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Michael Fowler
Associate Professor
Office: DWE 3513A
Phone: 519-888-4567 ext. 33415
Email: mfowler@uwaterloo.ca
Degrees: BEng,
Royal Military College, Kingston; MASc, Queens; PhD, Royal Military
College, Kingston
Personal Homepage |
Research Interests
Fuel Cell Design, Fuel Cell Reliability and Failure Modes, Accelerated
Testing, Conductive Polymer Blends, Hydrogen Production and Distribution, Greener Energy System, Life Cycle Analysis
My primary research interests are in the design and performance of fuel
cell stacks and systems. Fuel cells are an emerging technology, and
there will continue to be extensive research (especially applied research)
over the next 20 years. At this stage in the development of fuel cells,
long term test data is generally not available, or new designs are so radically
advanced that previous data or experience are of limited use. Failure mode
work that has been performed is generally preliminarily in nature, or not
quantitative. Thus my primary interest is the modeling of fuel cell
system reliability, and research into potential failure modes and causes
experienced in fuel cells stacks. In order to adequately model fuel
cell performance and reliability, I maintain an interest in both fuel
cell modelling, as well reliability analysis and simulation.
Polymers will play essential roles in fuel cells as the electrolyte, gas
diffusion layer, and bipolar plate materials. Therefore, the study
of the reliability and failure modes in a fuel cell must include the development
and testing of polymeric materials. Not only is the material section
important, but the processes associated with the manufacture and assembly
of membrane assembly electrodes (MEAs) and bipolar plates will have a large
impact on fuel cell performance and reliability. The development and application of low cost conductive polymers is important in fuel cell and many other applications, and thus there is an interest in blending of polymers with carbon and other material for increased conductivity.
The interest in systems reliability analysis grew out of my experience
in environmental management. I am very interested in the development and
application of tools and techniques in order to evaluate and predict the
impacts associated with industrial processes and products. The analysis
techniques and stochastic principles involved in reliability analysis are
very similar to the techniques use in environmental risk analysis. Thus,
the broader fields of industrial ecology and environmental
risk management continue to be of interest to me. Specifically
I am interested in the improvement of environmental performance through
the development and application of technology and management practice. Concurrent
with this endeavour, I also think that it is important to demonstrate that
good environmental performance is profitable and produces better products.
My two interests merge in that fuel cells represent a green technology,
as they are presented as a vast improvement in environmental protection,
specifically in their role to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. I hope to play a role in the development and implementation of green power generation systems. Application
of environmental life cycle assessment is required with any new product
in order to determine it’s potential environmental impact. Reliability
techniques are needed to understand the life cycle costs and performance
characteristics of products. The fusion and application of these
concepts are of research interest to me.
Selected References
- S. Kundu, L.C. Simon, M. Fowler, S. Grot Mechanical Properties of Nafion Electrolyte Membranes under Hydrated Conditions, Polymer, (2004). (accepted)
- M.W. Fowler, A. Lam, "PEM Fuel Cell Test Station and Laboratory Experiment, Chemical Engineering Education, Volume 38, Number 3, Summer 2004, page 236-241.
- W. Zhang, E. Croiset, P.L. Douglas, M.W. Fowler, E. Entchev, Simulation of a tubular solid oxide fuel cell stack using AspenPlus TM unit operation models, Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 46, Issue 2, (2005) 181-196.
- Rapeepong Suwanwarangkul, Eric Croiset, Michael W. Fowler, Peter L.
Douglas, Evgeniy Entchev, "Performance Comparison of Fick's,
Dusty-gas and Stefan-Maxwell Models to predict the Concentration Overpotential
in a SOFC Anode", Journal of Power Sources, 122, (2003), 9-18.
- M.W. Fowler, John C. Amphlett, Ronald F. Mann, Brant A. Peppley and
Pierre R. Roberge, “Issues Associated With Voltage Degradation
in a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Stacks”, Journal for New Materials
for Electrochemical Systems, 5, 255-262 (2002).
- M.W. Fowler, R.F. Mann, J.C. Amphlett, B.A. Peppley and P.R. Roberge, “Incorporation
of Voltage Degradation into a Generalized Steady State Electrochemical
Model for a PEM Fuel Cell”, Journal of Power Sources, 106 (2002)
274-283.
Other Refereed Contributions
- M.W. Fowler, R.F. Mann, J.C. Amphlett, S, Kundu, I. Wheeldon, and B.A. Peppley, Issues Associated with Material Characteristics in PEM Fuel Cells, Fuel Cells for Automotive Applications, ed. Thring, R.H., The Institution Mechanical Engineers, pp. 135-157, (2004).
- R.F. Mann, M.W. Fowler, J.C. Amphlett, B.A. Peppley and C.P. Thurgood, Modeling of PEM Fuel Cells, "Fuel Cells for Automotive Applications", Fuel Cells for Automotive Applications, ed. Thring, R.H., The Institution Mechanical Engineers, pp. 113-133, (2004).
- Michael Fowler, Ronald F. Mann, John C. Amphlett, Brant A. Peppley and Pierre R. Roberge, Chapter 56 Conceptual reliability analysis of PEM fuel cells, Handbook of Fuel Cells – Fundamentals, Technology and Applications - Volume 3: Fuel Cell Technology and Applications, Edited by Wolf Vielstich, Hubert Gasteiger, Arnold Lamm., John Wiley & Sons Ltd., (2003).
- M.W. Fowler, Degradation and Reliability Modelling of PEM Fuel Cells, Ph.D. Thesis, Royal Military College of Canada, May 2003.
Conference Proceedings and Non-Refereed Journals
- Michael Fowler, Fuel Cell Testing Workshop, Kasetsart University, Bangkok Thailand, August 25-26, 2004.
- Michael Fowler, Electrochemical Techniques in fuel Cells, Brinkman Seminar Series Fuel Cell Workshop, Waterloo, December 4, 2004.
- W. Zhang, E. Croiset, P.L. Douglas, M.W. Fowler, E. Entchev, Simulation of a Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Using AspenPlusTM Unit Operation Models, Combustion Canada '03, Calgary, September 22-25, 2003..
- Michael Ajersch, Michael Fowler, Kunal Karan and Brant Peppley, PEM Fuel Cell and Bipolar Plate Reliability: A Review, First International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, American Society Mechanical Engineers, April 21-23, 2003.
- I.R. Wheeldon, J.C. Amphlett, M. Fowler, R.F. Mann, M. Hooper, B.A. Peppley* and C.P. Thurgood, Operational Strategies for a Steam-Methanol, Membrane Reformer in a PEM Fuel Cell System, First International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, American Society Mechanical Engineers, April 21-23, 2003.
- R. Suwanwarangkul, E. Croiset, M.W. Fowler, P.L. Douglas, E. Entchev and M.A. Douglas, "Modeling of Anode-supported SOFCs Operating with H2 and CO Mixtures", in Proceeding of 8th international symposium on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC-VIII), S.C. Singhal and M. Dokiya (Eds.), Pennington, NJ., pp. 1348-1357 (2003).
- R.F Mann, I. Wheeldon, M.W.Fowler, J.C.Amphlett, B.A.Peppley and C.P. Thurgood, Concentration Polarization in PEM Fuel Cell Modelling, 2002 Fuel Cell Seminar, 2002 Fuel Cell, Palm Springs, CA, November 18-21, 2002.
- R.F. Mann, M.W. Fowler, J.C. Amphlett, C.P. Thurgood and B.A. Peppley, "Modelling the Catalytic Kinetics of Electrodes in PEM Fuel Cells", Conference Proceedings - 17th Canadian Symposium on Catalysis, Toronto, June 1-5 2002.
- R.F. Mann, J.C. Amphlett, M.W. Fowler, B.A. Peppley and C.P. Thurgood, "Correlation and Prediction of Water Content in Nafion Membranes for PEM Fuel Cell Modelling" Topical Conference Proceedings, AIChE New Orleans, March 2002.
- R.F. Mann, M.W. Fowler, J.C. Amphlett, M.A.I. Hooper, B.A.Peppley and P.R. Roberge. "Further Development of the Generalized Steady-State Electrochemical Model for PEM Fuel Cells", Recent Advances in Fuel Cells Symposium, 22nd National ACS Meeting, Chicago, August 26-30, 2001.
- M.W. Fowler, "Demonstration of the Generalized Steady-State Electrochemical Model for a PEM Fuel Cell", Proceedings of the Canadian Hydrogen Conference, Victoria, British Columbia, July 2001.
- R.F Mann, J.C.Amphlett, M.W.Fowler, M.A.I. Hooper, B.A.Peppley and C.P. Thurgood, "A Generalized Steady-State Electrochemical Model for a PEM fuel cell", Proceedings of Computational Fluids Dymanics - CFC 2001, Waterloo, Ontario, June 2001.
- M.W. Fowler, Risk Based Options for the Management of PCB Painted Materials, "Proceedings of the Workshop on the Management of PCB Solid Wastes in Canada", July 1999.
