Wu, Y;
Cho, JIS;
Lu, X;
Rasha, L;
Neville, TP;
Millichamp, J;
Ziesche, R;
... Brett, DJL; + view all
(2019)
Effect of compression on the water management of polymer electrolyte fuel cells: An in-operando neutron radiography study.
Journal of Power Sources
, 412
pp. 597-605.
10.1016/j.jpowsour.2018.11.048.
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Abstract
In-depth understanding of the effect of compression on the water management in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is indispensable for optimisation of performance and durability. Here, in-operando neutron radiography is utilised to evaluate the liquid water distribution and transport within a PEFC under different levels of compression. A quantitative analysis is presented with the influence of compression on the water droplet number and median droplet surface area across the entire electrode area. Water management and performance of PEFCs is strongly affected by the compression: the cell compressed at 1.0 MPa demonstrates ∼3.2% and ∼7.8% increase in the maximum power density over 1.8 MPa and 2.3 MPa, respectively. Correlation of performance to neutron radiography reveals that the performance deviation in the mass transport region is likely due to flooding issues. This could be ascribed to the loss of the porosity and increased tortuosity factor of the gas diffusion layer under the land at higher compression pressure. The size and number of droplets formed as a function of cell compression was examined: with higher compression pressure, water droplet number and median droplet surface area rapidly increase, showing the ineffective water removal, which leads to fuel starvation and the consequent performance decay.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Effect of compression on the water management of polymer electrolyte fuel cells: An in-operando neutron radiography study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2018.11.048 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2018.11.048 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Compression, Water management, Neutron imaging, Gas diffusion layer, Droplet, Porosity |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10067619 |
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