Water management studies in PEM fuel cells, Part I: Fuel cell design and in situ water distributions

Owejan, Jon P.; Gagliardo, Jeffrey J.; Sergi, Jacqueline M.; Kandlikar, Satish G.; Trabold, Thomas A.

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.12.100

Cited by 236 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Therefore, if the carbon fibers of the GDL are well-coated in PTFE, the wettability of the lands may contribute to the increased tendency for liquid water accumulation there. The strong tendency for liquid water to appear preferentially over the land regions supports the observations reported by Owejan et al [33,86] and Boillat et al…”

Section: Impact Of Humidity On Water Accumulationsupporting

confidence: 88%

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Liquid water saturation and oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers

Muirhead

Banerjee

George

et al. 2018

Electrochimica Acta

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In this thesis, the relative humidity (RH) of the cathode reactant gas was investigated as a factor which influences gas diffusion layer (GDL) liquid water accumulation and mass transport-related efficiency losses over a range of operating current densities in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Limiting current measurements were used to characterize fuel cell oxygen transport resistance while simultaneous measurements of liquid water accumulation were conducted using synchrotron X-ray radiography. GDL porosity distributions were characterized with micro-computed tomography (μCT). The work presented here can be used by researchers to develop improved numerical models to predict GDL liquid water accumulation and to inform the design of next-generation GDL materials to mitigate mass transport-related efficiency losses. This work also contributes an extensive set of concurrent performance and liquid water visualization data to the PEM fuel cell field that can be used for validating multiphase transport models.iii

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Section: Impact Of Humidity On Water Accumulationsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…A variation in the liquid water saturation between GDL regions above the flow field lands and channels has also been observed by multiple studies [17,31,33,84,[86][87][88]. Therefore, it is important to consider in-plane variations of liquid water saturation when considering the oxygen transport resistance.…”

Section: Effect Of Gdl Liquid Water Accumulationmentioning

confidence: 84%

Liquid water saturation and oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers

Muirhead

Banerjee

George

et al. 2018

Electrochimica Acta

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“…Diagnostics developed during the baseline characterization revealed that a significant quantity of liquid water is retained in the anode GDL and channels [157]. For a successful freeze start, the majority of this water must be removed at shutdown by a cathode purge.…”

Section: Gdl Water Removal and Ionomer Dryingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visualization of Fuel Cell Water Transport and Performance Characterization under Freezing Conditions

Kandlikar

Rao

et al. 2010

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“…The structural properties of GDL such as porosity and surface roughness [158,160,161] and carbon cloth was 136˚C and 140˚C, respectively. Also the design aspects of flow channel plates including channel height [158], channel-land ratio [162] and flow patterns [163] play a significant role on droplet deformation and detachment. When the height of the channel increased from 250 to 500 μm in the simulations, a change in the evolution of water droplet shape in the flow channels was observed [158].…”

Section: Water Distribution and Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation aspects of water formation and transport in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell: A review

Ous

Arcoumanis

2013

Journal of Power Sources

137

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This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link AbstractThis review paper summarises the key aspects of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) degradation that are associated with water formation, retention, accumulation, and transport mechanisms within the cell. Issues related to loss of active surface area of the catalyst, ionomer dissolution, membrane swelling, ice formation, corrosion, and contamination are also addressed and discussed. The impact of each of these water mechanisms on cell performance and durability was found to be different and to vary according to the design of the cell and its operating conditions. For example, the presence of liquid water within Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA), as a result of water accumulation, can be detrimental if the operating temperature of the cell drops to sub-freezing.The volume expansion of liquid water due to ice formation can damage the morphology of different parts of the cell and may shorten its life-time. This can be more serious, for example, during the water transport mechanism where migration of Pt particles from the catalyst may take place after detachment from the carbon support. Furthermore, the effect of transport mechanism could be augmented if humid reactant gases containing impurities poison the membrane, leading to the same outcome as water retention or accumulation.Overall, the impact of water mechanisms can be classified as aging or catastrophic. Aging has a longterm impact over the duration of the PEMFC life-time whereas in the catastrophic mechanism the impact is immediate. The conversion of cell residual water into ice at sub-freezing temperatures by the water retention/ accumulation mechanism and the access of poisoning contaminants through the water transport mechanism are considered to fall into the catastrophic category. The effect of water mechanisms on PEMFC degradation can be reduced or even eliminated by (a) using advanced materials for improving the electrical, chemical and mechanical stability of the cell components against deterioration, and (b) implementing effective strategies for water management in the cell.

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Water management studies in PEM fuel cells, Part I: Fuel cell design and in situ water distributions

Cited by 236 publications

References 19 publications

Liquid water saturation and oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers

Liquid water saturation and oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers

Visualization of Fuel Cell Water Transport and Performance Characterization under Freezing Conditions

Degradation aspects of water formation and transport in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell: A review

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