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Experimental study on the self-humidification effect in proton exchange membrane fuel cells containing double gas diffusion backing layer

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  • Kong, Im Mo
  • Choi, Jong Won
  • Kim, Sung Il
  • Lee, Eun Sook
  • Kim, Min Soo

Abstract

Adequate hydration of the membrane is required to ensure high proton conductivity in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), which, in turn, is required for achieving high cell performances. While external humidifiers are typically used to humidify the supplied air in conventional systems, their use increases the complexity, weight, volume, and parasitic power loss in fuel cell systems, rendering them unviable in some systems, particularly for portable applications. In this study, the structure of a gas diffusion backing layer (GDBL) was modified to enhance the self-humidification effect in PEMFCs. Three types of GDLs were prepared for the experiments: a conventional GDL (GDL-A with uniform single GDBL) and two modified GDLs (GDL-A′B with uniform double GDBL and GDL-A′C with heterogeneous double GDBLs). In order to evaluate the effect of stacking and structural design on the self-humidification characteristics, some characteristics of the GDLs such as contact angle, resistance, and vapor permeation rate were measured. The electrochemical performances of the fuel cells were also measured at various relative humidity (RH) and stoichiometric ratio (SR) conditions. The results showed that stacking had a negligible effect, whereas the structural design of the GDBL had a significant effect on self-humidification. The self-humidification effect and the cell performance were improved significantly in the structurally modified GDBL. In addition, considering the actual field conditions and the results of the present study, it was concluded that the structural modifications made to the GDBL would be beneficial in improving the performance of the self-humidified PEMFCs.

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  • Kong, Im Mo & Choi, Jong Won & Kim, Sung Il & Lee, Eun Sook & Kim, Min Soo, 2015. "Experimental study on the self-humidification effect in proton exchange membrane fuel cells containing double gas diffusion backing layer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 345-353.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:145:y:2015:i:c:p:345-353
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.02.027
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    Cited by:

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    5. Kong, Im Mo & Jung, Aeri & Kim, Min Soo, 2016. "Investigations on the double gas diffusion backing layer for performance improvement of self-humidified proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 149-156.
    6. Bouziane, Khadidja & Khetabi, El Mahdi & Lachat, Rémy & Zamel, Nada & Meyer, Yann & Candusso, Denis, 2020. "Impact of cyclic mechanical compression on the electrical contact resistance between the gas diffusion layer and the bipolar plate of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 349-361.
    7. Martin, S. & Garcia-Ybarra, P.L. & Castillo, J.L., 2017. "Long-term operation of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell without external humidification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1012-1020.
    8. Kong, Im Mo & Jung, Aeri & Kim, Young Sang & Kim, Min Soo, 2017. "Numerical investigation on double gas diffusion backing layer functionalized on water removal in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 478-487.
    9. Kong, Im Mo & Jung, Aeri & Kim, Beom Jun & Baik, Kyung Don & Kim, Min Soo, 2015. "Experimental study on the start-up with dry gases from normal cell temperatures in self-humidified proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 57-66.
    10. Hou, Junbo & Yang, Min & Ke, Changchun & Zhang, Junliang, 2020. "Control logics and strategies for air supply in PEM fuel cell engines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
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    12. Qiu, Diankai & Janßen, Holger & Peng, Linfa & Irmscher, Philipp & Lai, Xinmin & Lehnert, Werner, 2018. "Electrical resistance and microstructure of typical gas diffusion layers for proton exchange membrane fuel cell under compression," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 127-137.
    13. Lin, Rui & Tang, Shenghao & Diao, Xiaoyu & Zhong, Di & Chen, Liang & Froning, Dieter & Hao, Zhixian, 2020. "Detailed optimization of multiwall carbon nanotubes doped microporous layer in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for enhanced performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    14. Deng, Hao & Wang, Dawei & Wang, Renfang & Xie, Xu & Yin, Yan & Du, Qing & Jiao, Kui, 2016. "Effect of electrode design and operating condition on performance of hydrogen alkaline membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1272-1278.
    15. Sasmito, Agus P. & Kurnia, Jundika C. & Shamim, Tariq & Mujumdar, Arun S., 2017. "Optimization of an open-cathode polymer electrolyte fuel cells stack utilizing Taguchi method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1225-1232.
    16. Kwon, Obeen & Kim, Jaeyeon & Choi, Heesoo & Cha, Hyeonjin & Shin, Myunggyu & Jeong, Youngjin & Park, Taehyun, 2022. "CNT sheet as a cathodic functional interlayer in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    17. Li, Xue & Jiang, Jiuchun & Wang, Le Yi & Chen, Dafen & Zhang, Yanru & Zhang, Caiping, 2016. "A capacity model based on charging process for state of health estimation of lithium ion batteries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 537-543.

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