• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.77-77
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• 2015

Metallic glass alloys having dense packing structure have short range ordered structure with long range homogeneity. Therefore, they can provide complete corrosion protection and unique electrical properties. Recently, metallic glass thin films have received much attention to extend its application fields combining with PVC coating technologies. The metallic glass thin films can change the surface properties of the conventional bulk materials which need anticorrosion properties. However, multi-component alloying targets are required to fabricate the metallic glass thin films because metallic glass alloys contain more than three elements. Recently, many researchers have been reported the properties of the metallic glass thin films synthesized with multi-cathode systems or amorphous target. But, it is difficult to fabricate the large sized sputtering targets for mass production equipment with high toughness and thermal stability. In this study, newly developed sputtering target with glass forming ability and the properties of the metallic glass thin films will be introduced with respect to the various application fields such as bipolar plate in PEM fuel cell and decorative coatings for electric device and construction fields.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.442-450
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• 2001

Experiments were carried out on agglomeration of bipolarly charged particles in an alternating current electric field. Laboratory-scale setup was built and experiments were conducted at atmospheric condition. DOS(Di-octyl Sebacate) particles with 100% purity were generated by an atomizer. The particles were branched into two, each of which passed through a wire-to-plate type charging section where a positive or a negative DC high voltage was applied and was charged positively or negatively. These bipolarly charged particles together passed through an agglomeration section where an $\pm$20kV AC power was applied between two plates. The resident time in the agglomeration section was adjusted as l sec. Particle sampling was made by a cascade impactor (MOUDI). The effect of agglomeration system on the reduction ratio of particles below l ㎛ was 42∼45%. Effect of AC frequency on the particle size distribution was found insignificant.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.192-196
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• 2013

Stainless steels (AISI 316L) are carburized by Inductively coupled plasma using $CH_4$ and Ar gas. The ${\gamma}_c$ phase(S-phase) is formed on the surface of stainless steel after carburizing process. The XRD peak of carburized samples is shifted to lower diffracting angle due to lattice expansion. Overall, the thickness of ${\gamma}_c$ phase showed a linear dependence with respect to increasing temperature due to the faster rate of diffusion of carbon. However, at temperatures above 500, the thickness data deviated from the linear trend. It is expected that the deviation was caused from atomic diffusion as well as other reactions that occurred at high temperatures. The interfacial contact resistance (ICR) and corrosion resistance are measured in a simulated proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) environment. The ICR value of the carburized samples decreased from 130 $m{\Omega}cm^2$ (AISI 316L) to about 20 $m{\Omega}cm^2$. The sample carburized at 200 showed the best corrosion current density (6 ${\mu}Acm^{-2}$).

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.104-114
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• 2019

Energy is an essential driving force for modern society. In particular, electricity has become the standard source of power for almost every aspect of life. Electric power runs lights, televisions, cell phones, laptops, etc. However, it has become apparent that the current methods of producing this most valuable commodity combustion of fossil fuels are of limited supply and has become detrimental for the Earth's environment. It is also self-evident, given the fact that these resources are non-renewable, that these sources of energy will eventually run out. One of the most promising alternatives to the burning of fossil fuel in the production of electric power is the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The PEM fuel cell is environmentally friendly and achieves much higher efficiencies than a combustion engine. Water management is an important issue of PEM fuel cell operation. Water is the product of the electrochemical reactions inside fuel cell. If liquid water accumulation becomes excessive in a fuel cell, water columns will clog the gas flow channel. This condition is referred to as flooding. A number of researchers have examined the water removal methods in order to improve the performance. In this paper, a new water removal method that investigates the use of vibro-acoustic methods is presented. Piezo-actuators are devices to generate the flexural wave and are attached at end of a cathode bipolar plate. The "flexural wave" is used to impart energy to resting droplets and thus cause movement of the droplets in the direction of the traveling wave.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.346-347
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• 2012

최근 화석연료 대체 에너지원으로서 자동차용으로 연구 개발 및 응용되고 있는 고분자 전해질 연료전지(PEMFC: Proton exchange membrane fuel cells)에서 분리판(Bipolar Plate)은 스택 전체 무게의 80%, 스택 가격의 60% 정도로 가장 높은 비중을 차지한다. 분리판은 연료와 산화제를 공급해주는 통로 및 전지 운전 중에 생성된 물을 제거하는 통로 역할과 anode, cathode로서 전극 역할을 통해 스택 전력을 형성하는 핵심 기능과 전지와 전지 사이의 지지대 역할을 한다. 따라서 분리판은 전기전도성, 내부식성 및 기계적 특성이 우수해야함은 물론이고, 얇고 가벼우며 가공성이 뛰어나야 한다. 현재 가장 많이 사용되고 있는 금속 분리판 소재 중 스테인리스 스틸은 전기적, 기계적 특성 및 내부식성이 우수한 반면, 가격이 비싸고, 중량이 무거운 단점이 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 DC 반응성 마그네트론 스퍼터링법으로 전기적, 기계적 특성 및 내부 식성이 우수한 TiN, TiCN 박막을 스테인리스에 비해 중량이 1/3, 소재 단가가 1/4인 알루미늄 기판 위에 증착하여 박막 물성을 평가하였다. DC Power는 400 W, 기판과 타겟 사이의 거리는100 mm, 공정 압력은 0.5 Pa로 고정하였고, 3 inch의 지름과 순도 99.95%를 갖는 티타늄 타겟을 사용하였다. 공정 가스는 Ar을 주입하였으며, 질소와 탄소의 공급원으로는 질소($N_2$)와 메탄($CH_4$) 가스를 사용하여 챔버 내 주입혼합가스의 전체 유량을 50 sccm으로 고정시켰다. 증착된 박막의 전기적, 기계적 특성을 측정하였고, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM)을 이용하여 박막의 미세구조 및 표면 상태를 확인하였다. 또한, 내부식 특성을 평가하기 위해 potentiostatic, potentiodynamic 법을 이용하여 박막의 부식저항을 측정하였다. 증착된 TiN 박막의 경우 질소 함량의 증가에 따라 박막 증착속도는 감소하는 경향을 보였다. 이는 타겟 부근의 질소 라디칼 비율이 증가함에 따라 질화반응이 촉진된 것으로 생각된다. 또한, 증착된 TiN과 TiCN 박막은 반응성 질소 유량과 탄소 유량에 따라 각각 다른 미세구조를 가지는 것을 확인하였다. TiN과 TiCN은 NaCl형의 면심입방격자(FCC)로 같은 구조이며, 격자상수가 비슷하여 전율고용되어 TiCN을 형성하고, 탄소와 질소의 비에 따라 전기적 기계적 특성이 달라짐을 확인하였다.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.208-215
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• 2009

PEMFC stack power output is needed to be around 100 kW to meet the requirements of automotive application and scaling-up the active area of the stack cells will allow a higher power. In the case of scaling-up the active area of cells, it is difficult to obtain uniform in-plane internal conditions such as temperature, relative humidity and stoichiometry of the feed gas. These ununiformity with the location in the cell would affect both the performance and durability of the stack, so it is important to understand phenomena in the cell for improving them. In this study, the current density, electrochemical resistance and performance distribution measurement was performed to understand the ununiformity in a single cell using in-situ method; (1) Current Density Distribution (CDD) Device and (2) Segmented Cell Fixture. The influence of location of feed gas on the performance of a single cell was experimentally measured and discussed by using a segmented single cell which was composed of 8 compartments. The correlation between the location and performance in a single cell was discussed by these two tools and it was extended between the local characterization and the durability in a MEA by comparing the used cell with a fresh one. It was also studied in terms of electrochemistry by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.373-373
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• 2009

Relative humidity, membrane conductivity and water activity are critical parameters of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) for high performance and reliability. These parameters are closely related with temperature. Moreover, the ideal values of these parameters are not always identical along the channels. Therefore, the cooling channel design and its operating condition should be well optimized along the all location of the channels. In the present study, we have performed a numerical investigation on the effects of cooling channels on performance of a PEMFC. Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved with the energy equation including heat generated by the electrochemical reactions in the fuel cell. The present numerical model includes the gas diffusion layers (GDL) and serpentine channels for both anode and cathode gas flows, as well as cooling channels. To accurately predict the water transport across the membrane, the distribution of water content in the membrane is calculated by solving a nonlinear differential equation with a nonlinear coefficient, i.e., the water diffusivity which is a function of water content as well as temperature. Main emphasis is placed on the heat transfer between the solid bipolar plate and coolant flow. The present results show that local current density is affected by cooling channels due to the change of the oxygen concentration and the membrane conductivity as well as the water content. It is also found that the relative humidity is influenced by the generated water and the gas temperature and thus it affects the distribution of fuel concentration and the conductivity of the membrane, ultimately fuel cell performance. Unit-cell experiments are also carried out to validate the numerical models. The performance curves between the models and experiments show reasonable results.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.761-769
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• 2007

The configuration of the flow channel on a bipolar plate of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) for efficient reactant supply has great influence on the performance of the fuel cell. Recent demand for higher energy density fuel cells requires an increase in current density at mid voltage range and a decrease in concentration overvoltage at high current density. Therefore, an interdigitated flow channel where mass transfer rate by convection through a gas diffusion layer is greater than the mass transfer by a diffusion mechanism through a gas diffusion layer was recently proposed. This study attempts to analyze the i-V performance, mass transfer and pressure drop in interdigitated flow channels by developing a fully three dimensional simulation model for PEMFC that can deal with anode and cathode flow together. The results indicate that the trade off between performance and pressure loss should be considered for efficient design of flow channels. Although the performance of the fuel cell with interdigitated flow is better than that with conventional flow channels due to a strong mass transfer rate by convection across a gas diffusion layer, there is also an increase in friction due to the strong convection through the porous diffusion layer accompanied by a larger pressure drop along the flow channel. It was evident that the proper selection of the ratio of channel and rib width under counter flow conditions in the fuel cell with interdigitated flow are necessary to optimize the interdigitated flow field design.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2007

The objective of this study is to develop a 3D DMFC model for modeling gas evolution and flow patterns to design optimal flow field for gas management. The gas management on the anode side is an important issue in DMFC design and it greatly influences the performance of the fuel cell. The flow field is tightly related to gas management and distribution. Since experiment for the optimal design of various flow fields is difficult and expensive due to high bipolar plate cost, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is implemented to solve the problem. A two-fluid model was developed for CFD based flow field design. The CFD analysis is used to visualize and to analyze the flow pattern and to reduce the number of experiments. Case studies of typical flow field designs such as serpentine, zigzag, parallel and semi-serpentine type illustrate applications of the model. This study presents simulation results of velocity, pressure, methanol mole fraction and gas content distribution. The suggested model is verified to be useful for the optimal flow field design.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.442-448
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• 2021

Flow field is an important parameter for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance to have an effect on the reactant supply, heat and water diffusion, and contact resistance. In this study, PEMFC performance was investigated using Cu foam flow field at the cathode of 25 cm² unit cell. Polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were performed at different pressure and relative humidity conditions. The Cu foam showed lower cell performance than that of serpentine type due to its high ohmic resistance, but lower activation and concentration loss due to the even reactant distribution of porous structure. Cu foam has the advantage of effective water transport because of its hydrophobicity. However, it showed low membrane hydration at low humidity condition. The metal foam flow field could improve fuel cell performance with a uniform pressure distribution and effective water management, so future research on the properties of metal foam should be conducted to reduce electrical resistance of bipolar plate.