• 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 hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.481-491
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• 2017

In this study, we developed 300 W lightweight DMFC system for charging secondary battery in small unit military operation. In order to reduce the volumetric shape and weight of the system considering the environment of the individual soldier's, the arranging of system components has been optimized. A metal bipolar plates made of STS-470FC have been implemented to the DMFC stack to meet the weight demand of the system. As a result of the performance test of the stack, the target value was satisfied by outputting 561 W exceeding 24% of the stack output 450 W required to output 300 W required for the entire system. Moreover, 2,655 hours exceeding 1,000 hours also has been satisfied. To ensure good robustness of the metallic bipolar plate based DMFC stack, finite element method based simulations are conducted using a commercial ANSYS Fluent software.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.288-294
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• 2011

Simultaneous Ni and C codeposition by electrolysis was investigated with the aim of obtaining better corrosion resistivity and surface conductivity of a metallic bipolar plate for application in fuel cells and redox flow batteries. The carbon content in the Ni-C composite plate fell in a range of 9.2~26.2 at.% as the amount of carbon in the Ni Watt bath and the roughness of the composite were increased. The Ni-C composite with more than 21.6 at.% C content did not show uniformly dispersed carbon. It also displayed micro-sized defects such as cracks and crevices, which result in pitting or crevice corrosion. The corrosion resistance of the Ni-C composite in sulfuric acid is similar with that of pure Ni. Electrochemical test results such as passivation were not satisfactory; however, the Ni-C composite still displayed less than $10^{-4}$ $A/cm^2$ passivation current density. Passivation by an anodizing technique could yield better corrosion resistance in the Ni-C composite, approaching that of pure Ni plating. Surface resistivity of pure Ni after passivation was increased by about 8% compared to pure Ni. On the other hand, the surface resistivity of the Ni-C composite with 13 at.% C content was increased by only 1%. It can be confirmed that the metal plate electrodeposited Ni-C composite can be applied as a bipolar plate for fuel cells and redox flow batteries.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2011

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have many attractive features for widespread applications in generation systems. Recently, stainless steels have attractive materials for metallic bipolar plate because metallic bipolar plates have many benefits compared to others such as graphite and composite bipolar plates. SOFC operates on high temperature of about $800{\sim}1000^{\circ}C$ than other fuel cell systems. Thus, many studies have attempted to reduced the operation temperature of SOFC to about $600{\sim}800^{\circ}C$, which is the intermediate temperature (IT) of SOFC. Low cost and high-temperature corrosion resistance are very important for the practical applications of SOFC in various industries. In this study, two specimens, 304 and 430 stainless steels with and without different pre-surface treatments on the surface were investigated. And, specimens were exposed at high temperature in the box furnace under oxidation atmosphere of $800^{\circ}C$. Oxidation behavior have been investigated with the materials exposed at different times (100 hrs and 400 hrs) by SEM, EDS and XRD. By increasing exposure time, the amount of metal oxide increased in the order like; STS304 < STS430 and As-received < As-polished < Sand-blast specimens.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.41-44
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• 2008

본 연구에서는 고분자 전해질 연료전지용 금속분리판의 전기화학적 부식을 방지하기 위한 금속 첨가 DLC(Diamond-like-carbon) 표면처리 방법을 개발하였으며, stainless steel 304를 모재로 하여 텅스텐 첨가 DLC, 티타늄 첨가 DLC, 몰리브덴 첨가 DLC 금속분리판을 제작하였다. 제작된 금속분리판을 이용하여 내구성 평가,전기화학적 부식 특성, 성능평가 및 접촉저항 특성 등을 평가하였다. 전기화학적 부식특성의 경우 각각의 분리판에 대해 6.69, 1.2, 1.0 ${\mu}A/cm^2$로 모재인 STS 304의 25 ${\mu}A/cm^2$의 부식전류밀도에 비해 우수한 부식특성을 보였다. 또한 초기 성능에서 몰리브덴 첨가 DLC 분리판의 경우 300 mA/$cm^2$에서 0.757 V로 측정되었으며, 이는 graphite 분리판 측정 결과인 0.758 V와 유사한 성능을 보였다. 또한 내구성 평가에서 초기 성능 대비 성능 감소율이 10% 감소하는데 소요된 시간은 graphite 분리판의 경우 2,000시간으로 나타났으며, 몰리브덴 첨가 DLC 분리판의 경우 1,700시간으로 측정되었다. 1,500시간 까지의 성능 감소율은 grphite,텅스텐 첨가DLC,티타늄 첨가DLC, 몰리브덴 첨가 DLC 분리판 순으로 각각에 대해 37.7, 60.3, 92.8, 45.7 ${\mu}V$/hr로 나타났다.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.499-505
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• 2012

The fuel cell is a very promising power generation system combining the benefits of extremely low emissions, high efficiency, ease of maintenance and durability. In order to promote the commercialization of fuel cells, a flexible forming process, in which a hyper-elastic rubber is adopted as a medium to transmit forming pressure, is suggested as an efficient and cost effective manufacturing method for fuel cell bipolar plates. In this study, the ability of this flexible forming process to produce the micro channel arrays on metallic bipolar plates was first demonstrated experimentally. Then, a finite element (FE) model was built and validated through comparisons between simulated and experimental results. The effects of key process parameters on the forming performance such as applied load and punch velocity were investigated. As a result, appropriate process parameter values allowing high dimensional accuracy without failure were suggested.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.187-193
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• 2010

Chromium nitride (CrN) samples with two different layer structures (multilayer and single layer) were coated on bipolar plates of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) using the reactive sputtering method. The effects with respect to layer structure on corrosion resistance and overall cell performance were investigated. A continuous and thin chromium nitride layer ($Cr_{0.48}\;N_{0.52}$) was formed on the surface of the SUS 316L when the nitrogen flow rate was 10 sccm. The electrochemical stability of the coated layers was examined using the potentiodynamic and potentiostatic methods in the simulated corrosive circumstances of the PEMFC under $80^{\circ}C$. Interfacial contact resistance (ICR) between the CrN coated sample and the gas diffusion layer was measured by using Wang's method. A single cell performance test was also conducted. The test results showed that CrN coated SUS316L with multilayer structure had excellent corrosion resistance compared to single layer structures and single cell performance results with $25\;cm^2$ in effective area also showed the same tendency. The difference of the electrochemical properties between the single and multilayer samples was attributed to the Cr interlayer layer, which improved the corrosion resistance. Because the coating layer was damaged by pinholes, the Cr layer prevented the penetration of corrosive media into the substrate. Therefore, the CrN with a multilayer structure is an effective coating method to increase the corrosion resistance and to decrease the ICR for metallic bipolar plates in PEMFC.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.341-347
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• 2012

The metallic bipolar plates of the molten carbonate fuel cell(MCFC) are composed of shielded slot plates and a center-plate. The shielded slot plates support the center-plate and the membrane electrode assembly. Compressive forces are applied to the shielded slot plate in order to increase the contact area between shielded slot plates and the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). In the design of the shielded slot plate, it is necessary to predict the mechanical behavior of the shielded slot plate. The shielded slot plates are manufactured by a three-stage forming process consisting of slitting, preforming and the final forming process. The mechanical behavior of the shielded slot plate is largely affected by the forming process. In this study, the simulation of the three-stage forming process was used to predict the mechanical behavior of the shielded slot plate. The present simulation approach showed good agreements with the experimental results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.166-166
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• 2011

연료전지 핵심 부품 가운데 하나인 분리판(Bipolar plate)는 막전극체(MEA), 기체확산층(GDL)과 함께 발생한 전류의 수집 및 전달, 반응 가스의 수송, 반응/생성물의 수송 및 제거, 반응열 제거 등을 위한 냉각수 전달 등의 다양한 역할을 담당한다. 이러한 역할을 위하여 분리판은 우수한 전기전도성, 열전도성, 화학적 안정성이 요구되어 진다. 기존의 연료전지용 분리판은 흑연계 소재 및 수지와 흑연을 혼합한 복합 흑연 재료를 통해 제조하여 요구 되어지는 물성을 만족시켜 왔으나 흑연계 분리판의 경우 강도 및 가스 밀폐성 측면에서 낮은 특성을 보이며 특히 고가의 제조 공정 비용과 낮은 양산성으로 인하여 자동차 연료전지 상용화에 수많은 해결 과제를 안고 있었다. 흑연계 분리판의 이러한 문제점을 대체하기 위한 연구로 최근 금속계 분리판의 적용 및 개발이 활발하게 진행되고 있다. 특히 금속계 분리판은 양산 제조 공정이 적용 가능하여 대량생산이 가능하며 자동차 연료전지 스택의 경량화 및 박판화가 가능하다는 장점을 가지고 있다. 그러나, 박판의 스테인리스강을 소재로 적용한 금속분리판의 양산을 위하여 반드시 선행되어야 할 연구가 바로 금형 코팅 연구이다. 일반 자동차 생산 금형을 평균 약 50만타로 예측한다면 연료전지 금속계 분리판 성형 금형의 현재 수명은 약 10만타로 추정 가능하다. 이러한 원인은 고하중의 프레스 사용과 정밀 금형으로 인한 극한 공정 조건으로 야기된 결과이며 문제 해결을 위하여 성형 금형에 PVD 코팅 적용 연구를 진행하였다. 성형 금형의 PVD 코팅 적용을 통하여 금형 교체 주기 감소를 통한 생산 원가 절감 및 이형성 개선을 통한 성형성 확보를 목표로 본 연구를 진행하였다.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.390-395
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• 2013

Nanocrystalline CrN films were deposited on Si (100) substrates by means of asymmetric pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering. We investigated the growth behavior, corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of CrN films with a change in the duty cycle and pulse frequency. The grain size of the CrN films decreased from 25.4 nm to 11.2 nm upon a decrease in the duty cycle. The corrosion potentials for the CrN films by DC sputtering was approximately - 0.6 V, and it increased to - 0.3 V in the CrN films which underwent pulsed sputtering. The nanoindentation hardness of the CrN films also increased with a decrease in the duty cycle. This enhancement of the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of pulsed sputtered CrN films could be attributed to the densification and surface smoothness of the microstructure of the films.