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Effect of anisotropic structure of gas diffusion layer on the cathode dead-end mode of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for the submarine

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Abstract

Experimental and numerical studies of the effects of an anisotropic gas diffusion layer (GDL) on the performance of a dead-end fuel cell system were carried out. The performance of a dead-end mode fuel cell system with aligning the machine direction of an anisotropic GDL in parallel (0º GDL) and perpendicular (90º GDL) direction to the main flow direction of the channel was examined. First, the deformation and intrusion of 0º and 90º GDLs were compared. Then, the permeability of each GDL under the rib part was measured. Using measured values, a model to analyze the current density distribution within the cell was developed. Lastly, the performance of the dead-end mode fuel cell was analyzed using both GDLs. The performance of the fuel cell improved by 3.6 % when the 90o GDL was introduced to the dead-end mode fuel cell compared with that of the 0o GDL. Moreover, the purge interval of the 90o GDL was 1.7 times longer than that of the 0o GDL. Therefore, the cell performance and utilization of fuel improve when the 90o GDL was introduced to the dead-end fuel cell system.

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Abbreviations

K :

Permeability

P :

Pressure

U :

Superficial velocity

μ :

Viscosity

R :

Universal gas constant

T :

Temperature

M :

Molecular weight

m̄:

Mass flux

L :

Length

δ GDL :

Thickness of GDL

δ GDL,rib :

Thickness of GDL under the rib

ε :

Porosity

ε c :

Porosity of compressed GDL

η c :

Cathode overpotential

η a :

Anode overpotential

IR :

Ohmic loss

t m :

Membrane thickness

σ m :

Membrane conductivity

F:

Faraday number

I O,C :

Cathode exchange current density

I O,A :

Anode exchange current density

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT [grant numbers NRF-2019R1F1A1058036, NRF-2019M3E6A1064705], Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) grant funded by the Korea government (MOTIE) (No. 20192050100060, Chemisorption heat pump system using heat pump system using electrochemical compressor, and No 20007892, Development of tube skid using pressure vessels (700 bar class 1400 liters) made of towpreg with a single shipment for hydrogen of 1 ton or more and a total weight of 20 ton or less).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Naval Technology and Administration School, Naval Education and Training Command, Jinhae, 51640, Korea

    Jeong-hoon Seo

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

    Dong Kyu Kim

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  1. Jeong-hoon Seo
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Correspondence to Dong Kyu Kim.

Additional information

Recommended by Editor Yong Tae Kang

Jeoung-hoon Seo obtained his B.S. from Republic of Korea Naval Academy, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees 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. degrees 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.

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Seo, Jh., Kim, D.K. Effect of anisotropic structure of gas diffusion layer on the cathode dead-end mode of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for the submarine. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 2225–2233 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0444-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0444-5

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