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An Experimental Study on the Durability Test for PEM Fuel Cell Turbo-blower  

Lee, Yong-Bok (Energy Mechanics Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology)
Lee, Hee-Sub (Energy Mechanics Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology)
Chung, Jin-Taek (School of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University)
Publication Information
Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers / v.16, no.5, 2008 , pp. 37-43 More about this Journal
Abstract
The durability test of turbo-blower for PEM fuel cell is very important process of BOP development. It is a major barrier to the commercialization of these systems for stationary and transportation power applications. Commercial viability depends on improving the durability of the air supply system to increase the reliability and to reduce the lifetime cost. In this study, turbo-blower supported by oil-free bearing is introduced as the air supply system used by 80kW proton exchange membrane fuel systems. The turbo-blower is a turbo machine which operates at high speed, so air foil bearings suit their purpose as bearing elements. The impeller of blower was adopted mixed type of centrifugal and axial. So, it has several advantages for variable operating condition. The turbo-blower test results show maximum parasitic power levels below 1.67kW with the 30,000 rpm rotating speed, the flow rate of air has maximum 163SCFM(@PR1.1). For proper application of FCV, these have to durability test. This paper describes the experiment for confirming endurance and stability of the turbo-blower for 500 hours.
Keywords
Turbo-blower; Oil-free foil bearing; PEM fuel cell; BOP : Balance of plant; Parasitic power;
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