Finite time analysis of an endoreversible fuel cell

Alexandre Vaudrey (1) , Philippe Baucour (1) , François Lanzetta (1) , Raynal Glises (1)

1 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)

The aim of this paper consists in a new thermodynamical description of the fuel cell, using the finite time thermodynamics. Starting from the comparison beetween a reversible fuel cell and a Carnot heat engine driven by a perfect chemical reaction, we remind that – contrary to a common opinion – both systems have the same thermodynamical performances. Thereby, we evolve the comparison beetween these two systems to the area of finite time thermodynamics. The main results is the definition of an endoreversible fuel cell characterized by a maximum-power efficiency like the famous Chambadal-Novikov one.

Mots clés: Fuel cell; Heat engine; Efficiency; Finite time thermodynamics; Entropy; Optimization

Domaines: Thermique [physics.class-ph]; Thermique [physics.class-ph]; Energie électrique

Alexandre Vaudrey, Philippe Baucour, François Lanzetta, Raynal Glises. Finite time analysis of an endoreversible fuel cell. Fundamentals and Developments of Fuel Cells, Dec 2008, Nancy, France. pp.203. ⟨hal-00347730⟩