PSI - Issue 77

João Nunes et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 77 (2026) 593–600

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Joa˜o Nunes et al / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2026) 000–000

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goal of the SD3DE project, in which the present work was developed, namely, the integration of printed sensors at relevant locations for structural health monitoring. The second goal was to validate the adequacy of non-destructive inspection techniques such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and thermography for monitoring the tightening system and detecting loosening during operation, as well as understanding thermal management. As part of the SD3DE project, non-destructive inspection methods will be used to validate measurements from printed sensors. Finally, the present work also aimed to develop a setup capable of generating experimental data that combines both performance parameters and experimental mechanical structural integrity data, which are not included in established datasets in literature [15].

Nomenclature

PEMFC Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell GDL GasDi ff usion Layer MEA Membrane Electrode Assembly DIC Digital Image Correlation fps frames per second RoI Region of Interest

2. Materials and Methodology

Short-term tests with variable duration of ten to twenty minutes were performed to accomplish the three goals previously enumerated. Throughout the experiments, temperature, strain, and performance metrics of the hydrogen fuel cell, namely current and voltage, were continuously monitored during hydrogen cell operation.

2.1. Hydrogen Cell setup

The PEMFC used in the present study was a SENZA SZFC-100 PEM Hydrogen Fuel Cell, with a nominal power of 100W and a hydrogen consumption of 1,400 mL / min. It was combined with a SENZA SZPE-1500 PEM Hydrogen Generator, which produced hydrogen at a rate of 1500 mL / min with a maximum purity of 99.995%. All the peripherals for both the hydrogen cell and hydrogen generator were assembled accordingly to the manufacturer’s recommenda tions [19]. Figure 2 presents the setup used in the present study, which included a power supply for the hydrogen generator, drying filters, a water tank, a water pump, pneumatic valves, and a DIC setup. Demineralised water with a conductivity of 20 µ S / cm was used for hydrogen production. To avoid the influence of the hydrogen cell operation induced vibrations on the results of image-based monitoring systems, the cell was fixed to the table using F-clamps, as demonstrated in Figure 2 a).

Fig. 2. a) Hydrogen Fuel Cell, Hydrogen generator, peripherals and DIC setup; b) speckle pattern and conventional sensors application.