This document describes the design of a PEM fuel cell system to power a remote control car. It includes an exploded view of a new 9-membrane fuel cell stack that produces 0.4V per membrane at 5A total to power the RC car motor. Testing showed the fuel cell capable of holding pressure and controllers running accurately while producing power. Future work includes creating an improved fuel cell stack, reducing weight, and removing the need for water saturation.

1. Applied PEM Fuel Cell for Vehicle Control
Figure 6: RC Car to be Used with the New Fuel Cell Stack
Figure 5 shows the exploded view of the new fuel cell stack
design. Each membrane assembly produces 0.4V with 5 A. The
RC vehicle will require 9 membrane assemblies in the fuel cell
stack, wired in series to power the electrical motor. This fuel cell
system will require portable hydrogen and oxygen storage on the
vehicle. The new system will not require direct heating of the
gasses.
Future Work
• Creating an improved fuel cell stack
• Reducing weight with smaller components
• Large scale implementation
• Remove need for water saturation
Figure 5: Exploded View of the New Fuel Cell Stack
RC Car design
The new fuel cell design will power a RC vehicle,
replacing the standard battery. Below, in Figure
6, is a picture of the RC car used before the fuel
cell was installed.
Due to its unique motor and small chassis,
values of power consumption had to be
calculated. In order to determine how many fuel
cells would be needed for the RC car two
options were considered:
1. Stacking multiple fuel cells
2. Creating one large fuel cell
The orientation of the fuel cell on the vehicle
was also a characteristic of design that had to
be determined. Figure 7 shows the final product
of he RC car after all the designs were
completed and components built.
Figure 7: Fuel Cell Powered RC Car
Flow Control Fuel Cell Stack
Water Saturation
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Optimized PEM Fuel Cell with CNT Inserts:
The Approach
The fuel cell and its adjoining system were
designed for the research of high performance CNT
based electrodes. To provide an improved testing
apparatus over the Nano-Energy lab’s existing
prototype, the following specifications were met:
• Self-contained, single unit, semi-portable
system housing the following components:
1. PEM fuel cell
2. Gas bubblers
3. Pressure gauges
4. Flow meters/controllers
5. Temperature controllers
• Improved bubbler design to deliver wet gas to
the electrodes at 80oC
• Increased membrane and electrode surface
area ( 25 cm2 )
Performance Testing
After the PEM fuel cell system
was built, it underwent
multiple performance tests.
The fuel cell and system were
shown capable of holding the
required pressure, and the
controllers ran accurately.
As seen in Figure 2, the PEM fuel cell is constructed
from two graphite bipolar plates, each heated by an
aluminum endplate block. A CNT based catalyst
layer is placed adjacent to the channels on each of
the bipolar plates. For the PEM a nafion membrane
is placed between each catalyst layer.
Bipolar Plate Design
The objective of the bipolar plate design was to
maximize the effective area, limit condensed water
vapor, and provide the most consistent
concentration profile across the catalyst layer.
Figure 1: PEM Fuel Cell System
To meet these requirements, a mirrored set of
serpentine channels were machined into each
of the graphite plates. Three channels were
machined per serpentine path to allow the
most efficient use of the area (Figure 3).
In theory, the shortened flow paths decrease
the chance of a large concentration drop along
the graphite plates or development of water
condensation, but this should allow more
hydrogen and oxygen to interact with their
respective catalysts to help maintain the
electrochemical reaction rate.
Figure 2: PEM Fuel Cell Assembly
Figure 4: Power Performance Test of the Fuel Cell
Figure 3: Bipolar Plate Gas
Flow Field Channel
Figure 4 shows the power performance test of the fuel
cell. The fuel cell was tested at conditions of 800C with
both gasses (Hydrogen and Oxygen) flowing at 20
Standard Cubic Centimeters per Minute (SCCM).
Abstract
Fall Semester Objective: to design and build an improved a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell system based on a current research prototype for the testing of novel carbon nanotube (CNT) based catalyst
layers. The goals included: designing and building a larger fuel cell with optimized flow field channel patterns; designing new saturation heaters to replace the current water boiler; and optimizing a new fuel cell system
as a whole that would be semi-portable, more convenient to use, and deliver improved power density capable of powering a small fan.
Spring Semester Objective: to use the knowledge gained from the fall semester to design and build a new stacked PEM fuel cell with CNT based catalyst layers to power a small, electrical remote control (RC) vehicle. The
design will include an improved fuel cell system design and power management system.
MEEN Senior Design/AggiE-Challenge
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells for Vehicular Operations