• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.518-521
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• 2011

A PEMFC single cell with the active area of $25cm^2$ was used to verify the effect of water management in the anode. Water management is one of the most critical operating variables. In this paper the effect of operating condition change, such as anode humidification and temperature, was investigated under constant current density of $200mA/cm^2$ where possible anode flooding operating area. Also experiments to observe the effect of the anode and cathode stoichiometry change and flow field design on the water management were performed. The water management was effected by the stoichimetry change. The temperature and humidification change also affected the fuel cell performance.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.540-546
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• 2010

In this manuscript, in order to reduce methanol permeability and, at the same time, to increase proton conductivity THS-PSA containing silica compound, responsible for methanol permeability reduction, and sulfonic acid, responsible for proton conductivity enhancement, was applied onto PVA/PSSA-MA membranes. And in order to improve durability, the resulting membranes, PVA/PSSAMA/THS-PSA, were exposed to 500ppm F2 gas at varying reaction times. The surface-fluorinated membranes were characterized through the measurement of contact angles, thermo-gravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to observe the physico-chemical changes. For the evaluation of the electro-chemical changes in the resulting membranes, its water contents, ion exchange capacity, proton conductivity, and methanol permeability were measured and then compared with the commercial membrane, Nafion 115. Finally, the membran electrode assembly(MEA) was prepared and the cell voltage against the current density was measured. As fluorination time increased, the contents of F2 increased up to maximum 4.3% and to depth of 50 nm. At 60 min of fluorination, the proton conductivity was 0.036 S/cm, larger than Nafion 115 at 0.024 S/cm, and the methanol permeability was $9.26E-08cm^2/s$, less than Nafion 115 at $1.17E-06cm^2/s$.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.333-348
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• 2023

In this study, a 3D model of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell is established, and a new 3D baffle structure is designed, which is combined with the parallel flow field and then optimized by numerical simulation methods. The number of baffles and the cross-sectional trapezoidal base angle are taken as the main variables, and their impacts on the performance indexes of the cathode side are analyzed. The results show that the 3D baffle can facilitate the convection and diffusion mass transfer of reactants, improve the uniformity of oxygen distribution, enhance the drainage capacity, and make the cell performance superior; however, too small angle will lead to excessive local convective mass flux, resulting in the decrease of the overall uniformity of oxygen distribution and lowering the cell performance. Among them, the optimal number of baffles and angle are 9 and 58°, respectively, which improves the net output power density by 10.8% than conventional flow field.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1185-1192
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• 2012

The typical operating temperature of an automotive fuel cell is lower than that of an internal combustion engine, which necessitates a refined strategy for thermal management. In particular, the performance of the cooling module has to be higher for a fuel cell system because the temperature difference between the fuel cell and the surrounding is lower than in the case of the internal combustion engine. Even though the cooling system of an automotive fuel cell determines the operating temperature and temperature distribution of the fuel cell, it has attracted little research attention. This study presents the mathematical model of a cooling system for an automotive fuel cell system using Matlab/$Simulink^{(R)}$. In particular, a radiator model is developed for design optimization from the development stage to the operating stage for an automotive fuel cell. The cooling system model comprises a fan, pump, and radiator. The pump and fan model have an empirical relation, and the dynamics of the pump and fan are only explained by motor dynamics. The basic design study was conducted, and the geometric setup of the radiator was investigated. When the control logic was applied, the pump senses the coolant inlet temperature and the fan senses the coolant out temperature. Additionally, the cooling module is integrated with the fuel cell system model so that the performance of the cooling module can be investigated under realistic operating conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.32 no.spc3
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• pp.289-294
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• 2012

In recent years, understanding the dynamics of DC distribution system has become critically important due mainly to the increasing needs for the interconnection of DC distributed generators and the (DC-based) electric vehicle (EV) charging systems. In this paper, the characteristics of the DC grid system connected to the compact proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been studied. In particular, the voltage and current transient phenomena were measured by varying the load of the DC grid system. Also, the voltage and current ripple were measured at the different load conditions. Our experimental results clearly manifested that the study contributes to the establishment of fundamental method to characterize the small DC grid system including distributed generation.

• 한국태양에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2012.03a
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• pp.414-418
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• 2012

In recent years, understanding the dynamics of DC distribution system has become critically important due mainly to the increasing needs for the interconnection of DC distributed generators and the (DC-based) electric vehicle (EV) charging systems. In this paper, the characteristics of the DC grid system connected to the compact proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been studied. In particular, the voltage and current transient phenomena were measured by varying the load of the DC grid system. Also, the voltage and current ripple were measured at the different load conditions. Our experimental results clearly manifested that the study contributes to the establishment of fundamental method to characterize the small DC grid system including distributed generation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.487-488
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• 2006

Novel bisphenol-based wholly aromatic poly(ether sulfone-ketone) copolymer containing pendant sulfonate groups were prepared by direct aromatic nucleophilic substitution polycondensation of 4,4-difluorobenzophenone, 2,2'-disodiumsulfonyl-4,4'-fluorophenylsulfone (40mole% of bisphenol A) and bisphenol A. Polymerization proceeded quantitatively to high molecular weight in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone at $180^{\circ}C$. Organic-inorganic composite membranes were obtained by mixing organic polymers with hydrophilic $SiO_2$ (ca. 20nm) obtained by sol-gel process. The polymer and a series of composite membranes were studied by FT-IR, $^1HNMR$, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal stability. The proton conductivity as a function of temperature decreased as $SiO_2$ content increased, but methanol permeability decreased. The nano composite membranes were found to posse all requisite properties; Ion exchange capacity (1.2meq./g), glass transition temperatures $(164-183\;^{\circ}C)$, and low affinity towards methanol $(4.63-1.08{\times}10^{-7}\;cm^2/S)$.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.315-319
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• 2018

Fenton reaction is widely used as a out of cell method for evaluating the membrane electrochemical durability of Proton Exchange Fuel Cell (PEMFC). In this study, we investigated the factors affecting the Fenton reaction. In order to estimate the degree of the reaction, it is necessary to analyze the radicals as a product in the Fenton reaction. However, since the radicals are difficult to analyze, the degree of the reaction was measured by analyzing the concentration of hydrogen peroxide. The activation energy was calculated from the rate of hydrogen peroxide change with temperature. The activation energy was 24.9 kJ/mol at 180 min. The Fenton reaction rate was affected by the iron ion concentration. At $80^{\circ}C$, 200 rpm, and $Fe^{2+}$ 80 ppm, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide was decreased more than 20% even for 1 hour, which shows that frequent solution replacement increases the membrane degradation rate.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.344-349
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• 2017

Alkaline fuel cells using polymer electrolyte membranes are expected to replace proton exchange membrane fuel cells, which have similar system configurations. In particular, in alkaline fuel cells, a low-cost non-platinium catalyst can be used. In this study, to fabricate high performance and high durability anion exchange membranes for alkaline fuel cell systems, two kinds of supports, polybenzoxazole and polyethylene supports, were impregnated with Fumion FAA ionomer, by which we tried to fabricate the support-impregnated membrane which has higher mechanical strength and higher ion conductivity than the Fumion series. Finally, the Pore-filling membranes were successfully fabricated and ionic conductivity and mechanical properties were different depending on the properties of the supports. In the pore-filling membranes with Fumion ionomer on the PE support, excellent mechanical properties were obtained, but ionic conductivity decreased. On the other hand, when the PBO support was impregnated with Fumion ionomer, high ionic conductivity was shown after impregnation due to high basicity of PBO, but the mechanical strength was relatively low as compared with Fumion-PE membrane. As a result, it was concluded that it is necessary to consider the characteristics of the support according to the operating conditions of the alkaline fuel cell during the preparation of the pore-filling membranes.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.202-207
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• 2022

The study on electrode degradation of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) was mainly studied on the particle growth and active area reduction of Pt on the electrode. The degradation of the electrode catalyst Pt in contact with the membrane affects the deterioration of the polymer membrane, but there are not many studies related to this. In this study, the phenomenon of the deposition of deteriorated Pt inside the polymer membrane during the accelerated electrode catalyst degradation test and its effects were studied. The voltage change (0.6 V ↔ 0.9 V) was repeated up to 30,000 cycles to accelerate the platinum degradation rate. When the voltage change cycle was repeated while oxygen was introduced into the cathode, the amount of Pt deposited inside the film was larger than when nitrogen was introduced. As the number of voltage change cycles increased, the amount of Pt deposited inside the membrane increased, and Pt dissolved in the cathode moved toward the anode, showing a uniform distribution throughout the membrane at 20,000 cycles. In the process of the accelerated electrode catalyst degradation test, the hydrogen crossover current density of the membrane did not change, and it was confirmed that the deposited Pt did not affect the durability of the membrane.