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An experimental investigation of temperature distribution and flooding phenomena of cathode flow fields in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell

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Abstract

Water management is considered to be one of the main issues to be addressed for the performance improvement of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this paper, to investigate cathode flooding and its relationship with temperature distribution, an experimental study was carried out on cathode sides of an operating single PEM fuel cell. For the direct visualization of temperature fields and water transport in cathode flow channels, a transparent cell was designed and manufactured using quartz window. Liquid water transport and distribution in the flow channels were investigated experimentally. Also, the visualization of temperature distributions in the cathode channels was made by using an IR (infra-red) camera. Results indicate that the temperature rise near the exit of cathode flow channels was found. It is expected that this study can effectively contribute to get the detailed data on water transport linked with thermal management during the operation of a PEM fuel cell.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul, 139-743, Korea

    Han-Sang Kim

  2. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-744, Korea

    Kyoungdoug Min

Authors
  1. Han-Sang Kim
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  2. Kyoungdoug Min
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Correspondence to Kyoungdoug Min.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Yong-Tae Kim

Han-Sang Kim received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University in 1989 and 1991, respectively. He then obtained his Ph.D. from Seoul National University in 2005. He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology.

Kyoungdoug Min received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University in 1986 and 1988, respectively. He then obtained his Ph.D. from M.I.T in 1994. He is currently a professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University.

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Kim, HS., Min, K. An experimental investigation of temperature distribution and flooding phenomena of cathode flow fields in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. J Mech Sci Technol 28, 3837–3843 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-014-0847-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-014-0847-2

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