• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.169-174
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• 2014

The effect of varying amounts of graphite and $TiB_2$ on the electrical conductivity of composite bipolar plates was systematically studied. In this study, Titanium diboride ($TiB_2$) which has a high electrical conductivity, was selected as a filler and a additive material instead of conventional graphite. For proper distribution of the filler and matrix materials, ball milling using alumina balls was conducted for 1h, and then the hot press method was applied for the preparation of composite samples. The results showed a rapid increase in the electrical conductivity of composite bipolar plates at the critical filler content. However, $TiB_2$ and graphite composite bipolar plates showed similar increases in the electrical conductivity even though $TiB_2$ has a higher electrical conductivity than graphite. In addition, it was also found that a small addition of $TiB_2$ to graphite filler could be very effective for increasing the electrical conductivity and flexural strength of the composite bipolar plate.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.28-38
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• 2014

The organic-inorganic composite membrane in polymer exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have several fascinating technological advantages such as a proton conductivity, thermal stability and mechanical properties. As the inorganic filler, silicon carbide (SiC) fiber have been used in various fields due to its unique properties such as thermal stability, conductivity, and tensile strength. In this study, composite membrane was successfully fabricated by modified-silicon carbide fiber. Modified process, as a novel process in SiC, takes reaction by phosphoric acid after oxidation process (generated homogeniusly $SiO_2$ layer on SiC fiber). The mechanical property which was conducted by tensile test of the 5wt% modified-$SiO_2@SiCf$ composite membrane was better than that of Aquivion casting membrane as well as ion cxchange capacity(IEC) and proton conductivity. In addition, the single cell performance was observed that the 5wt% modified-$SiO_2@SiCf$ composite membrane was approximately $0.2A/cm^2$ higher than that of a Aquivion casting electrolyte membrane and electrochemical impedance was improved with the charge transfer resistance and membrane resistance.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.413-421
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• 2004

Sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (SPPESK) membranes and sol-gel derived SPPESK/silica hybrid membranes have been investigated as potential polymer electrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications. In comparison with the SPPESK membrane, the SPPESK/silica membranes exhibited higher water content, improved proton conductivity, and lower methanol permeability. Notably, the silica embedded in the membrane acted as a material for reducing the fraction of free water and as a barrier for methanol transport through the membrane. From the results of proton conductivity and methanol permeability studies, we suggest that the fractions of bound and free water should be optimized to obtain desirable proton conductivities and methanol permeabilities. The highly sulfonated PPESK hybrid membrane (HSP-Si) displayed higher proton conductivity (3.42 ${\times}$ 10$^2$ S/cm) and lower methanol permeability (4.15 ${\times}$ 10$\^$7/ $\textrm{cm}^2$/s) than those of Nafion 117 (2.54 ${\times}$ 10$^2$ S/cm; 2.36 ${\times}$ 10$\^$6/ $\textrm{cm}^2$/s, respectively) at 30$^{\circ}C$. This characteristic of the SPPESK/silica membranes is desirable for future applications related to DMFCs.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.202-207
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• 2023

In the case of driving water electrolysis by receiving surplus electricity from solar and wind power generation, operation and stopping must be repeated according to weather fluctuations. When the PEMWE(Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolysis) is driven and stopped, the PEM fuel cell is in the same state as the PEM fuel cell due to the residual hydrogen and oxygen, and the high potential of the water electrolysis formed during operation is highly likely to cause degradation of the electrode and membrane even during stopping. In this study, in order to check how much degradation of the electrode and membrane progresses during the repeated driving/shutdown process of PEM water electrolysis, the performance decrease was measured by changing the number of driving/shutdown for 144 hours. Changes in electrode catalyst active area, hydrogen permeability and fluorine emision rate of membranes were analyzed to measure changes in the properties of electrodes and polymer membranes. Overall, the PEMWE performance decreased as the number of stops increased. When stopped 5 times in 144 hours, the IrO_x catalyst activity decreased by more than 30%, and the hydrogen permeability increased by 80%, confirming that both the electrode and the membrane were deteriorated.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.124.2-124.2
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• 2010

Generally, a coolant of the nuclear power plant is manufactured by electrolyzing the sea water near the plant for making the sodium hypochlorite(NaOCl), which is used for sterilizing the bacteria and the shellfishes sticking to the drains or the pumps at the outlet of the cooling system due to $8-10^{\circ}C$ warmer temperature than the inlet sea water. During manufacturing the sodium hypochlorite, the hydrogen with the high purity is also produced at the anode side of the electrolyzer. This paper describes a novel power plant system combined with the polymer electrolyte membrane(PEM) fuel cell, the wasted hydrogen from the sea water electrolyzer and the wasted heat of the nuclear power plant. The present status over the exhausted hydrogen at twenty nuclear power plants in Korea was investigated in this study, from which an available power generation is estimated. Furthermore, the economic feasibility of the PEM fuel cell power plant is also evaluated by a current regulations over the power production and exchange using a renewable energy shown in Korea Power Exchange(KRX).

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.131-138
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• 2014

Highly conductive bipolar plate for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was prepared using phenol novolac-type epoxy/graphite powder (GP)/carbon fiber filament (CFF) composite, and a rubber-modified epoxy resin was introduced in order to give elasticity to the bipolar plate graphite fiber (GF) was incorporated in order to improve electrical conductivity. To find out the cure condition of the mixture of novolac-type and rubber-modified epoxies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was carried out and their data were introduced to Kissinger equation. And tensile and flexural tests were carried out using universal testing machine (UTM) and the surface morphology of the fractured specimen and the interfacial bonding between epoxy matrix and CFF or GF were observed by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

• 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.

• 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.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.597-601
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• 2006

The degradation of the Nafion membrane by oxygen radical (OH, $HO_2$) was investigated in Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Nafion membrane was degraded in Fenton solution consisted with hydrogen peroxide (10-30％) and ferrous ion (1-4 ppm) at $80^{\circ}C$. After degradation in Fenton solution, C-F, S-O and C-O chemical bonds of membrane were broken by oxygen radical attack. Breaking of C-F bond reduced the mechanical strength of Nafion membrane, and hence induced pinholes, resulting in increase of $H_2$ crossover through the membrane. Decomposition of S-O and C-O bonds decreased the ion exchange capacity of the electrolyte membrane. The performance of unit cell composed the membrane, which was degraded in 30％ $H_2O_2$ with 4ppm $Fe^{2+}$ solution for 48 hr, was about half times as low as one with normal membrane.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.471-480
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• 2017

A proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) operated at $150^{\circ}C$ was evaluated by a controlling different amount of phosphoric acid (PA) to a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) without humidification of the cells. The effects on MEA performance of the amount of PA in the cathode are investigated. The PA content in the cathodes was optimized for higher catalyst utilization. The highest value of the active electrochemical area is achieved with the optimum amount of PA in the cathode confirmed by in-situ cyclic voltammetry. The current density-voltage experiments (I-V curve) also shows a transient response of cell voltage affected by the amount of PA in the electrodes. Furthermore, this information was compared with the production variables such as hot pressing and vacuum drying to investigate those effect to the electrochemical performances.