• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.386-392
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• 2013

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell stacks are constructed by stacking several to hundreds of unit cells depending on their power outputs required. Fuel and oxidant are distributed to each cell of a stack through so-called manifolds during its operation. In designing a stack, if the manifold sizes are too small, the fuel and oxidant would be maldistributed among the cells. On the contrary, the volume of the stack would be too large if the manifolds are oversized. In this study, we present a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with a geometrically simplified flow-field to optimize the size of the manifolds of a stack. The flow-field of the stack was simplified as a straight channel filled with porous media to reduce the number of computational meshes required for CFD simulations. Using the CFD model, we determined the size of the oxidant manifold of a 30 kW-class PEM fuel cell stack that comprises 99 cells. The stack with the optimal manifold size showed a quite uniform distribution of the cell voltages across the entire cells.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.637-641
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• 2011

Ocean structure's power system is difficult to construct a stand-alone power system. Therefore, to manage effectively power system of ocean structure, it's important to construct power system which is connected fuel-cell with hybrid power system. This paper designs power system of fuel-cell for the sea based on hydrogen generation mechanism, calculation of using electric power, etc. Designed power system is analysed & simulated using LabVIEW program. And, this paper suggests design method of power system for ocean structure based on analysed & simulated results.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.247-250
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• 2009

This study considers the feasibility of using the low cost assembled separator. The graphite plate has been widely used as the separator in the field of PEMFCs(Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell) industry because of its excellent material properties such as good corrosion resistance, good electrical conductance and so on. However, there are some problems for the commercialization due to its poor cost effectiveness for the large volume manufacturing and lack of mechanical strength. From this respect, this study has focused on the manufacturing technology in order to reduce the price for the commercialization of separator. This study also shows that the assembled separator of the suggested structure, which is composed of grafoil and PC(PolyCarbonate) materials, could be manufactured at low cost enough for the mass production. The flow fields produced by cutting foils and the base plates of the separators were simply made by mechanical work.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.2 no.4 s.8
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• pp.64-69
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• 2006

There is a worldwide interest in the development and commercialization of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells [PEMFCs] for vehicular and stationary applications. One of the major objectives is the reduction of loaded electrode materials, which is comprise of the Pt-based noble metals. In this paper, a novel chemical strategy is described for the preparation and characterization of carbon-supported and surface-alloys, which were prepared by using a successive reduction process. After preparing Au colloid nanoparticles, the supporting of Au colloid nanoparticles occurred spontaneously in the carbon black-dispersed aqueous solution. Then nano-scaled active materials were formed on the surface of carbon-supported Au nanoparticles. The structural and electrochemical analyses indicate that the active materials were deposited on the surface of Au nanoparticles selectively and that an alloying process occurred during the successive reducing process. The carbon-supported & surface-alloys showed the higher electrocatalytic activity than those of the particle-alloys and commercial one [Johnson-Matthey] for the reaction of methanol and formic acid oxidation. The increased electrocatalytic activity might be attributed to the effective surface structure of surface-alloys, which have a high utilization of active materials for the surface reaction of electrode.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.89.2-89.2
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• 2011

In automotive applicatons or water vehicles, the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) stack is keep moving while their operation. Especially the inclination environment can take a effect to fuel cell stack perfromance, because this condition can cause a bad effect to water exhaust of fuel cell stack. In this study, a large scale stack(over 100kW power) is inclined upto 30 degree in lengthwise and crosswise using stack lift equipment. And the stack is operated in 10~100% load. No significant change has appeared in crosswise inclined condition and lenthwise low angle. But in lenthwise large angle tilting condition, the fuel cell performance has significantly decreased. And this performance decrease is aggravated in low load. An active water exhaust device is applied to the stack to prevent the performance decrease. And in lenthwise large angle tilting condition, this device cause a good effect to fuel cell stack performance.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 2011

PEMFC (polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell) is device that generates electricity from hydrogen. It is one of the subjects related to renewable energy and various research has been conducted on the PEMFC. PEMFC has low operating temperature and high efficiency among fuel cells, and is given attention as means for automobile and domestic use. Analysis of flow field pattern in supplying hydrogen and oxygen is part of the research to increase PEMFC efficiency. In this study, separation plate currently used in PEMFC is transformed to wave shape and mass transfer characteristics in the channel is examined through numerical and experimental analysis. Wave shape separation plate yielded 18% increase of efficiency compared to separation plate used in normal channel. And improvements in mass transfer characteristics were verified.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.201-208
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• 2014

A Pt catalyst ($Pt/G_xC_y$) supported on the hybrid supporting materials composed of graphene oxide (GO) and carbon black (C) was fabricated using polyol method to improve the durability of electrocatalysts. The electrochemical performances measured by cyclic voltammograms using three-electrode system revealed that the properly designed $Pt/G_xC_y$ catalyst exhibited higher durability than that of Pt/C catalyst without sacrificing an electrocatalytic acivity. In the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performed in acid solution with the rotating disk electrode, the $Pt/G_xC_y$ catalyst showed greater mass and area-specific activity than those of Pt/C catalyst.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.838-843
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• 2008

Cause of struggling to escape from dependency of fossil fuels, the fuel cell and the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) draw attention in the all of the world. Especially, the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) systems have been anticipated for next generation's energy supplying system, and we can predict the PHEV will enlarge the market share in the next few years to reduce not only the air pollution in the metropolis but the fuel-expenses of commuters. This paper presents simulation results about the strategy of smart charging system for PHEV in the residential house which has 1 kW PEMFC cogeneration system. The smart charging system has a function of recommending the best time to charge the battery of PHEV by the lowest energy cost. The simulated energy cost for charging the battery based on the electricity demand data pattern in the house. The house which floor area is $132\;m^2$ (40 pyeong.). In these conditions, the annual gasoline, electricity, and total energy cost to fuel the PHEV versus Conventional Vehicle (CV) have been simulated in terms of cars' average life span in Korea.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.1577-1582
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• 2010

A 20 wt % Pt/C is fabricated and characterized for use as the cathode catalyst in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). By using the polyol method, the fabrication process is optimized by modifying the carbon addition sequence and precursor mixing conditions. The crystallographic structure, particle size, dispersion, and activity toward oxygen reduction of the as-prepared catalysts are compared with those of commercial Pt/C catalysts. The most effective catalyst is obtained by ultrasonic treatment of ethylene glycol-carbon mixture and immediate mixing of this mixture with a Pt precursor at the beginning of the synthesis. The catalyst exhibits very uniform particle size distribution without agglomeration. The mass activities of the as-prepared catalyst are 13.4 mA/$mg_{Pt}$ and 51.0 mA/$mg_{Pt}$ at 0.9 V and 0.85 V, respectively, which are about 1.7 times higher than those of commercial catalysts.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.183-186
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• 2003

In a PEM fuel cell electrode, backing layer has tremendous impact on electrode performance. The backing layer provides structural support for the porous electrode, distributes the reactants to the other layers and acts as a current collector. It has major influence on the water management in a PEM fuel cell. Selection of suitable backing layer material for the fabrication of electrode is thus very important to achieve high performance. In this paper we have compared the performance of PEM fuel cell electrodes fabricated using carbon paper EC-TPI-060T, carbon cloth EC-CCI-060T, (ElectroChem Inc.USA) and Carbon cloth from Textron, USA (CPW 003 grade). Mass transport problem was observed under non-pressurized condition, at high current densities, in the caie of EC-CC1-060T carbon cloth electrode (at $50^{\circ}C$), due to its higher thickness. The performance of carbon paper electrode was higher than EC-CCI-060T carbon cloth electrode. The performance of Textron carbon cloth was comparable to EC-TPI -060T carbon paper.