Hazem Tawfik

Corrosion Resistant, Lightweight, and Inexpensive Metallic Bipolar Plates With Excellent Manufacturability for PEM Fuel Cell Power Systems

Corrosion resistant metal treated bipolar plates with higher rigidity and electrical conductivity than graphite were developed and tested for PEM fuel cell applications. Six replicas of single cells, three of which were made of graphite composites bipolar plates and the other three were made of the treated metallic plates. An Electrode Membrane Assembly (MEA) with 5.55 cm2 active electrode areas, double-sided electrodes, 0.3 mg/cm2 Pt loading and Nafion membrane 115 was fitted to each cell and operated under identical conditions. The experimental testing was conducted at room temperature 20°C. The obtained data from the three graphite cells were averaged and plotted and the other metallic cells’ data were similarly treated and plotted on the same graph for comparison. Generally, the metallic treated bipolar plate provided at least 12% saving in hydrogen consumption in comparison to graphite. This is attributed to the lower bulk and surface contact resistance of the metal used in this study in relation to graphite. The results of the lifetime testing, conducted at room temperature under variable loading showed no indication of power degradation due to metal corrosion for at least 1500 hours.Copyright

Economic Analysis of Renewable Energy Systems

As the price of oil and natural gas continues to increase, reaching levels that threaten our local and national economy, the need to seek alternative sources of energy has become necessary to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and enhance homeland security. The USA has an abundance of renewable energies such as solar, wind, hydro and bio-fuels that need to be explored for generating hydrogen as an energy carrier. Engineering and Technology graduates must be well educated and highly trained with use and applications of the alternative energy systems. Accordingly, students should be instructed on the state of the art technology and modern systems in this area of increasing national interest. Renewable Energy sources will reduce our national dependence on foreign oil and enhance our homeland security because of their environmental and economical merits. This paper introduces engineers, technologists, and students interested in the area of renewable energy systems to the utilization of a modern software product that will enable them to conduct both technical and economical analysis on alternative energy systems. Software products from RETScreen International provide the user with clean energy decision capabilities. It enhances the capacity of planners and decision-makers by presenting them with a tool to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in alternative energy systems such as solar, wind, and hydro.. The software (free download available at www.retscreen.net) enables economic analysis and parametric studies on a variety of renewable energy systems.