• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.9-16
• /
• 2014

A proton exchange membrane is a core component in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell because the role of proton exchange membrane(PEM)is supplying proton conductivity to fuel cell, a gas separator, and insulating between an anode and cathode. Among various role of PEM, supplying proton conductivity is the most important and the proton conductivity is strongly related the structural evolution of PEM by hydration. Thus a lot of studies have done by past few decade based on small angle X-ray scattering and wide angle X-ray scattering for understanding morphological structure of the PEM. Resulting from these studies, several morphological models of hydrated PEM are proposed. Current sensing atomic force microscopy (CSAFM) can map morphology and conductance on the membrane simultaneously. It can be the best tool for studying heterogenous structured materials such as PEM. In this study, the hydration of the membrane is examined by using CSAFM. Conductance and morphological images are simultaneously mapped under different relative humidity. The conductance images, which are mapped from different relative humidity, are analyzed by statistical methode for understanding ionic channel variation in PEM.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.213-227
• /
• 2020

As unrenewable energy resources have depleted over the years, the demand for renewable energy has increased promoting research for more effective methods to produce renewable energy. The field of fuel cell development, specifically microbial fuel cells (MFCs), has developed because of the dual performance potential of the technology. MFCs convert power by facilitating electrode-reducing organisms such as bacteria (microbes) as a catalyst to produce electrical energy. MFCs use domestic and industrial wastewater as fuel to initiate the process, purifying the wastewater as a result. Proton exchange membranes (PEM) play a crucial role in MFCs as a separator between the anodes and cathodes chambers allowing only protons to effectively pass through. Nafion is the commercially used PEM for MFCs, but there are many setbacks: such as cost, production time, and less effective proton conductivity properties. In this review there will be largely two parts. Firstly, several newly developed PEM are discussed as possible replacements of Nafion. Secondly, MFC based on PEM, blended PEM and composite PEM are summarized.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2008.11b
• /
• pp.2385-2389
• /
• 2008

This is the experimental research that tries to explain a variety of RH is how to affect the cell performance and the flooding phenomenon of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). A value of PH changes to 0%, 50% and 90% as its variation, either stoichiometric flow rate changes to 1.5, 2 and 4. Into the comparison between theoretical and experimental value, this study analyzes that a variety of PH is how 10 affect flooding in the cathode of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The effect of air stoichiometry, air humidity and different flow fields are also discussed in this paper This study has accomplished the measurement of performance as the variety of RH in the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cell, moreover it has recorded the visualization of flooding in the cathode with a high-speed micro camera.

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

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.134-141
• /
• 2010

Small PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell systems do not require humidification and have great commercialization possibilities. However, methods for controlling small PEM fuel cell stacks have not been clearly established. In this paper, a control method for small PEM fuel cell systems using a dual closed loop with a static feedforward structure is defined and realized using a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The fundamental elements that need to be controlled in fuel cell systems include the supply of air and hydrogen, water management inside the stack, and heat management of the stack. For small PEM fuel cell stacks operated without a separate humidifier, fans are essential for air supply, heat management, and water management of the stack. A purge valve discharges surplus water from the stack. The proposed method controls the fan using double control loops to quicken transient response of the fan thereby improving the supply rate of air. Feedback control to compensate for the voltage change in fuel cell stack improves the response characteristics in fuel cell to load variations. The feasibility of proposed method was proved by the experiments with a 60W small PEM fuel cell system and operation of a notebook computer using this system.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.329-336
• /
• 2016

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) is one of the key components of membrane-electrode assembly (MEA), which plays important role in fuel cell performance together with catalysts. It is widely accepted that water channel morphology inside PEMs as a proton pathway significantly affects the PEM performance. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a very useful tool to understand molecular and atomic structures of materials, so that many related researches are currently being studied. In this paper, we summarize the current research trend in MD simulations, present which properties can be characterized, and finally introduce the usefulness of MD simulations to the researchers for proton exchange membranes.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2010.11a
• /
• pp.76.2-76.2
• /
• 2010

The gas diffusion layer is the key component of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell because it directly affect to the mass transport mechanism and dynamic behavior of the cell. In this study, the effects of GDL aging on the transient response of the PEM fuel cell is systematically investigated using current step transient response analysis under different stoichiometric ratios and humidity conditions. With GDLs aged by the accelerated stress test, the effects of hydrophobicity and structural changes due to carbon loss in the GDL on the transient response of PEM fuel cells are determined. The degraded GDLs that had uneven hydrophobicity distributions cause local water flooding inside the GDL and induce lower and unstable voltage responses after load changes.

• Advances in Energy Research
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.253-264
• /
• 2022

This paper deals with the effects of design (active area, current density, membrane conductivity) and operating parameters (temperature, relative humidity) on the performance of hydrogen-fuelled proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The design parameter of a PEM fuel cell with the active area of the single cell considered in this study is 25 cm² (5 × 5). The operating voltage and current density of the fuel cell were 0.7 V and 0.5 A/cm² respectively. The variations of activation voltage, ohmic voltage, and concentration voltage with respect to current density are analyzed in detail. The membrane conductivity with variable relative humidity is also analyzed. The results show that the maximum activation overpotential of the fuel cell was 0.4358 V at 0.21 A/cm² due to slow reaction kinetics. The calculated ohmic and concentrated overpotential in the fuel cell was 0.01395 V at 0.76 A/cm² and 0.027 V at 1.46 A/cm² respectively.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2008.10a
• /
• pp.6-9
• /
• 2008

The efficiency and life time of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system is critically changed with its humidity which should be maintained properly during dynamic operation. Membrane humidifier is required to regulate proper humidity level for the design point of the PEMFC system. In this study, we presented the performance of the cylindrical membrane humidifier which is operated as water-to-gas. Dry air pressure, liquid water flow temperature, and air flow rate were chosen as the operating parameters. Humidity level is expressed with dew point.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2006.05a
• /
• pp.553-554
• /
• 2006

This paper presents the effects of different operating parameters on the performance of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell by a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The effects of different operating parameters on the performance of PEM fuel cell studied using pure hydrogen on the anode side and air on the cathode side. The various parameters are temperatures, pressures, humidification of the gas steams and various combinations of these parameters. In addition, geometrical and material parameters such as the gas diffusion layer (GDL) thickness and porosity as well as the ratio between the channel width and the land area were investigated.