Design and manufacture of reformer in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Abstract

The paper describes the development and manufacturing aspects of the reformer in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell, from the first step of realization that includes modelling the main parts of the reformer; analysing the reforming initial geometry, adopting changes in shape and dimensions caused by inaccessibility of tools during machining; and the manufacture of the reformer. Development and manufacturing are performed based on a model developed in SolidWorks (R). Based on this model, numerical analysis is performed in order to show the influence of geometry and its changes that affect reformer performance, and is not shown here. Adopted changes in the reformer design are presented, along with detailed explanation. Reformer processing is carried out on a milling machine and Wire EDM machine. The transversal hole diameter on the reformer is increased from 1 to 2 mm to reduce economic cost. Before processing, the tool path simulation is also performed. Beside the main subject, general data on proton exchange membrane fuel cell are introduced with a short description and explanations of the PEM function, method and purpose.