0191-9067/85 $3.00 + .00 Copyright ® 1985 SUNSAT Energy Council FUNDAMENTAL STUDY OF FUEL CELL SYSTEM FOR SPACE VEHICLE KEN KIKUCHI, TORU OZEKI, YASUNOBU YOSHIDA Nagoya Aircraft Works Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. 10, Oye-cho, Minato-ku Nagoya. 455, Japan YUKO FUJITA and HISASHI KUDO Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd. Nishinocho, Kisshoin, Minami-ku Kyoto 601, Japan Abstract — In the future, satellites will become increasingly larger, and will require larger electric power. The solar array-storage battery combination will satisfy these power requirements because of its long life, light weight and high reliability. On the other hand, the fuel cell system will be mainly used for the winged re-entry vehicle, the orbital transfer vehicle, etc. A fundamental study of the alkaline-matrix type fuel cell system was carried out by using the experimental cell consisting of the anode and the cathode, separated by the asbestos matrix impregnated with electrolyte solution and the electrolyte reservoir plate made of porous nickel adjacent to the anode. The investigation was focused to establish the optimum operating condition which especially related to water balance. The 5 cell stack with an active area of 100 cm2 operated successfully, and put out a power of 79 W at 20 A. INTRODUCTION In the future, satellites will become increasingly larger, and will require larger electric power. The solar array-storage battery combination will satisfy these power requirements because of its long life, light weight and high reliability. On the other hand, the fuel cell system will be mainly used for the winged re-entry vehicle, the orbital transfer vehicle, etc., which cannot utilize the solar array-storage battery combination effectively (1-3). In addition, the regenerative fuel cell system, which is the combination of fuel cell and the water electrolyzer, is the most promising candidate for the power storage system of the future space station which will require far more power (4). The alkaline-matrix type fuel cell system has been studied in laboratories in several parts of the world, which could be applied for the winged re-entry vehicle, the orbital transfer vehicle and the space station. The development of the alkaline-matrix type fuel cell system has been begun with above perspective. This paper describes results of the first phase of the fundamental study carried out by using the experimental cell stack. FUEL CELL SYSTEM The flight type fuel cell system is planned for the future space system as schematically shown in Fig. I.
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