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LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The impact of mechanical characteristics of GDL on the efficiency of a PEM fuel cell

Olli, Klara LU (2022) MVKM01 20212
Department of Energy Sciences
Abstract
When a fuel cell stack is assembled it is compressed to ensure gas tightness, and
as a consequence, the Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) will intrude into the channels of
the Bipolar Plate (BPP). In this work, the GDL is studied in compression tests and
through intrusion measurements. Based on the collected data from the measurements,
an approximative method is developed to calculate the intruded profile and stack
pressure drop.
The approximated function to describe the intrusion was estimated by a cosine curve
with input parameters such as BPP geometry and the difference in uncompressed and
compressed thickness of the GDL. The function was found to fit well to the measured
values, and the calculated values for the stack pressure drop... (More)
When a fuel cell stack is assembled it is compressed to ensure gas tightness, and
as a consequence, the Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) will intrude into the channels of
the Bipolar Plate (BPP). In this work, the GDL is studied in compression tests and
through intrusion measurements. Based on the collected data from the measurements,
an approximative method is developed to calculate the intruded profile and stack
pressure drop.
The approximated function to describe the intrusion was estimated by a cosine curve
with input parameters such as BPP geometry and the difference in uncompressed and
compressed thickness of the GDL. The function was found to fit well to the measured
values, and the calculated values for the stack pressure drop correspond moderately
to real measured test values with some error margin. Overall it could be found that
a GDL material with a larger intrusion profile will result in an increase in the stack
pressure drop, hence decrease the total fuel cell system efficiency. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Olli, Klara LU
supervisor
organization
course
MVKM01 20212
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Fuel Cell, PEM, gas diffusion layer, bipolar plate, intrusion
report number
LUTMDN/TMHP-22/5490-SE
ISSN
0282-1990
language
English
id
9113713
date added to LUP
2023-04-25 09:28:49
date last changed
2023-04-25 09:28:49
@misc{9113713,
  abstract     = {{When a fuel cell stack is assembled it is compressed to ensure gas tightness, and
as a consequence, the Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) will intrude into the channels of
the Bipolar Plate (BPP). In this work, the GDL is studied in compression tests and
through intrusion measurements. Based on the collected data from the measurements,
an approximative method is developed to calculate the intruded profile and stack
pressure drop.
The approximated function to describe the intrusion was estimated by a cosine curve
with input parameters such as BPP geometry and the difference in uncompressed and
compressed thickness of the GDL. The function was found to fit well to the measured
values, and the calculated values for the stack pressure drop correspond moderately
to real measured test values with some error margin. Overall it could be found that
a GDL material with a larger intrusion profile will result in an increase in the stack
pressure drop, hence decrease the total fuel cell system efficiency.}},
  author       = {{Olli, Klara}},
  issn         = {{0282-1990}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The impact of mechanical characteristics of GDL on the efficiency of a PEM fuel cell}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}