Investigating the effects of gas diffusion layer substrate thickness on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance via synchrotron X-ray radiography

2017 ◽  
Vol 236 ◽  
pp. 161-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lee ◽  
S. Chevalier ◽  
R. Banerjee ◽  
P. Antonacci ◽  
N. Ge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Diffusion Layer ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Substrate Thickness ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Synchrotron X-Ray Investigation of Membrane Water Distribution in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Applications

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupak Banerjee ◽  
Chuzhang Han ◽  
Nan Ge ◽  
Aimy Bazylak
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Diffusion Layer ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Water management is a critical component of extracting optimum performance and efficiency from polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. During fuel cell operation, a balance needs to be maintained between excess water blocking the reactant pathways through the gas diffusion layer, and the requirement for membrane hydration. The ionic conductivity through the membrane depends strongly on the hydration of the membrane. The reactant gases in a PEM fuel cell are supplied through a humidification system to maintain appropriate levels of hydration in the membrane. The removal of the anode humidifier would significantly reduce the balance of plant costs and reduce the volume required for the fuel cell in an automotive setting. However, removing the anode humidification system could have adverse effects on membrane hydration and on fuel cell performance. In this study, the anode humidification was varied and the cell performance and the membrane resistance were monitored. Synchrotron X-ray radiography was conducted simultaneously to visualize the water distribution in the membrane, the gas diffusion layer, and the associated interfaces. It was observed that the anode humidification had a strong impact on the performance of the fuel cell, with the dry condition leading to voltage instability at a current density below 1.0 A/cm2. The membrane water content was observed to decrease with increases in operating current density.

scholarly journals Impact of Microporous Layer Roughness on Gas-Diffusion-Electrode-Based Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 7757-7761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Wang ◽  
Samantha Medina ◽  
Jason R. Pfeilsticker ◽  
Svitlana Pylypenko ◽  
Michael Ulsh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Gas Diffusion Electrode ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Microporous Layer ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Effects of Microhydrophobic Porous Layer on Water Distribution in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzad Ahmadi ◽  
Ramin Roshandel
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Cathode Side ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) at high current densities is limited to transport reactants and products. Furthermore, large amounts of water are generated and may be condensed due to the low temperature of the PEMFC. Development of a two-phase flow model is necessary in order to predict water flooding and its effects on the PEMFC performance. In this paper, a multiphase mixture model (M2) is used, accurately, to model two-phase transport in porous media of a PEMFC. The cathode side, which includes channel, gas diffusion layer (GDL), microporous layer (MPL), and catalyst layer (CL), is considered as the computational domain. A multidomain approach has been used and transport equations are solved in each domain independently with appropriate boundary conditions between GDL and MPL. Distributions of species concentration, temperature, and velocity field are obtained, and the effects of MPL on species distribution and fuel cell performance are investigated. MPL causes a saturation jump and a discontinuity in oxygen concentration at the GDL/MPL interface. The effect of MPL thickness on fuel cell performance is also studied. The results revealed that the MPL can highly increase the maximum power of a PEMFC.

Effect of Gas Diffusion Layer With Double-Side Microporous Layer Coating on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Performance

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao-Ming Chang ◽  
Min-Hsing Chang
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Diffusion Layer ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Gas Diffusion Layer ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Acetylene Black ◽  
Microporous Layer ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

In this study, the performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with double-side microporous layer (MPL) coating on gas diffusion layer (GDL) is investigated experimentally. A standard commercial SGL® 10BA carbon paper is used as the substrate and it is coated with MPL on both sides of the paper with different composition. Three different carbon powders are used in the experiments, including Vulcan XC-72R, Acetylene black, and Black Pearls 2000. The effect of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) content is also considered. A single cell testing apparatus is constructed to measure the cell performance and evaluate the effect of GDL with double-side MPL coating. Accordingly, the optimal fabrication parameters of double-side MPL are determined. The result shows that under the same operating conditions, the performance of fuel cell using GDL with double-side MPL is better than that using general single-side MPL. The Acetylene black is found to give the best cell performance than the others. The optimal composition of MPL on the surfaces facing to the catalyst layer and flow-channel plate are 1.25 mg/cm2 and 0.25 mg/cm2, respectively. Besides, the optimal PTFE content is the same on both sides of MPL which is found to be 20 wt%.

scholarly journals Highly durable Pt-free fuel cell catalysts prepared by multi-step pyrolysis of Fe phthalocyanine and phenolic resin

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1400-1406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Nabae ◽  
Mayu Sonoda ◽  
Chiharu Yamauchi ◽  
Yo Hosaka ◽  
Ayano Isoda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Phenolic Resin ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Cathode Catalyst ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Fuel Cell Catalysts

A Pt-free cathode catalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells has been developed by multi-step pyrolysis of Fe phthalocyanine and phenolic resin and shows a quite promising fuel cell performance.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document