In-situ Measurement of In-plane Temperature Distribution in a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell by Thermography and Clarification of the Factors Causing the In-plane Temperature Distribution

The impact of micro porous layer (MPL) with various thicknesses of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) on heat and mass transfer characteristics, as well as power generation performance of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC), is investigated. The in-plane temperature distribution on cathode separator back is also measured by thermocamera. It has been found that the power generation performance is improved by the addition of MPL, especially at higher current density condition irrespective of initial temperature of cell (Tini) and relative humidity condition. However, the improvement is not obvious when the thin PEM (Nafion NRE-211; thickness of 25 μm) is used. The increase in temperature from inlet to outlet without MPL is large compared to that with MPL when using thick PEM, while the difference between without MPL and with MPL is small when using thin PEM. It has been confirmed that the addition of MPL is effective for the improvement of power generation performance of single PEFC operated at higher temperatures than normal. However, the in-plane temperature distribution with MPL is not even.

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J056014 Modeling of Heat Transfer Phenomena in Single Cell of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Utilizing In-plane Temperature Distribution Data Obtained by Thermograph

The Proceedings of Mechanical Engineering Congress Japan ◽

10.1299/jsmemecj.2012._j056014-1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 (0) ◽

pp. _J056014-1-_J056014-5

Author(s):

Kazuhiro IIO ◽

Akira NISHIMURA ◽

Hirotoshi KONDO ◽

Taisuke YAMAUCHI ◽

Masafumi HIROTA

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Temperature Distribution ◽

Single Cell ◽

Polymer Electrolyte ◽

Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell ◽

Distribution Data ◽

Plane Temperature

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In situ measurement of temperature distribution within a single polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy ◽

10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.05.028 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 37 (16) ◽

pp. 11871-11886 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Hong Lin ◽

Tao-Fen Cao ◽

Li Chen ◽

Ya-Ling He ◽

Wen-Quan Tao

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Temperature Distribution ◽

Polymer Electrolyte ◽

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽

In Situ Measurement ◽

Electrolyte Membrane

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In Situ Temperature Distribution Measurement in an Operating Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell

Heat Transfer, Volume 1 ◽

10.1115/imece2003-42393 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

Matthew M. Mench ◽

Daniel J. Burford ◽

Tyler W. Davis

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Temperature Distribution ◽

Polymer Electrolyte ◽

Membrane Electrode Assembly ◽

Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell ◽

Membrane Electrode ◽

Two Phase ◽

Temperature Distribution Measurement ◽

Current Densities

The temperature distribution in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is of critical importance to the water balance, as well as to other kinetic and transport phenomena that are known to be functionally dependent on temperature. However, direct measurement of localized temperature is difficult, due to the two-phase nature of flow in the gas channels and the small through-plane dimensions of a typical electrolyte. To circumvent these difficulties, an array of microthermocouples was embedded directly between two 25 μm thick Nation™ electrolyte sheets of a membrane electrode assembly. The embedded array was used to measure electrolyte temperature as a function of current and fuel cell flow channel location. For the fuel cell tested with natural convective cooling, a temperature increase in the electrolyte of as much as 15°C is observed for current densities of 1 A/cm2.

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