Performance Investigation of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells Using Graphite Composite Plates Fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nannan Guo ◽  
Ming C. Leu
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Composite Plates ◽  
Graphite Composite ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Selective laser sintering (SLS) was used to fabricate graphite composite plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, which has the advantages of reducing time and cost associated with the research and development of bipolar plates. Graphite composite plates with three different designs, i.e., parallel in series, interdigitated, and bio-inspired, were fabricated using the SLS process. The performance of these SLS fabricated plates was studied experimentally within a fuel cell assembly under various operating conditions. The effect of temperature, relative humidity, and pressure on fuel cell performance was investigated. In the tests conducted in this study, the best fuel cell performance was achieved with a temperature of 65–75°C, relative humidity of 100%, and back pressure of 2 atm. The performance of fuel cell operating over an extended time was also studied, with the result showing that the SLS fabricated graphite composite plates provided a relatively steady fuel cell output power.

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.

Minichannels in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Trabold
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Electrochemical Devices ◽  
Sectional Shape

This paper provides an overview of the application of minichannels, typically on the order of 1 mm hydraulic diameter, in the design of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In these electrochemical devices, minichannels deliver reactant hydrogen and oxygen to the anode and cathode electrodes, respectively, while transporting product water out of the cell. The channels must be designed for low pressure drop, to avoid excessive parasitic power losses from gas handling equipment. However, the channels also need to operate in a flow regime in which the overall water balance in the fuel cell can be maintained. The various aspects of minichannel design, including size and cross-sectional shape, are discussed, with particular emphasis on fuel cell water management. In addition to reviewing these fundamental aspects of minichannel design, examples are given of new experimental tools currently under development which are applied to relate channel water transport and accumulation to fuel cell performance.

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.

An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of the Environmental Conditions and the Channel Depth for an Air-Breathing Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Hun Park ◽  
Jerald A. Caton
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Channel Depth ◽  
Air Breathing ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

The effects of the environmental conditions and the channel depth for an air-breathing polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell were investigated experimentally. The fuel cell used in this work included a membrane and electrode assembly, which possessed an active area of 25 cm2 with Nafion® 117 membrane. Triple serpentine designs for the flow fields with two different flow depths were used in this research. The experimental results indicated that the relative humidity and temperature play an important role with respect to fuel cell performance. The fuel cell needs to be operated at least 20 min to obtain stable performance. When the shallow flow field was used, the performance increased dramatically for low humidity and slightly for high humidity. The current density was obtained around only 120 mA/cm2 at 30°C with an 80% relative humidity, which was nearly double the performance for the deep flow field. The minimum operating temperature for an air-breathing fuel cell would be 20°C. When it was 10°C at 60% relative humidity, the open circuit voltage dropped to around 0.65 V. The fuel cell performance improved with increasing relative humidity from 80% to 100% at high current density.

How the colloid chemistry of precursor electrocatalyst dispersions is related to the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 402 ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bredol ◽  
Aleksandra Szydło ◽  
Ivan Radev ◽  
Wladimir Philippi ◽  
Roland Bartholomäus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Colloid Chemistry ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell flow field designs and approaches for performance enhancement

2019 ◽  
Vol 234 (8) ◽  
pp. 1189-1214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erman Çelik ◽  
İrfan Karagöz
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
High Energy Density ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are carbon-free electrochemical energy conversion devices that are appropriate for use as a power source on vehicles and mobile devices emerging with their high energy density, lightweight structure, quick startup and lower operating temperature capabilities. However, they need more developments in the aspects of reactant distribution, less pressure drops, precisely balanced water content and heat management to achieve more reliable and higher overall cell performance. Flow field development is one of the most important fields of study to increase cell performance since it has decisive effects on performance parameters, including bipolar plate, and thus fuel cell weight. In this study, recent developments on conventional flow field designs to eliminate their weaknesses and innovative design approaches and flow field architectures are obtained from patent databases, and both numerical and experimental scientific studies. Fundamental designs that create differences are introduced, and their effects on the performance are discussed with regard to origin, objective, innovation strategy of design besides their strength and probable open development ways. As a result, significant enhancements and design strategies on flow field designs in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are summarized systematically to guide prospective flow field development studies.

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