Characteristics of the carbon paper heat-treated to different temperatures and its influence on the performance of PEM fuel cell

2007 ◽  
Vol 52 (14) ◽  
pp. 4809-4817 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.B. Mathur ◽  
Priyanka H. Maheshwari ◽  
T.L. Dhami ◽  
R.P. Tandon
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Carbon Paper ◽  
Heat Treated ◽  
Different Temperatures

Experimental Evaluation of CO Poisoning of an Air-Breathing High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell Stack

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanta K. Das ◽  
Antonio Reis ◽  
Etim U. Ubong ◽  
K. Joel Berry
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Co Poisoning ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack ◽  
Current Voltage ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Current Voltage Characteristics ◽  
High Temperature Pem

In this paper, we experimentally studied an air breathing high temperature PEM fuel cell at steady operating conditions to investigate the effects of CO poisoning at different temperatures ranges between 120°C∼180°C. The effects of changes in temperatures with different amount of CO poisoning on the current-voltage characteristics of the fuel cell are investigated. Experimental data of this type would be very useful to develop design parameters of fuel processor based on reformate hydrocarbons. The high CO tolerance of high temperature PEM fuel cells makes it possible to use the reformate gas directly from the reformer without further CO removal. Here we considered the fact that a steam reformer is a consumer of heat and water, and fuel cell stacks are a producer of heat and water. Thus, integration of the fuel cell stack and the reformer is expected to improve the system performance. The results obtained from the experiments showed variations in current-voltage characteristics at different temperatures with different CO poisoning rates. The results will help to understand the overall system performance development strategy of high temperature PEM fuel cell in terms of current-voltage characteristics, when fed with on-site reformate hydrogen gas with variable CO concentrations.

Characterization of Microporous Layer in Carbon Paper GDL for PEM Fuel Cell

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1133-1141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Martínez-Rodríguez ◽  
Cui Tong ◽  
Sirivatch Shimpalee ◽  
John W. Van Zee
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Carbon Paper ◽  
Microporous Layer

Graduated Resistance to Gas Flow Through a GDL in an Unconventional PEM Stack

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry B. Caston ◽  
Kanthi L. Bhamidipati ◽  
Haley Carney ◽  
Tequila A. L. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Carbon Paper ◽  
Carbon Cloth ◽  
Oxygen Utilization ◽  
Average Current Density ◽  
Reactant Distribution

The goal of this study is to design a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell with a graduated permeability and thereby graduating the resistance to flow throughout the GDL. It has been shown that in using conventional materials, the GDL exhibits a higher resistance in the through-plane direction due to the orientation of the small carbon fibers that make up the carbon paper or carbon cloth. In this study, a GDL is designed for an unconventional PEM fuel cell stack where the reactant gases are supplied through the side of the GDL rather than through flow field channels machined into a bipolar plate. The effects of changing in-plane permeability, through-plane permeability, GDL thickness, and oxygen utilization on the expected current density distribution at the catalyst layer are studied. Three different thicknesses and three different utilizations are investigated. It has been found that a thinner GDL with a lower utilization yields a higher current density on the electrode. A quantitative metric to measure uniformity of reactant distribution and the ratio of the standard deviation of the current density to the average current density was introduced, and it was found that while the uniformity of the reactant distribution is independent of thickness of the GDL, it is inversely proportional to utilization.

Probing the influence of the gas diffusion layer on water retention in membrane electrode assemblies via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foroughazam Afsahi ◽  
E. Bradley Easton
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Catalyst Layer ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Carbon Paper ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrode Assemblies

The effect of the relative humidity (RH) of supplied gases on PEM fuel cell performance was monitored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Two different Nafion®-based membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) were prepared from two commercially available gas diffusion layers (GDLs) based on carbon paper and carbon cloth. By performing EIS measurements under condition where the transmission line model was applicable, both the ionic resistance in catalyst layer (RΣ) and the membrane resistance (Rmem) could be probed. The extent of this impact, however, depends on the GDL substrate properties and the electrode side to which the dry gas was fed. Overall, the carbon paper based MEA provided better fuel cell performance when the dry gas condition was applied, whereas the cloth based MEA revealed better fuel cell performance with fully saturated reactant gases. Moreover, the later one demonstrates a better capability to address the flooding issue at high current density even when symmetric dry gas arrangement (both dry fuel and oxidant gases) was studied. Variation of fuel gas RH at the anode perturb the fuel cell performance less strongly compared with the other arrangements. This implies that with the fully hydrated cathode gas water transport via back diffusion from the cathode to the anode could maintain the hydrated membrane and catalyst layer to some extent. By using this EIS methodology, the interplay of GDL properties and reactant gases RH on PEM fuel cell performance can be more clearly understood.

scholarly journals In-Plane Thermal Conductivity of PEM Fuel Cell Gas Diffusion Layers

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehsan Sadeghi ◽  
Ned Djilali ◽  
Majid Bahrami
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Effective Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Thermal Contact ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Carbon Paper ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Diffusion Layers ◽  
Wide Range

Heat transfer through the gas diffusion layer (GDL) is a key process in the design and operation of a PEM fuel cell. The analysis of this process requires determination of the effective thermal conductivity. This transport property differs significantly in the through-plane and in-plane directions due to the anisotropic micro-structure of the GDL. In the present study, a novel test bed that allows the separation of in-plane effective thermal conductivity and thermal contact resistance in GDLs is described. Measurements are performed using Toray carbon paper TGP-H-120 samples for a range of PTFE content at a mean temperature of 65–70°C. The measurements are complemented by a compact analytical model that achieves good agreement with the experimental data. The in-plane effective thermal conductivity is found to be about 12 times higher than the through-plane conductivity and remains approximately constant, k ≈ 17.5 W/mK, over a wide range of PTFE content.

Graduated Flow Resistance Through a GDL in a Novel PEM Stack

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry B. Caston ◽  
Kanthi L. Bhamidipati ◽  
Haley Carney ◽  
Tequila A. L. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Catalyst Layer ◽  
Current Density Distribution ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Carbon Paper ◽  
Carbon Cloth ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

The goal of this study is to design a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell with a graduated permeability, and therefore a graduated resistance to flow throughout the GDL. It has been shown that using conventional materials the GDL exhibits a higher resistance in the through-plane direction due to the orientation of the small carbon fibers that make up the carbon paper or carbon cloth. In this study, a GDL is designed for an unconventional PEM fuel cell stack, where the reactant gases are supplied through the side of the GDL rather than through flow field channels, which are machined into a bipolar plate. The effects of changing in-plane permeability, through-plane permeability, and thickness of the GDL on the expected current density distribution at the catalyst layer are studied. Three different thicknesses are investigated, and it is found that as GDL thickness increases, more uniform reactant distribution over the face of the GDL is obtained. Results also show that it is necessary to design a GDL with a much higher in-plane resistance than through-plane resistance for the unconventional PEM stack studied.

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