their hydration state fast changing and very sensitive to the experimental conditions (temperature and relative humidity (RH)). It can lead to strong flooding or drying out issues. Firstly, this study highlights this sensitivity by various measurements. Then a steady state macroscopic model for the μABFC is proposed, focusing on the cathode, using a rather original approach for diffusion in porous media. Finally, a literal steady state formula for the water content is provided, and its influences on the performances of the μABFC are explicitly proposed. The model is parameterized and compared to measures in several atmospheric conditions.

In this article, a $\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ control methodology is proposed for a hybrid power generation system composed by a 500 W PEM fuel cell and a 58 F supercapacitor. The control strategy consists in synthetizing a multivariable PI controller with $\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ performance in order to manage powers between two electrochemical sources. The controller is then designed through an optimization procedure based on solving some linear matrix inequalities (LMI). The control performance in time and frequency domains are then analyzed and compared with classical controllers. Results show the efficiency of the proposed methodology in order to reduce time spent for design.

This paper presents a procedure dealing with the issue of fault detection and isolation (FDI) using nonlinear analytical redundancy (NLAR) technique applied in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system based on its mathematic model. The model is proposed and simplified into a five orders state space representation. The transient phenomena captured in the model include the compressor dynamics, the flow characteristics, mass and energy conservation and manifold fluidic mechanics. Nonlinear analytical residuals are generated based on the elimination of the unknown variables of the system by an extended parity space approach to detect and isolate actuator and sensor faults. Finally, numerical simulation results are given corresponding to a faults signature matrix.

The accurate characterization of the parameters related to the charge and water transport in the ionomer membrane of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) is highly important for the understanding and interpretation of the overall cell behavior. Despite the big efforts to experimentally determine these parameters, a large scatter of data is reported in the literature, due to the inherent experimental difficulties. Likewise, the porosity and tortuosity of the gas diffusion layers affect the membrane water content and the local cell performance, but the published data are usually measured ex-situ, not accounting for the effect of clamping pressure. Using a quasi two-dimensional model and experimental current density data from a linear cell of technical size, a multiparameter optimization procedure based on an evolutionary algorithm has been applied to determine eight material properties highly influencing the cell performance. The optimization procedure converges towards a well defined solution and the resulting parameter values are compared to those available in the literature. The quality of the set of parameters extracted by the optimization procedure is assessed by a sensitivity analysis.

This paper focuses on the hysteresis effect of the polarization characteristics of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), mainly due to the compressor-air supply system dynamics. Indeed in PEMFC/ultracapacitor hybrid vehicles, fuel cells can be used to supply the low frequencies of the power demand only. First, the different parts of a FC system are described and modeled in order to analyze the transient stack performance decrease and to identify its main influential factors for automotive applications. Then, apart from humidity and temperature variations, each phenomenon is dynamically described, leading to a complete mathematical model based on macroscopic component parameters. Thus, an analytical model based on this set of equations enables us to draw the static voltage versus current FC characteristics. Furthermore, the hysteresis effect on the V-I curve, which still occurs during low dynamic responses, is shown while temperature and humidity are kept constant. Finally, dynamic responses of the Ballard PEMFC Nexa 1200 W generator are analyzed, and detailed experimentation and simulation are carried out for a large magnitude sinusoidal waveform at different frequencies.

A micro-scale model of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) involving the mass transfer together with the electrochemical reaction, the electron and ion transports through the respective spherically shaped electron- and ion-conducting particles inside the electrodes was mathematically developed. Couples of useful dimensionless parameters were introduced in order to represent the characteristics of the cell. The predicted cell performance was showed according to various operating and design conditions. The effects of micro-scale electrode geometry on the cell performance were also taken into account. Parametric study according to the volumetric fraction of ionic and electronic conducting particles was conducted in order to examine the effects of operating conditions on the cell overpotentials. The study results substantiate the fact that SOFC overpotential could be effectively decreased by increasing the operating temperature as well as operating pressure. This present study reveals the working mechanisms of SOFC at the microscale level, while demonstrating the use of micro-scale relations to enhance the SOFC performance. The accuracy of the presented model was validated by comparing to already existing experimental results from the available literatures.

PEM fuel cell performance and lifetime strongly depend on the polymer membrane and MEA hydration. As the internal moisture is very sensitive to the operating conditions (temperature, stoichiometry, load current, water management…), keeping the optimal working point is complex and requires real-time monitoring. This article focuses on PEM fuel cell stack health diagnosis and more precisely on stack fault detection monitoring. This paper intends to define new, simple and effective methods to get relevant information on usual faults or malfunctions occurring in the fuel cell stack. For this purpose, the authors present a fault detection method using simple and non-intrusive on-line technique based on the space signature of the cell voltages. The authors have the objective to minimize the number of embedded sensors and instrumentation in order to get a precise, reliable and economic solution in a mass market application. A very low number of sensors are indeed needed for this monitoring and the associated algorithm can be implemented on-line. This technique is validated on a 20-cell PEMFC stack. It demonstrates that the developed method is particularly efficient in flooding case. As a matter of fact, it uses directly the stack as a sensor which enables to get a quick feedback on its state of health.