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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

Author

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  • Akira Nishimura

    (Division of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu 514-8507, Japan)

  • Nozomu Kono

    (Division of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu 514-8507, Japan)

  • Kyohei Toyoda

    (Division of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu 514-8507, Japan)

  • Daiki Mishima

    (Division of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, 1577 Kurimamachiya-cho, Tsu 514-8507, Japan)

  • Mohan Lal Kolhe

    (Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Agder, P.O. Box 422, NO 4604 Kristiansand, Norway)

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 ( T react ), with the relative humidity (RH) of the supply gasses and initial operation temperature ( T ini ), 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 T react as well as the relation between the standard deviation of T react − T ini and total voltage, to clarify the effect of separator thickness. The impact of the flow rates of the supply gases on the distribution of T react 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 T react − T ini is larger at T ini = 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Akira Nishimura & Nozomu Kono & Kyohei Toyoda & Daiki Mishima & Mohan Lal Kolhe, 2022. "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," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-25, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:12:p:4203-:d:833544
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Xia, Lingchao & Ni, Meng & He, Qijiao & Xu, Qidong & Cheng, Chun, 2021. "Optimization of gas diffusion layer in high temperature PEMFC with the focuses on thickness and porosity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    2. Akira Nishimura & Yuya Kojima & Syogo Ito & Eric Hu, 2022. "Impacts of Separator Thickness on Temperature Distribution and Power Generation Characteristics of a Single PEMFC Operated at Higher Temperature of 363 and 373 K," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-33, February.
    3. Xia, Lingchao & Ni, Meng & Xu, Qidong & Xu, Haoran & Zheng, Keqing, 2021. "Optimization of catalyst layer thickness for achieving high performance and low cost of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    4. Nishimura, Akira & Shibuya, Kenichi & Morimoto, Atsushi & Tanaka, Shigeki & Hirota, Masafumi & Nakamura, Yoshihiro & Kojima, Masashi & Narita, Masahiko & Hu, Eric, 2012. "Dominant factor and mechanism of coupling phenomena in single cell of polymer electrolyte fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 73-79.
    5. Nishimura, Akira & Yamamoto, Kohei & Okado, Tatsuya & Kojima, Yuya & Hirota, Masafumi & Kolhe, Mohan Lal, 2020. "Impact analysis of MPL and PEM thickness on temperature distribution within PEFC operating at relatively higher temperature," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    6. Akira Nishimura & Tatsuya Okado & Yuya Kojima & Masafumi Hirota & Eric Hu, 2020. "Impact of MPL on Temperature Distribution in Single Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell with Various Thicknesses of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, May.
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    1. Akira Nishimura & Daiki Mishima & Kyohei Toyoda & Syogo Ito & Mohan Lal Kolhe, 2023. "Numerical Simulation on Effect of Separator Thickness on Coupling Phenomena in Single Cell of PEFC under Higher Temperature Operation Condition at 363 K and 373 K," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-28, January.

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