• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.161-170
• /
• 2012

There are many factors to consider when attempting to improve the efficiency of fuel cell operation, such as the operation temperature, humidity, stoichiometry, operation pressure, geometric features, etc. In this paper, the effects of the operation pressure were investigated to find the current density and water saturation behavior on a cross section designated by the design geometry. A two-dimensional geometric model was established with a gas channel that can provide $H_2$ to the anode and $O_2$ and water vapor to the cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL). The results from this numerical modeling revealed that higher operation pressures would produce a higher current density than lower ones, and the water saturation behavior was different at operation pressures of 2 atm and 3 atm in the cathode GDL. In particular, the water saturation ratios are higher directly below the collector than in other areas. In addition, this paper presents the dependence of the velocity behavior in the cathode on pressure changes, and the velocity fluctuations through the GDL are higher in the output area than in inlet area. This conclusion will be utilized to design more efficient fuel cell modeling of real fuel cell operation.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.283-289
• /
• 2010

A two-dimensional isothermal model has been employed for numerical simulations of a high temperature hydrogen fuel cell with proton exchange membrane. The model is validated with existing experimental data and used for examination on the effects of various operating conditions on the fuel cell performance. The present numerical results show that the cell performance increases with increasing exchange current density, ion conductivity of the membrane, inlet gas flow rate as well as operating pressure. Also, higher porosity of gas diffusion layer (GDL) results in higher cell performance due to enhancement of the diffusion through the GDL, where the cathode GDL porosity more influences on the performance as compared with the anode one.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2010.11a
• /
• pp.198.1-198.1
• /
• 2010

고분자전해질 연료전지(PEMFC)의 핵심부품인 스택의 MEA는 전극과 멤브레인 전해질, GDL(Gas Diffusion Layer)로 구성되며, 전극은 Anoth극과 Cathod극으로 나뉘어 각각의 전극 특성에 적합한 전극촉매를 적용하게 된다. Anoth극과 Cathod극은 탄소 지지체 위에 원하는 사양의 희유금속이 도포되어 존재하는데 이들 희유금속은 그 희귀성으로 인해 사용 후 반드시 재사용되어야 한다. 사용된 전극에서의 희유금속 회수는 산침출, 불순물제거, 추출, 탈거 공정으로 이루어지며, 산침출 시 산화제로 사용된 NaOCl로 인한 침출용액 내의 Na+ 이온의 증가는 불순물제거 공정에 의해 반드시 제거되어야 한다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 CCG 방식으로 전극촉매를 GDL에 코팅한 MEA로부터 백금족 희유금속을 회수 시 MEA에 포함되어 있는 소량의 불순물을 제거하고자 한다.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2009.11a
• /
• pp.93-96
• /
• 2009

In the cathode channel of a PEM fuel cell, the local concentration of oxygen near the gas diffusion layer (GDL) decreases in streamwise direction due to chemical reactions, which degrades the efficiency of the oxygen consumption and overall fuel cell efficiency. We numerically studied the influence of the swirling flow generated by a slanted groove mixer (SGM) on the concentration distribution of oxygen. We found that the swirling flow can increase the concentration of oxygen near the GDL, and subsequently improves the oxygen consumption rate.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2009.06a
• /
• pp.374-377
• /
• 2009

The operating temperature of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) usually has to be limited under $100^{\circ}C$ to maintain the proper ionic conductivity. Therefore, the only product from reaction, water, is in the liquid phase. Two-phase flow makes the flow phenomenon in the channel difficult to understand and predict. Water blocking in the PEMFC channel or the pore of Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL), called flooding, is known as the main effect of PEMFC degradation. To analyze two-phase flow, the PEMFC with transparent acrylic plate was used. Two-phase flow patterns were observed by varying the current density. When the PEMFC is mounted horizontally, water in the cathode is mainly transported on the interface between the channel and GDL.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2006.11a
• /
• pp.320-323
• /
• 2006

A numerical study is made of a manifold and bipolar plate in polymer electrolyte fuel cells, the aim of the present study is to describe the characteristics of flow pattern In manifold and bipolar plate. The present work shows that the flow pattern in the bipolar plate is affected by the penetration flow through GDL characterized by clamping pressure and GDL intrusion in to a channel area. Manifold geometry also affects the flow distribution. The recirculation flow by bent duct destroy even distribution In manifold, the present work shows that corner rounding can improve the manifold performance.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2009.11a
• /
• pp.254-256
• /
• 2009

The performances of proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis depend on many factors such as materials, geometries, fabrication methods, operating conditions, and so forth. The fabrication method is concerned, membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) are a most important part to show different performances by different fabrication methods. The performance change of PEM water electrolysis was experimentally measured according to the fabrication differences of the anode electrodes. One point of view is the catalyst intrusion rate to the anode gas diffusion layer (GDL), and the other point of view is the catalyst loading distribution in depth of the anode GDL. Results show that the performances of MEA with deep intrusion of the catalysts are better in the range of low current densities but worse at higher current densities. The catalyst loading distribution does not affect significantly to the performance of PEM water electrolyser.

• New & Renewable Energy
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.75-78
• /
• 2009

The performances of proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis depend on many factors such as materials, geometries, fabrication methods, operating conditions, and so forth. The fabrication method is concerned, membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) are a most important part to show different performances by different fabrication methods. The performance change of PEM water electrolysis was experimentally measured according to the fabrication differences of the anode electrodes. One point of view is the catalyst intrusion rate to the anode gas diffusion layer (GDL), and the other point of view is the catalyst loading distribution in depth of the anode GDL. Results show that the performances of MEA with deep intrusion of the catalysts are better in the range of low current densities but worse at higher current densities. The catalyst loading distribution does not affect significantly to the performance of PEM water electrolyser.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.40-45
• /
• 2024

In this research, we introduce a novel approach that employs a 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) model to predict the permeability of Gas Diffusion Layers (GDLs). For training the model, we create an artificial dataset of GDL representative volume elements (RVEs) by extracting morphological characteristics from actual GDL images obtained through X-ray tomography. These morphological attributes involve statistical distributions of porosity, fiber orientation, and diameter. Subsequently, a permeability analysis using the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is conducted on a collection of 10,800 RVEs. The 3D CNN model, trained on this artificial dataset, well predicts the permeability of actual GDLs.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.40 no.11
• /
• pp.689-695
• /
• 2016

The performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is strongly related to the water flow and accumulation in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and catalyst layer. Understanding the behavior of fluid from the characteristics of the media is crucial for the improvement of the performance and design of the GDL. In this paper, a numerical method is proposed to calculate the design parameters of the GDL, i.e., permeability, tortuosity, and effective diffusivity. The fluid flow in a channel filled with randomly packed hard spheres is simulated to validate the method. The flow simulation was performed by lattice Boltzmann method with bounce back condition for the solid volume fraction in the porous media, with different values of porosities. Permeability, which affects the flow, was calculated from the average pressure drop and the velocity in the porous media. Tortuosity, calculated by the ratio the average path length of the randomly injected massless particles to the thickness of the porous media, and the resultant effective diffusivity were in good agreement with the theoretical model. The suggested method can be used to calculate the parameters of real GDL accurately without any modification.