An Experimental Study on the Correlation between Characteristics of Gas Diffusion Layer and Performance Depending on Relative Humidity Variation in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Abstract

As it is well known, Gas diffusion Layer(GDL) is a fundamental element to provide more efficient water transport in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell(PEMFC). Numerous previous studies showed how important and critical GDL is in PEMFC. There have been many efforts to improve the performance of GDL, such as studies on properties, structural improvement, and hydrophobic coating on substrate and micro porous layer. Through these efforts, PEMFC has been developed and also the relationship between GDL and each component was investigated well.Relative Humidity(RH) is an important factor that affects proton conductivity and mass transport and is also an factor to be considered for water management. Although it should be relatively clear, it is necessary to compare and verify between the numerical study and experimental study since they does not always matches.In this study, the results were compared with the physical properties of each GDL based on experimental data applying GDL with different characteristics. We studied to reveal the correlation between data such as thickness, porosity, and pore distribution of GDL and I-V Polarization curve conducted by changing RH conditions to investigate performance.