Abstract
This paper discusses the effect of compression pressure on the
mechanical and thermal properties of gas diffusion layers (GDL). The
stress–strain curve of the GDL revealed one nonlinear and two piecewise
linear regions within the compression pressure range of 0–5.5 MPa. The
thermal conductivity of the compressed GDL seems to be independent of
the compression pressure and was determined to be 1.18 ± 0.11 W m–1 K–1
at room temperature. The thermal contact resistance between the GDL and
graphite was evaluated by augmenting experiments with computer
modelling. The thermal contact resistance decreased nonlinearly with
increasing compression pressure. According to the results here, the
thermal bulk resistance of the GDL is comparable to the thermal contact
resistance between the GDL and graphite. A simple one‐dimensional model
predicted a temperature drop of 1.7–4.4 °C across the GDL and catalyst
layer depending on compression pressures.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 111 - 119 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Fuel Cells |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- Gas diffusion layer
- Inhomogeneous compression
- PEM Fuel cells
- fuel cells
- Stress-strain curve
- Thermal conductivity
- Thermal contact resistance