Publications by Hossein Pourrahmani

Advanced imaging of gas diffusion layers: A comparison between focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed tomography

With the advances in clean technologies, the role of fuel cells and batteries is becoming increasingly vital. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are known to be the best candidates for low-temperature and portable operations, such as hydrogen cars. The ef ...

2025

Quantitative measurement and comparison of breakthroughs inside the gas diffusion layer using lattice Boltzmann method and computed tomography scan

Jan Van Herle, Emad Oveisi, Hossein Pourrahmani, Hamza Moussaoui

In Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), the presence of residual water within the Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) poses challenges during cold starts and accelerates degradation. A computational model based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) was deve ...

Nature Portfolio2024

Manufacturing protocol and post processing of ultra-thin gas diffusion layer using advanced scanning techniques

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

The typical commercial size of a Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) application is around 180 μm up to 290 μm. GDL facilitates the diffusion of reactants to the catalyst layers and liquid removal from the membrane to t ...

Nature Research2024

Real-time H2S detection kit for hydrogen fuel cell

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

Among hydrogen technologies, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is known as an efficient device using hydrogen as the fuel. Although different real-time fault-diagnosis methods are available (i.e., voltage-based or electrochemical-based), the pro ...

2024

Lab-Scale Investigation of the Integrated Backup/Storage System for Wind Turbines Using Alkaline Electrolyzer

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

The depletion of fossil fuel sources has encouraged the authorities to use renewable resources such as wind energy to generate electricity. A backup/storage system can improve the performance of wind turbines, due to fluctuations in power demand. The novel ...

MDPI2023

Simulation and optimization of the impacts of metal-organic frameworks on the hydrogen adsorption using computational fluid dynamics and artificial neural networks

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

One of the barriers to further commercialization of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is hydrogen storage. Conventional methods are based on pressurizing the hydrogen up to 700 bar. The focus of this study is to characterize the hydrogen stora ...

Nature Portfolio2023

The thermodynamic and life-cycle assessments of a novel charging station for electric vehicles in dynamic and steady-state conditions

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani, Chengzhang Xu

The current study performs the thermodynamic and life-cycle assessments (LCA) of a novel charging station in two system designs. The goal is to design an efficient charging station for electric vehicles with high efficiencies and low environmental impacts ...

Nature Portfolio2023

Electrochemical devices and computer science: water/thermal management of proton exchange membrane fuel cells and electrolyzers in different scales

Hossein Pourrahmani

The current restrictions on the registration of combustion engines in different countries and the harmful impacts of fossil fuels on the environment and human health have motivated decision-makers to use batteries and/or fuel cells as alternatives for comb ...

EPFL2023

Performance evaluation and the implementation of the turbocharger, fuel cell, and battery in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

The current study evaluates integrating fuel cell technology into the batteries as an alternative for internal combustion engines (ICEs) for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). To further improve the performance of the UAV, a turbocharger is also integrated to ...

Elsevier2023

A review of the security vulnerabilities and countermeasures in the Internet of Things solutions: A bright future for the Blockchain

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

The current advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) and the solutions being offered by this technology have accounted IoT among the top ten technologies that will transform the global economy by 2030. IoT is a state-of-the-art paradigm that has developed ...

2023

Evaluation Criterion of Proton Exchange Membrane (ECPEM) fuel cells considering inserted porous media inside the gas flow channel

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

The focus of this study is to evaluate the effects of porous media inside the gas flow channel of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) on four different output parameters of voltage, power density, pressure drop, and Nusselt number (Nu) considering ...

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2022

Poisoning Effects of Cerium Oxide (CeO2) on the Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs)

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

In this study, the poisoning effects of cerium oxide (CeO2) as the contaminant on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are evaluated. An experimental setup was developed to analyze the performance characteristic (I-V) curves in c ...

MDPI2022

Optimization and dynamic responses of an integrated fuel cell and battery system for an 800 kW ferry: A case study

Jan Van Herle, Martin Daniel Gay, Hossein Pourrahmani

The recent targets by different countries to stop the sales or registrations of internal combustion engines (ICE) have led to the further development of battery and fuel cell technologies to provide power for different applications. The main aim of this st ...

ELSEVIER2022

The applications of Internet of Things in the automotive industry: A review of the batteries, fuel cells, and engines

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

The current advances in the integration of devices through the internet of things (IoT) have encouraged researchers to focus on the applications of IoT in the automotive industry. Although different achievements in the in-vehicle network analysis and traff ...

ELSEVIER2022

Organic Rankine Cycle as the Waste Heat Recovery Unit of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell: A Novel System Design for the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Using Batteries as a Backup/Storage Unit

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani, Chengzhang Xu

The novelty of this study is to suggest a novel design for electric vehicle charging stations using fuel cell technology. The proposed system benefits from the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) to utilize the exhaust energy of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) st ...

MDPI2022

The Application of Fuel-Cell and Battery Technologies in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): A Dynamic Study

Jan Van Herle, Claire Marie Isabelle Bernier, Hossein Pourrahmani

The harmful impacts of fossil-fuel-based engines on the environment have resulted in the development of other alternatives for different types of vehicles. Currently, batteries and fuel cells are being used in the automotive industry, while promising progr ...

MDPI2022

A Review on the Long-Term Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: From Degradation Modeling to the Effects of Bipolar Plates, Sealings, and Contaminants

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are regarded as promising alternatives to internal combustion engines (ICEs) to reduce pollution. Recent research on PEMFCs focuses on achieving higher power densities, reducing the refueling time, mitigating th ...

MDPI2022

Water management of the proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Optimizing the effect of microstructural properties on the gas diffusion layer liquid removal

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

The formation of water columns inside the gas diffusion layer (GDL) of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), which is harmful phenomenon, can be controlled by the GDL's microstructure and material. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a thre ...

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2022

Thermoelectric Generator as the Waste Heat Recovery Unit of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell: A Numerical Study

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a prominent environmentally friendly alternative candidate to internal combustion engines in automotive applications. The recovery of the waste heat of light-duty diesel engines has been investigated recent ...

MDPI2022

The impacts of the gas diffusion layer contact angle on the water management of the proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Three-dimensional simulation and optimization

Jan Van Herle, Hossein Pourrahmani

Water management of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an important parameter to improve efficiency, especially in cold weather conditions. The generated water of the electrochemical reactions inside PEMFC may stay inside the cell and fill t ...

WILEY2022