• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.527-535
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• 2017

Heat management is one of the most critical issues in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) installed inside the fuel cell power pack of a fuel cell battery hybrid UPS. If the heat generated by the chemical reaction in the fuel cell is not rapidly removed, the durability and performance of the fuel cell may be affected, which may shorten its lifetime. Therefore, the objective of this study is to select and propose a proper cooling method for the fuel cells used in the fuel cell power pack of a UPS. In order to find the most appropriate cooling method, the various design factors affecting the cooling performance were studied. The numerical analysis was performed by a commercial program, i.e., COMSOL Multiphysics. Firstly, the surface temperature of the 1 kW class fuel cell stack with the cooling fans placed at the top was compared with the one with the cooling fans placed at the bottom. Various rotation speeds of the cooling fan, viz. 2,500, 3,000, 3,500, and 4,000 RPM, were tested to determine the proper cooling fan speed. In addition, the influence of the inhaled air flow rate was investigated by changing the porous area of the grille, which is the entrance of the air flowing from the outside to the inside of the power pack. As a result, it was found that for the operating conditions of the 1 kW class PEMFC to be acceptable, the cooling fan was required to have a minimum rotating speed of 3500 RPM to maintain the fuel cell surface temperature within an acceptable range. The results of this study can be effectively applied to the development of thermal management technology for the fuel cells inside the fuel cell power pack of a UPS.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.673-681
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• 2023

Hydrocarbon-based polymer membranes to replace perfluorinated polymer membranes are being continuously researched. However, hydrocarbon-based membranes have a problem in that they are less durable than fluorine-based membranes. In this study, we sought to compare the annealing effect to improve the durability of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK). After membranes formation, thermogravimetric analysis and tensile strength were measured to compare changes in membranes properties due to annealing. After manufacturing the membrane and electrode assembly (MEA), the initial performance and chemical durability was compared with unit cell operation. During the 24-hour annealing process, the strength increased due to the increase in-S-O-S-crosslinking, and the sulfonic acid group decreased, leading to a decrease in I-V performance. By annealing, the hydrogen permeability was reduced to less than 1/10 of that of the nafion membrane, and as a result, open circuit voltage (OCV) and durability was improved. The SPEEK membranes annealed for 24 hours showed higher durability than the nafion 211 membranes of the same thickness.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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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.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.316-319
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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 deposition 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 at toying 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.

• 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.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.283-291
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• 2011

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) use the bipolar plate of various materials between electrolyte and contact electrode for the stable hydrogen ion exchange activation. The bipolar plate of various materials has representatively graphite and stainless steel. Specially, stainless steels have advantage for low cost and high product rate. In this study, SUS 316 was effectively coated with 600 nm thick F-doped tin oxide (SnOx:F) by electron cyclotron resonance-metal organic chemical vapor deposition and investigated in simulated fuel cell bipolar plates. The results showed that an F-doped tin oxide (SnOx:F) coating enhanced the corrosion resistance of the alloys in fuel cell bipolar plates, though the substrate steel has a significant influence on the behavior of the coating. Coating SUS 316 for fuel cell bipolar plates steel further improved the already excellent corrosion resistance of this material. After coating, the increased ICR values of the coated steels compared to those of the fresh steels. The SnOx:F coating seems to add an additional resistance to the native air-formed film on these stainless steels.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.171-177
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• 2011

PVA/GLA/$Al_2O_3{\cdot}3SiO_2$ composite membranes were prepared through the reaction polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with glutaraldehyde (GLA) as a cross-linking agent and subsequently adding aluminum silicate ($Al_2O_3{\cdot}3SiO_2$) as an inorganic material. The water uptake decreased as the GDL contents increased due to cross-linking process of PVA with GDL, and the ion conductivity increased as the $Al_2O_3{\cdot}3SiO_2$ contents increased in PVA/GLA/$Al_2O_3{\cdot}3SiO_2$ composite membranes. The cross-linking structure of the polymers was confirmed using IR and the tendency of water uptake. The thermal analysis of the copolymers was carried out by TGA. TGA results showed that PVA/GLA composite membrane were more heat-resistant than PVA due to the cross-linking of PVA, and the heat stability of the composite membranes improved much more as the concentration of $Al_2O_3{\cdot}3SiO_2$ increased. Membranes prepared in this study seem to be have thermal stability and increase a tendency of the cation conductivity up to $60^{\circ}C$, but to be exhibit lower performance tendency at over $90^{\circ}C$. Therefore, it is necessary to do more aggressive effort to explore the possibility of application as an ion-conductive composite electrolyte.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2010

A solid oxide fuel cells(SOFC) is a clean energy technology which directly converts chemical energy to electric energy. When the SOFC is used in cogeneration then the efficiency can reach higher than 80%. Also, it has flexibility in using various fuels like natural gases and bio gases, so it has an advantage over polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in terms of fuel selection. A typical cathode material of the SOFC in conjunction with yttria stabilized zirconia(YSZ) electrolyte is still Sr-doped $LaMnO_3$(LSM). Recently, application of mixed electronic and ionic conducting perovskites such as Sr-doped $LaCoO_3$(LSCo), $LaFeO_3$(LSF), and $LaFe_{0.8}Co_{0.2}O_3$(LSCF) has drawn much attention because these materials exhibit lower electrode impedance than LSM. However, chemical reaction occurs at the manufacturing temperature of the cathode when these materials directly contact with YSZ. In addition, thermal expansion coefficient(TEC) mismatch with YSZ is also a significant issue. It is important, therefore, to develop cathode materials with good chemical stability and matched TEC with the SOFC electrolyte, as well as with high electrochemical activity.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.58-61
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• 2023

The activation process is essential for PEMFC to improve initial performance. The most commonly used activation method is a voltage change (load change) method, which may accompany degradation of the electrode catalyst if excessively performed. In many activation processes, the voltage change range is activated in a wide range from 0.4 V to OCV, and research is needed to reduce the voltage change range in order to prevent electrode catalyst degradation and shorten the activation time. Therefore, in this study, when the activation voltage range was 0.4~0.6 V, 0.4~0.8 V, and 0.4~OCV, we tried to research and develop an effective activation method by analyzing the performance and characteristics of the electrode and polymer membrane. The performance improvement was the lowest in the activation with a wide voltage range from 0.4 V to the highest OCV, and the performance decreased by 10% when activated for 56 cycles. The 0.4~0.6 V activation cycle showed the highest performance improvement up to 20% and the smallest decrease in performance due to overactivation, indicating that it is optimal method.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.255-260
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• 2011

$NH_4{^+}-{\beta}^{{\prime}{\prime}}$-alumina which is expected to an inorganic solid electrolyte of high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) was prepared by ion-exchange reaction of $K^{+}-{\beta}^{{\prime}{\prime}}$-alumina pellet with $NH_4NO_3$ aqueous solution and molten $NH_4NO_3$ salts as an ion-exchange medium in the autoclave and the heating mentle reaction. In the autoclave reaction, the concentrations of $NH_4NO_3$ solution was chosen at 5 and 10 M. Each ion-exchange reaction was carried out at 130, 150, 170, and $200^{\circ}C$ for 2, 4, 6 and 8 h. In the heating mentle reaction, ion-exchange was performed at $200^{\circ}C$ for 2, 4, 6 and 8 h with molten $NH_4NO_3$ salts. In order to determine the effect of reaction times, each ion-exchange reaction was repeated 3 times. The phase stability and the ion-exchange rate of $NH_4{^+}-{\beta}^{{\prime}{\prime}}$-alumina were analyzed by XRD and ICP.