• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.59 no.1
• /
• pp.6-10
• /
• 2021

The shorting resistance (SR) of the PEMFC(Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) polymer membrane is an important indicator of the durability of the membrane. When SR decreases, shorting current (SC) increases, reducing durability and performance. When SR becomes less than about 0.1 kΩ·㎠, shorting occurs, the temperature rises rapidly, and MEA(Membrane Electrode Assembly) is burned to end stack operation. In order to prevent shorting, we need to control the SR, so the conditions affecting the SR were studied. There were differences in the SR measurement methods, and the SR measurement method, which improved the DOE(Department of Energy) and NEDO(New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) method, was presented. It was confirmed that the SR decreases as the relative humidity, temperature and cell compression pressure increase. In the final stage of the accelerated durability evaluation process of the polymer membrane, SR rapidly decreased to less than 0.1 kΩ·㎠, and the hydrogen permeability became higher than 15 mA/㎠. After dismantling the MEA, SEM(Scanning Electron Microscope) analysis showed that a lot of platinum was distributed inside the membrane.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.60 no.1
• /
• pp.20-24
• /
• 2022

In the process of long-term use of PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells), chemical degradation of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) occurs due to corrosion of stack elements and contamination of supply gas. In this study, we investigated whether chemically degraded MEA can be recovered by acid washing. The performance was measured and compared in a PEMFC cell after contamination with iron ions and washing with an aqueous sulfuric acid solution. The performance was reduced by about 25% by 0.5 ppm iron ion contamination, and 97.1% performance recovery was possible by washing of 0.15 M sulfuric acid. The membrane resistance was increased due to iron ion contamination of the polymer membrane, and the ionic conductivity was restored by washing the iron ions from the membrane while minimizing the loss of the electrode catalyst by washing with a low-concentration sulfuric acid aqueous solution. The possibility of solving the decrease in durability caused by chemical contamination of PEMFC MEA by the acid washing was confirmed.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.38 no.11
• /
• pp.7-17
• /
• 2022

This study investigates the effect of cylindrical baffle arrays behind a rigid barrier on debris flow behavior and dynamic impact load. Small-scale tests were performed with various transverse blockage ratios and row numbers of baffles. High-speed cameras were installed at the flume's top and side, and load cells were installed in front of the rigid barrier. Moreover, glass beads simulated large boulders with debris flow in the flume. Test results revealed that the impact load of debris flow on the rigid barrier was significantly reduced using the cylindrical baffles behind the rigid barrier. In addition, the increased transverse blockage ratio of baffle arrays led to a greater impact load of debris flow because of flow suppression due to the baffle arrays.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.1
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 2023

Although a lot of research and development has been conducted on the performance improvement of PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) water electrolysis, the research on durability is still in early stage. This study investigated effect of temperature on the water electrolysis durability when driving temperature of the PEM water electrolysis was increased to improve performance. Voltage change, I-V, CV (Cyclic Voltammetry), LSV (Linear Sweep Voltammetry), Impedance, and FER (Fluoride Emission Rate) were measured while driving under a constant current condition in a temperature range of 50~80 ℃. As the operating temperature increased, the degradation rate increased. At 50~65 ℃, the degradation of the IrO₂ electrocatalyst mainly affected the durability of the PEM water electrolysis cell. At 80 ℃, the polymer membrane and electrode degradation proceeded similarly, and the short resistance decreased to 1.0 kΩ·cm² or less, and the performance decreased to about 1/3 of the initial stage after 144 hours of operation due to the shorting phenomenon.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.124-131
• /
• 2009

Surfactant polyvinyl alcohol (PVA-95) 1, 2, 4mg. $L^{-1}$ and calcium lignosulfonate (CLS) 5, 25, 50, 100mg. $L^{-1}$ were treated to the nutrient solution containing 1.0mg. $L^{-1}$ selenium (Se) to evaluate Se absorption effect using small DFT apparatus. The growth of leaf lettuce and pak-choi did not show unique significance by surfactant kinds and concentration in the tested range and physiological disorder. Vitamin C in leaves of two leafy vegetables was not significantly affected by surfactants also. Among major cations K content in pak-choi was highest in Se I+PVA-95 4mg. $L^{-1}$ treatment, and high in Se I+CLS 5 mg. $L^{-1}$ treatment. Ca content in two leafy vegetables showed increasing pattern by the two kinds of surfactants. Mg content was high in Se I+CLS 25mg. $L^{-1}$ treatment compared to control. Pak-choi absorbed Se about 10 times higher than leafy lettuce. Se content in leaves of two leafy vegetables increased by the treatment of two kinds of surfactants with the exception of CLS 100mg. $L^{-1}$ treatment.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.57 no.6
• /
• pp.768-773
• /
• 2019

The Fenton reaction, which evaluates the electrochemical durability of polymer membranes of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFC), and the degradation of polymer membranes by OCV holding method are compared. The Fenton reaction is a method that can evaluate the chemical durability of the polymer membrane at outside the cell in a shorter time than the OCV Holding method. The Fenton reaction was carried out at 30% hydrogen peroxide, 10 ppm iron, and $80^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours. OCV Holding was driven at $90^{\circ}C$, 30% relative humidity and OCV for 168 hours. The Fenton reaction caused a lot of degradation inside the polymer membrane. On the other hand, in OCV Holding, the membrane thickness was thinned by the entire surface and internal degradation. The fluorine emission rate was more than 10 times higher than that of OCV Holding due to the Fenton reaction. The hydrogen permeation rate increased about 30% at 24 hours of Fenton reaction. At OCV Holding, hydrogen permeability decreased after 24 hours and then increased. As a whole, there was a difference in a membranes deteriorated by Fenton reaction and OCV Holding.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
• /
• 2014.10a
• /
• pp.581-584
• /
• 2014

In this paper, a micro-scale photovoltaic(PV) energy harvesting system is proposed where an MPPT(Maximum Power Point Tracking) control is implemented using an energy distribution technique. Miniature PV cells output very low energy and low voltages, and thus, they cannot be used to directly power the MPPT controller. In the proposed system, a start-up circuit boosts an internal Vcp, and the boosted Vcp is used to operate the internal MPPT control block. When the Vcp reaches a predefined value, a detector circuit makes the start-up block turn off and provide a power converter with the energy from the PV cell. When the Vcp decreases such that the MPPT controller can not be operated, the energy transferred to the power converter is blocked and the start-up circuit is reactivated. In this way, the MPPT function is achieved by alternately operating the start-up circuit and the power converter using the energy distribution technique, and the harvested energy is transferred to a load through a PMU(Power Management Unit). The proposed circuit is designed in a 0.35um CMOS process and its functionality has been verified through extensive simulations. The designed chip area including pads is $1430um{\times}1110um$.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.1
• /
• pp.26-31
• /
• 2023

For durability improvement of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) polymer membrane, accelerated durability evaluation methods that can evaluate durability in a short time have been researched and developed. However, the lifespan of fuel cells for large commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses is more than three times that of passenger cars, and the chemical accelerated stress test (AST) time is also longer, reaching 1,500 hours or more. Therefore, in this study, as a method to evaluate the chemical durability of a membrane within a short time, it was examined whether the durability could be predicted by the pristine membrane characteristics. Hydrogen crossover current density (HCCD) and short resistance (SR) were estimated as initial characteristics, and AST time was predicted through the Fenton experiment, which was possible as an out-of-cell experiment for 3 hours. As the HCCD and fluoride ion emission concentration increased, the AST time tended to be linearly shortened, but there was a deviation (R² ≒0.65). When the SR decreased, the AST time showed a linear increase, and the accuracy was high (R² =0.93), so the AST time could be predicted with the initial SR of the membrane.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.1
• /
• pp.45-51
• /
• 2023

In order to improve the durability of the PEMFC(Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells) polymer membrane, a radical scavenger and a support are used. In this study, the durability of membranes containing fucoidan extracted from seaweeds and tannic acid serving as a crosslinking agent is evaluated to improve chemical and physical durability. Physical durability is evaluated by measuring tensile strength, and chemical durability is measured by Fenton experiment. Membrane and electrode assembly (MEA) is prepared and mechanical and chemical durability are measured through accelerated durability evaluation in the cell. The tensile strength measurement showed that fucoidan and tannic acid can improve the mechanical durability of the membrane by improving the strain rate and yield strength. It is shown in Fenton experiment that fucoidan acts as a radical scavenger. As a result of the accelerated durability test in the unit cell, fucoidan improved both chemical and mechanical durability, increasing the accelerated durability evaluation time by 38.1% compared to the additive-free membrane. When tannic acid is added, the durability of the polymer membrane is improved by 13.9% by improving the mechanical durability.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.26 no.8
• /
• pp.15-25
• /
• 2010

The thin-layered sand seam in clay affects the soil behavior. Although the standard cone penetrometer (A: $10cm^2$) have been used to evaluate the thin-layered soil, the smaller diameter cone penetrometer have been commonly recommended because of the high resolution. The purpose of this study is the development and application of the Cone Resistivity Penetrometer (CRP), which detects qc, fs, and electrical resistivity at cone tip for the evaluation of thin layered soils. Two sizes of the CRP are developed for the laboratory and field test. The projected areas of CRP for the laboratory and field tests are $0.78cm^2$ (d: 1.0 cm) and $1.76cm^2$ (d: 1.5 cm), repectively. The length of friction sleeve is designed in consideration of ratio of the projected area to the friction sleeve area. The application tests are carried out by using the artificially prepared thin-layered soils in the laboratory. In addition, the field tests are conducted at the depth of 6 to 15 m in Kwangyang. In the laboratory test, the measured electrical resistivity and cone tip resistance detect the soil layers. Moreover, in the field test the CRP investigates the three thin-layered soils. This study suggests that the CRP may be a useful tool for detecting thin-layered in soft soils.