Impact of Separator Thickness on Temperature Distribution in Single Cell of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Operated at Higher Temperature of 90 °C and 100 °C

Abstract

The New Energy and Industry Technology Development Organization (NEDO) road map (Japan, 2017) has proposed that a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) system, which operates at a temperature of 90 °C and 100 °C, be applied for stationary and mobility usage, respectively. This study suggests using a thin polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and a thin gas diffusion layer (GDL), at the same time, to achieve better power-generation performance, at a higher temperature than usual. The focus of this paper is to clarify the effect of separator thickness on the distribution of temperature at the reaction surface (Treact), with the relative humidity (RH) of the supply gasses and initial operation temperature (Tini), quantitatively. In this study, separator thickness is investigated in a system using a thin PEM and a thin GDL. Moreover, this study investigates the difference between the maximum temperature and the minimum temperature obtained from the distribution of Treact as well as the relation between the standard deviation of Treact − Tini and total voltage, to clarify the effect of separator thickness. The impact of the flow rates of the supply gases on the distribution of Treact is not large, among the investigated conditions. It is noticed that the temperature distribution is wider when a separator thickness of 2.0 mm is selected. On the other hand, it is observed that the temperature increases along with the gas flow through the gas channel, by approximately 2 °C, when using a separator thickness between 1.5 mm and 1.0 mm. The impact of the RH on the distributions of Treact − Tini is larger at Tini = 100 °C, when a separator thickness of 1.0 mm is selected. It is revealed that the wider temperature distribution provides a reduction in power-generation performance. This study proposes that the thin separators, i.e., with a thickness of 1.5 mm and 1.0 mm, are not suitable for higher temperature operation than usual.

Numerical Analysis on Temperature Distribution in a Single Cell of PEFC Operated at Higher Temperature by1D Heat Transfer Model and 3D Multi-Physics Simulation Model

“…From this report, the trapezoidal structure of cross-sectional area of the flow channel was the best shape to obtain the highest power generation performance. It also revealed that the pressure drop and the outlet power of the optimal model were larger by 1.7% and However, only a few papers [16] [18] investigated the temperature distribution near the interface between PEM and catalyst layer at the cathode, which is defined as a reaction surface in this study, excluding other studies by the authors [19]- [24]. The authors' studies [19]- [24] investigates the effect of PEM's thickness, GDL's thickness and separator's thickness on the distribution of the temperature at the reaction surface (T surf ), in a single cell of PEFC at a higher temperature such as 363 K and 373 K by 1D heat transfer model using the experimental temperature distribution data obtained by means of a thermograph.…”

Experimental and Numerical Simulation Study of Oxygen Transport in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells at Intermediate Temperatures (80 °C–120 °C)

“…Recently, Japan's "FCV HDV Fuel Cell Technology Development Roadmap" announced the 2040 fuel cell development plan for heavy-duty vehicles, which will gradually raise the operating temperature to intermediate temperature [1,2]. Running fuel cells at intermediate temperatures can improve Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) efficiency [3], increase the resistance of Pt-based electrocatalysts to CO poisoning, and simplify the water management of the cell and thermal management, among many other benefits [4,5].…”