Development of a piezoelectric proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack (PZT-Stack)

Previous studies report that bi-cell piezoelectric proton exchange membrane fuel cells with a nozzle and a diffuser have been successfully developed, and this pseudo-bipolar design is expected to benefit the future development of the piezoelectric stack (PZT-Stack). In this study, an innovative PZT-Stack design composed of three L-PZT-D-type bi-cells contains a total reaction area of 24 cm2 with a diffuser angle (θ) of 10°, a channel path (L) of 5.63 mm, and a channel opening width (D) of 1 mm. To optimize the performance of the PZT-Stack, the module is investigated under various operating conditions, including the PZT vibration frequency, the cell temperature, the relative humidity in the anode, the type of electrical circuit, and the type of intake module on the anode. The stability and the performance of a PZT-Stack with a degraded membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) are analyzed. Although the degraded working mode lowers the performance of the PZT-Stack, the module is still able to function consistently and deliver positive power. The maximum net power of the PZT-Stack was 3.8627 W under a PZT frequency of 60 Hz, and a cell temperature of 50 °C in a parallel electrical circuit. •An innovative pseudo-bipolar design for a PZT-Stack with three bi-cells has been successfully developed.•The maximum power density is 0.1874 W cm−2 and 0.1765 W cm−2 in the electrical parallel and cascade configuration, respectively.•The PZT-Stack does not exhibit open circuit behavior even if one of the component cells fails in the electrical cascade configuration.