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http://dx.doi.org/10.9713/kcer.2022.60.1.12

Durability Evaluation of Cathode Open-type Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Stacks  

Yoo, Donggeun (Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University)
Kim, Hyeonsuck (Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University)
Oh, Sohyeong (Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University)
Park, Kwon-Pil (Department of Chemical Engineering, Sunchon National University)
Publication Information
Korean Chemical Engineering Research / v.60, no.1, 2022 , pp. 12-19 More about this Journal
Abstract
Cathode open-type PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells) stacks, which are widely used in small transport-type PEMFC, have a problem with poor durability. Through the accelerated durability test of the 13-cell PEMFC stack, we tried to find the cause of the degradation of the stack and to contribute to the improvement of the durability of the cathode open stack. A hydrogen/air boundary is formed during start-up/shut-down (SU/SD) due to the structural problem of the cathode open stack in which the cathode is open to the atmosphere and it is difficult to maintain airtightness, thereby deteriorating the cathode. In this study, it was possible to evaluate the durability in a relatively short time by reducing the 54% of the initial performance by repeating SU/SD 1,800 times on the cathode open stack. After dismantling the stack, each cell was divided into two and the performance was analyzed. Overall, the anode outlet MEA, which facilitates air inflow, showed more severe electrode deterioration than the inlet MEA, confirming that the hydrogen/air boundary formation during SU/SD is the main cause of degradation.
Keywords
PEMFC; Cathode open-type stack; Durability; Start-up/shut-down; Hydrogen/air boundary;
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