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Parametric study on the local current distribution of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with counter flow channel under pressurized condition

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Abstract

Local measurement of current was conducted using a segmented cell to understand local electrochemical characteristics of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with counter flow channel under pressurized condition. We changed stoichiometry ratio (SR), relative humidity (RH), and operating temperature to examine the effect of operating parameters on the performance of fuel cell under pressurized condition. A segmented fuel cell with a divided active area of 25 cm2 was used to measure local current distribution to analyze complex relationships between SR, RH, temperature and pressure. The results show that RH and SR are the main factors for determining current distribution. High SR with low-RH reactants make the membrane of the inlet region more dried out, which leads to less electrochemical reaction. When SR is low, however, less water is evaporated and the effect of RH condition is minimized. On the other hand, current distribution at various RH and SR conditions at 3 bar is relatively similar among the results. Thus, the effects of RH and SR can be neglected for high operating pressure cases. When the temperature is high in pressurized condition, the Ohmic loss decreased and the overall cell performance improved.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Institute of Advanced Machinery and Design (IAMD) and Institute of Engineering Research (IER) of Seoul National University. Support from the Brain Korea 21 Plus Project (F14SN02D1310) of the Ministry of Education is appreciated. This research is also supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No.20163010140530, No. 20173010032150). Additional support by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2017R1C1B5076491, NRF-2019R1A2C2087893, NRF-2019 R1F1A1058036, and NRF-2019M3E6A1064705) is greatly appreciated. Lastly, this work was supported by the Industrial Strategic Technology Development Program (10082569, Development of design package and prototype for commercial 5kW class SOFC-Engine hybrid system) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy of the Republic of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clean Fuel & Power Generation, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, Daejon, 34103, Korea

    Young Sang Kim & Kook Young Ahn

  2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Young Sang Kim & Min Soo Kim

  3. School of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, Korea

    Dong Kyu Kim

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  1. Young Sang Kim
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Correspondence to Min Soo Kim.

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Recommended by Editor Yong Tae Kang

Young Sang Kim obtained his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. His research interests include thermodynamics and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell.

Dong Kyu Kim obtained his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. His research interests include thermodynamics and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, and fuel cell vehicle.

Kook Young Kim obtained his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Han Yang University, Seoul, and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, South Korea. His research interests include thermodynamics and Solid oxide fuel cell, and hybrid system.

Min Soo Kim obtained his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Seoul National University as an Associate Professor in 1994. His teaching and research interests include refrigeration, heat transfer, thermophysical property, fuel cell systems and fuel cell electric vehicles.

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Kim, Y.S., Kim, D.K., Ahn, K.Y. et al. Parametric study on the local current distribution of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with counter flow channel under pressurized condition. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 2189–2198 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0440-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0440-9

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