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Experiment #1 – Purging the Fuel Cell to Optimize Its
Performance
Purpose:
This experiment is done to ensure that the fuel cell is purged of all gasses except pure hydrogen.
By performing this experiment first, it will allow the fuel cell to deliver maximum power for the
remaining experiments.
Equipment:
1
Fuel cell assembly
1
Data Acquisition Card
1
USB cable
1
Battery Holder with 2 AA batteries (battery holder has its own leads)
1
Red test lead
1
Black test lead
1
1 ohm resistor
1
PC computer with graphic software
Setup:
Setup the equipment as shown below:
Figure 1.1 – Experiment #1 Setup
1. Make sure that the fuel cell is fully hydrated.
2. Connect the USB cable between the circuit board and the computer and verify that the
green and blue LEDs on the circuit board are flashing.
3. Make sure the graphic software is running on the computer.
Voltage
Current
Input
Output
3 volt battery
Fuel Cell
Oxygen
Tube
Hydrogen
Baloon
