Optimization of gas diffusion layer in high temperature PEMFC with the focuses on thickness and porosity

Xia, Lingchao; Ni, Meng; He, Qijiao; Xu, Qidong; Cheng, Chun Hu

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117357

Cited by 100 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…where → N i is the vector of the molar flow rate on the interface between PEM and electrode (mol/(m 2 s)), D i is the diffusion coefficient (m 2 /s), C i is the concentration of ion i (mol/m 3 ), z i is the valence of ion ( ), u m,i is the mobility of ion i ((s mol)/kg), F is the Faraday constant (C/mol), ϕ l is the electrical potential of liquid [27] (V), → J is the molar flow rate of the convection transfer (mol/(m 2 s)), and R i,tot is the reaction rate of species (mol/(m 3 s)).…”

Section: Model Description and Governing Equationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…where i is the current density (A/m 2 ), i 0 is the exchange current density (A/m 2 ), α a is the charge transfer coefficient at anode ( ), η is the activation over-potential [27] (V), R is the gas constant (J/(mol K)), T is the temperature (K), α c is the charge transfer coefficient at cathode ( ), ϕ s is the electrical potential of solid [27] (V), E eq is the equilibrium electric potential [27] (V).…”

Section: Model Description and Governing Equationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Numerical Simulation on Impacts of Thickness of Nafion Series Membranes and Relative Humidity on PEMFC Operated at 363 K and 373 K

et al. 2021

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The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the thickness of Nafion membrane, which is a typical polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), and relative humidity of supply gas on the distributions of H2, O2, H2O concentration and current density on the interface between a Nafion membrane and anode catalyst layer or the interface between a Nafion membrane and cathode catalyst layer. The effect of the initial temperature of the cell (Tini) is also investigated by the numerical simulation using the 3D model by COMSOL Multiphysics. As a result, the current density decreases along with the gas flow through the gas channel irrespective of the Nafion membrane thickness and Tini, which can be explained by the concentration distribution of H2 and O2 consumed by electrochemical reaction. The molar concentration of H2O decreases when the thickness of Nafion membrane increases, irrespective of Tini and the relative humidity of the supply gas. The current density increases with the increase in relative humidity of the supply gas, irrespective of the Nafion membrane thickness and Tini. This study recommends that a thinner Nafion membrane with well-humidified supply gas would promote high power generation at the target temperature of 363 K and 373 K.

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Section: Model Description and Governing Equationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Model Description and Governing Equationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulation on Impacts of Thickness of Nafion Series Membranes and Relative Humidity on PEMFC Operated at 363 K and 373 K

et al. 2021

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“…This makes carbon paper GDL substrates very interesting as that their porosity can be controlled. For example, higher porosity GDLs could result in membrane degradation due to a decrease in electrical conductivity and, consequently, induce performance degradation [32]. Normal values of GDL porosity range 31.8% to 73.9% [33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Commercial Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL) by Liquid Extrusion Porometry (LEP) and Gas Liquid Displacement Porometry (GLDP)

2022

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This works aims to study the porous characterization of several commercial Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL). Three carbon-based porous GDL featuring a highly rigid microstructure of interconnected pores of several manufacturers were analyzed. Gas Liquid Displacement Porometry (GLDP) and Liquid Extrusion Porometry (LEP) have been used to obtain their pore size distributions (PSD) and the mean and mode pore diameters (davg and dmod), by means of a gas/liquid and extrusion porometer developed at IFTS. N-dodecane liquid has been used to completely wet the GDL’s assuring penetration of the liquid into the carbon fibrous structure. The results demonstrated the accuracy of the setup on characterizing GDL in the Particle Filtration (PF) range by GLDP and LEP, with reasonable agreements of resulting PSD and average sizes between both techniques when GLDP and LEP results are compared. Differences can be explained in terms of the high pore connectivity of these kinds of structures.

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“…Carbon paper-type GDLs, generally with a global thickness of 100–400 μm [ 14 ], are widely used in PEMFCs. They are typically made of a substrate with carbon fibers and an MPL that is composed of carbon powder and coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Clamping Compression on the Mechanical Performance of a Carbon Paper Gas Diffusion Layer in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

et al. 2022

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During all the assembly stages of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack, gas diffusion layers (GDLs) endure clamping loads in the through-plane direction several times. Under such complicated assembly conditions, GDLs have to deform with the changes in structure, surface roughness, pore size, etc. A comprehensive understanding of the compressive performance of GDLs at different clamping phases is crucial to the assembly process improvement of PEMFCs. Two typical clamping compression was designed and performed to get close to the actual assembly conditions of PEMFCs. The results indicate that the initial clamping compression and the magnitude of the maximum clamping load have great impacts on the segmented compressive properties of GDLs. The nonlinear compressive performance of the GDL is mainly attributed to the unique microstructural information. The rough surface morphology contributes to the initial compressive characteristics where the big strain along with the small stress occurs, and the irreversible failures such as carbon fiber breakages and adhesive failures between fibers and binders account for the hysteresis between different compression stages. Importantly, it is found that the clamping compression hardly influences the small pore distribution below 175 μm but affects the large pore distribution over 200 μm.

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Optimization of gas diffusion layer in high temperature PEMFC with the focuses on thickness and porosity

Cited by 100 publications

References 38 publications

Numerical Simulation on Impacts of Thickness of Nafion Series Membranes and Relative Humidity on PEMFC Operated at 363 K and 373 K

Numerical Simulation on Impacts of Thickness of Nafion Series Membranes and Relative Humidity on PEMFC Operated at 363 K and 373 K

Characterization of Commercial Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL) by Liquid Extrusion Porometry (LEP) and Gas Liquid Displacement Porometry (GLDP)

Effect of Clamping Compression on the Mechanical Performance of a Carbon Paper Gas Diffusion Layer in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

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