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Effect of compression on the water management of polymer electrolyte fuel cells: An in-operando neutron radiography study

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. Green open access

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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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