• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2013.07a
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• pp.182-183
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• 2013

In the design of the fuel cell charger, it is important to find out the suitable topology and to design the converter to guarantee the performance of the fuel cell as well as the battery. Most of the chargers developed so far have used step-down converters. However, since the small fuel cell stack can only generate a low voltage, it is required to use the step-up converter to charge the battery. In this paper, a modified non-isolated boost charger topology for the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is proposed to meet the strict ripple requirements for the battery charge and its control method by using PI controller is detailed. The feasibility of the proposed topology and its control method is then verified by the experiments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2010

Air-cathode microbial fuel cell consisted of 4 unit cells were operated under batch condition and electricity generation and microbial community structure variation were investigated, depending on separator types and cathode characteristics: A) PEM(Proton Exchange Membrane)-30% Wet proofing Carbon Cloth(WC), B) AEM(Anion Exchange Membrane-WC, C) CEM(Cation Exchange Membrane)-WC, D) PEM-No Wet proofing Carbon Cloth(NC). Maximum power densities of PEM-WC, AEM-WC and CEM-WC were 510.9, 522.1 and 504.8 $mW/m^2$, respectively. But PEM-NC showed relatively lower maximum power density of 218.3 $mW/m^2$. And PEM-WC, AEM-WC and CEM-WC showed similar internal resistances(20.0-28.2 ${\Omega}$). PCRDGGE, PCA and diversity indices showed that uncultured bacteria which reported in previous MFC studies were detected in suspended growth bacteria and attached growth bacteria would be affected not by separator type but by cathode characteristic. Thus, cathode characteristic can be one of the critical factors for power generation in air-cathode MFC using PEM, AEM, and CEM as separator.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.659-666
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• 2019

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) generate electricity by electrochemical reactions of hydrogen and oxygen. PEMFCs are expected to alternate electric power generator using fossil fuels with various advantages of high power density, low operating temperature, and environmental-friendly products. PEMFCs have widely been used in a number of applications such as fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and stationary fuel cell systems. However, there are remaining technical issues, particularly the long-term durability of each part of fuel cells. Degradation of a carbon supported-platinum catalyst in the anode and cathode follows various mechanistic origins in different fuel cell operating conditions, and thus accelerated stress test (AST) is suggested to evaluate the durability of electrocatalyst. In this article, comparable protocols of the AST durability test are intensively explained.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.203-211
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• 2022

The aim of this paper is to analyze the performance of commercial fuel cell (rated capacity 1000W) with the help of resistive load and output power variation with change in H₂ flow rate and calculate the maximum power point (MPP) of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) while changing AC and DC load respectively. The factors influencing the output power of a fuel cell are hydrogen flow rate, cell temperature, and membrane water content. The results show that when the H₂ flow rate is changed from 11, 13, and 15 Lpm, MPP is increased from lower to higher flow rate. The power of the fuel cell is increased at the rate of 29% by increasing the flow rate from 11 to 15 lpm. This study will allow small-scale industries and residential buildings (in remote or inaccessible areas) to characterize the performance of PEMFC. Furthermore, fuel cell helps in reducing emission in the environment compared to fossil fuels. Also, fuel cells are ecofriendly as well as cost effective and can be the best alternative way to convert energy.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.596-603
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• 2009

The performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is seriously changed by the humidification condition which is intrinsic characteristics of the PEMFC. Typically, the humidification of fuel cell is carried out with internal or external humidifier. A membrane humidifier is applied to the external humidification of residential power generation fuel cell due to its convenience and high performance. In this study, a simple static model is constructed to understand the physical phenomena of the membrane humidifier in terms of geometric parameters and operating parameters. The model utilizes the concept of shell and tube heat exchanger but the model is also able to estimate the mass transport through the membrane. Model is constructed with FORTRAN under Matlab/$Simulink^{(R)}$ $\Box$environment to keep consistency with other components model which we already developed. Results shows that the humidity of wet gas and membrane thickness are critical parameters to improve the performance of the humidifier.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.197-199
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• 2006

The Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are being used in a variety of applications including portable power generation, transportation and back-up power systems. In this paper presents a novel circuit model for a PEMFC that can be used to design and analyze fuel-cell power system. The Pspice-based model uses BJTs, L and C elements available in the Pspice library with some modification. The model includes the phenomena like activation polarization, ohmic polarization and mass transport effect present in a PEM fuel cell. Simulated characteristics of the fuel cell were compared with the experimental results obtained on a commercial fuel cell.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.115-121
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• 2008

In this paper, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) with serpentine flow channel is presented. A steady state, single phase and isothermal numerical model has been established to investigate the influence of the GDL (Gas Diffusion Layer) parameters. The GDL is made of a porous material such as carbon cloth, carbon paper or metal wire mesh. For the simplicity, the GDL is modeled as a block of material having numerous pathways through which gaseous reactants and liquid water can pass. The porosity, permeability and thickness of the GDL, which are employed in the model parameters significantly affect the PEMFC performance at the high current region.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.105-108
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• 2013

To resolve global environmental problems, many automobile companies are making a great deal of effort to develop so-called green-cars. One of the solutions is an electric vehicle equipped with the PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) stack. However, the cost of the stack, at the moment, is still too high. This obstacle must be resolved for commercialized fuel cell cars. One of the reasons for high cost is a relatively large amount of Pt (platinum) in the membrane. In this paper, a method for reducing the Pt-loading is introduced. Furthermore, the durability of the stack will be important for a company to stay competitive in world markets (in the future). For this, the diagnosis of the stack must be conducted on-line. Some diagnosis methods as key technology are also introduced in this paper.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.224-224
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• 2012

For decades, carbon fiber has expanded their application fields from reinforced composites to energy storage and transfer technologies such as electrodes for super-capacitors and lithium ion batteries and gas diffusion layers for proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Especially in fuel cell, water repellency of gas diffusion layer has become very important property for preventing flooding which is induced by condensed water could damage the fuel cell performance. In this work, we fabricated superhydrophobic network of carbon fiber with high aspect ratio hair-like nanostructure by preferential oxygen plasma etching. Superhydrophobic carbon fiber surfaces were achieved by hydrophobic material coating with a siloxane-based hydrocarbon film, which increased the water contact angle from $147^{\circ}$ to $163^{\circ}$ and decreased the contact angle hysteresis from $71^{\circ}$ to below $5^{\circ}$, sufficient to cause droplet roll-off from the surface in millimeter scale water droplet deposition test. Also, we have explored that the condensation behavior (nucleation and growth) of water droplet on the superhydrophobic carbon fiber were significantly retarded due to the high-aspect-ratio nanostructures under super-saturated vapor conditions. It is implied that superhydrophobic carbon fiber can provide a passage for vapor or gas flow in wet environments such as a gas diffusion layer requiring the effective water removal in the operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Moreover, such nanostructuring of carbon-based materials can be extended to carbon fiber, carbon black or carbon films for applications as a cathode in lithium batteries or carbon fiber composites.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2021

The PEM(Proton Exchange Membrane)water electrolysis uses the same PEM electrolyte membrane as the PEM fuel cell and proceeds by the same reaction but the opposite direction. The PEM fuel cell has many methods of degradation analysis since many studies have been conducted on the degradation and durability of the membrane and catalyst. We examined whether PEM fuel cell durability evaluation method can be applied to PEM electrolytic durability evaluation. During the PEM electrolytic degradation process, LSV(Linear sweep voltammetry), CV(Cyclic voltammetry), Impedance, SEM(Scanning Electron Microscope) and FT-IR(Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy) were analyzed and compared under the same conditions as the PEM fuel cell. As the PEM fuel cell, hydrogen passing through the membrane was oxidized at the Pt/C electrode, and the hydrogen permeation current density was measured to analyze the degree of degradation of the PEM membrane. Electrode degradation could be analyzed by measuring the electrode active area (ECSA) by CV under hydrogen/nitrogen flowing conditions. While supplying hydrogen and air to the Pt/C electrode and the IrO2 electrode, the impedance of each electrode was measured to evaluate the durability of the electrode and membrane.