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This paper presents an experimental study dealing with a non-intrusive signal-based method for a fault diagnosis of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The aim of this tool is to define a specific signature of different operating conditions. First, a healthy state has to be defined: an operating condition with fixed parameters values for current, temperature, pressure is used as a reference state. When the operating conditions divert from this state of functioning, a fault is considered. Thanks to the wavelet transform of different signals from the fuel cell system, a signature can be extracted and linked to the considered operating conditions. The energy contents of the wavelet transform is used as an indicator of the state-of-health (SoH) of the fuel cell system with the purpose to detect deviations from healthy state operating conditions and to detect the fault related to. The diagnosis tool presented in this paper is based on existing signals acquired on the fuel cell system, in order to minimize the number of actual sensors. The other goals are to minimize the number of extracted parameters from the fuel cell system and to be as less intrusive as possible in the fuel cell system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with calendar aging of a proton exchange membrane open-cathode fuel cell. Calendar aging is already developed for energy sources as supercapacitor and batteries but the literature is very poor for fuel cell stacks. However, this kind of test is necessary to determine the actual lifetime of the system without running it and to define the aging impact of the storage of such a system. One possible outcome for fuel cells is to provide electricity in remote areas without connection to the grid. This issue becomes even more challenging under hard environmental conditions, especially in areas with possible negative ambient temperatures. Experimental research on the degradation of open cathode fuel cells under these tricky conditions is needed to investigate the impact of resting states on the fuel cell lifetime and to evaluate the impact of the sub-zero temperatures on the performance losses. • Long-term calendar aging tests are performed on an open-cathode fuel cell. • The degradation behavior of a fuel cell during calendar aging is evaluated. • The effects of freeze-thaw cycles on an open-cathode fuel cell are investigated. • The negative temperature cycles were defined and designed as accelerated stress tests. • The recoverable performances of the fuel cell are studied based on polarization curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To face the dependency to fossil fuels and limit the carbon emissions, fuel cells are a very promising technology and appear to be a key candidate to face the increase of the energy demand and promote the energy transition and energy mix. To meet future needs for both automotive and stationary applications, fuel cells will require improved durability. In this paper, a new concept to enhance fuel cell performance and lifetime is provided, by introducing a disruptive and high-efficiency diagnostic approach based on signal processing. The results show that the failures on the fuel cell system can be detected and isolated efficiently thanks to fault indicators. The innovative concept proposed here, can guarantee improvements of the durability and of the reliability of the fuel cell system by detecting abnormal operating conditions rapidly and efficiently. • Perform a signal processing approach to diagnose fuel cell system. • Develop a reliable diagnostic tool to identify faults on a fuel cell system. • Consider a low-cost solution easy-to-implement on board and embedded application. • Establish a user-friendly fault identification and severity based on the entropy. • Propose an adjustable diagnostic approach relevant for any electrochemical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]