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Model-Based Control of a Continuous Coating Line for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Electrode Assembly
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| Organization: | University of Texas at Austin |
| Department: | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| Organization: | University of Texas at Austin |
| Department: | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| Organization: | University of Texas at Austin |
| Department: | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| Organization: | ´Ecole Polytechnique de Montr´eal, |
| Department: | D´epartement de Math´ematiques et de G´enie Industriel, |
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| International Journal of Chemical Engineering |
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The most expensive component of a fuel cell is the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which consists of an ionomer membrane coated with catalyst material. Best-performing MEAs are currently fabricated by depositing and drying liquid catalyst ink on the membrane; however, this process is limited to individual preparation by hand due to the membrane’s rapid water absorption that leads to shape deformation and coating defects.Acontinuous coating line can reduce the cost and time needed to fabricate the MEA, incentivizing the commercialization and widespread adoption of fuel cells. A pilot-scale membrane coating line was designed for such a task and is described in this paper. Accurate process control is necessary to prevent manufacturing defects from occurring in the coating line. A linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) controller was developed based on a physics-based model of the coating process to optimally control the temperature and humidity of the drying zones. The process controller was implemented in the pilot-scale coating line proving effective in preventing defects.
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