TY - JOUR
T1 - Performance and flow characteristics of large-sized PEM fuel cell having branch channel
AU - Han, Seong Ho
AU - Choi, Nam Huen
AU - Choi, Young Don
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Human Resources Development program (No. 20144010200770 ) of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Korea government Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy .
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/4/20
Y1 - 2015/4/20
N2 - In order to further commercialize fuel cell systems, The price of The systems needs to be reduced. In particular, problems concerning The high price of The stack, part of The fuel cell system, need to be resolved. The reduction of The number of stack layers can achieve shrinkage of The stack components, including The bipolar plate, MEA, and gasket, with a significant reduction in The price of The stack. Accordingly, to determine a way to reduce The number of stack layers, The bipolar plate needs to be large; this study thus presents a new channel pattern to restrain The increase of The differential pressure of The cathode that would be caused by a large-sized bipolar plate. Computational analysis shows that, in The case where a branching factor (f) of The branch channel is changed from 1 to 0.5 in its exit part, The performance of The channel is similar, but The pressure drop is reduced by 78.33% compared to a serpentine channel. Test results suggest that while The serpentine channel produces The electric power of 139.8 W due to The pressure drop, a blower consumes electric power of 9.12 W and, in case of The branch channel with The f value of 0.5 in its exit part, The blower consumes The electric power of 4.38 W, which is a 3.55% greater performance compared to The serpentine channel.
AB - In order to further commercialize fuel cell systems, The price of The systems needs to be reduced. In particular, problems concerning The high price of The stack, part of The fuel cell system, need to be resolved. The reduction of The number of stack layers can achieve shrinkage of The stack components, including The bipolar plate, MEA, and gasket, with a significant reduction in The price of The stack. Accordingly, to determine a way to reduce The number of stack layers, The bipolar plate needs to be large; this study thus presents a new channel pattern to restrain The increase of The differential pressure of The cathode that would be caused by a large-sized bipolar plate. Computational analysis shows that, in The case where a branching factor (f) of The branch channel is changed from 1 to 0.5 in its exit part, The performance of The channel is similar, but The pressure drop is reduced by 78.33% compared to a serpentine channel. Test results suggest that while The serpentine channel produces The electric power of 139.8 W due to The pressure drop, a blower consumes electric power of 9.12 W and, in case of The branch channel with The f value of 0.5 in its exit part, The blower consumes The electric power of 4.38 W, which is a 3.55% greater performance compared to The serpentine channel.
KW - Current density
KW - Dimensionless number
KW - Flooding
KW - Mass flow rate
KW - PEMFC
KW - Stoichiometry
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.01.039
DO - 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.01.039
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84925347816
VL - 40
SP - 4819
EP - 4829
JO - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
JF - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
SN - 0360-3199
IS - 14
ER -
