TY - JOUR A1 - Ziesche, R.F. A1 - Hack, J. A1 - Rasha, L. A1 - Maier, M. A1 - Tan, C. A1 - Heenan, T.M.M. A1 - Markötter, Henning A1 - Kardjilov, N. A1 - Manke, I. A1 - Kockelmann, W. A1 - Brett, D.J.L. A1 - Shearing, P.R. T1 - High-speed 4D neutron computed tomography for quantifying water dynamics in polymer electrolyte fuel cells JF - Nature Communications N2 - In recent years, low-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells have become an increasingly important pillar in a zero-carbon strategy for curbing climate change, with their potential to power multiscale stationary and mobile applications. The performance improvement is a particular focus of research and engineering roadmaps, with water management being one of the major areas of interest for development. Appropriate characterisation tools for mapping the evolution, motion and removal of water are of high importance to tackle shortcomings. This article demonstrates the development of a 4D high-speed neutron imaging technique, which enables a quantitative analysis of the local water evolution. 4D visualisation allows the time-resolved studies of droplet formation in the flow fields and water quantification in various cell parts. Performance parameters for water management are identified that offer a method of cell classification, which will, in turn, support computer modelling and the engineering of next-generation flow field designs. KW - Neutron imaging KW - Tomography KW - Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-545978 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29313-5 VL - 13 IS - 1 SP - 1616 PB - Nature Publishing Group UK CY - London AN - OPUS4-54597 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Trogadas, P. A1 - Cho, J. I. S. A1 - Rasha, L. A1 - Lu, X. A1 - Kardjilov, N. A1 - Markötter, Henning A1 - Manke, I. A1 - Shearing, P. R. A1 - Brett, D. J. L. A1 - Coppens, M. O. T1 - A nature-inspired solution for water management in flow fields for electrochemical devices JF - Energy & Environmental Science N2 - A systematic, nature-inspired chemical engineering approach is employed to solve the issue of flooding in electrochemical devices. The mechanism of passive water transport utilized by lizards living in arid environments is leveraged to design flow-fields with a microchannel structure on their surface, through which capillary pressure rapidly removes the water generated in the electrochemical device. This water management strategy is implemented in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with a lunginspired flow-field, which ensures uniform distribution of reactants across the catalyst layer. Jointly, this nature-inspired approach results in flood-free, stable operation at 100% RH and a B60% increase in current (B1.9 A cm-2) and peak power density (B650 mW cm−2) compared to current PEMFCs with a flood-prone, serpentine flow-field (B0.8 A cm-2 and 280 mW cm-2, respectively). This significant advance allows for PEMFC operation at fully humidified conditions. KW - Neutron imaging KW - X-ray tomography KW - Fuel cell PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-596662 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ee03666a VL - 17 SP - 2007 EP - 2017 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-59666 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tengattini, A A1 - Kardjilov, N A1 - Helfen, L A1 - Douissard, P A A1 - Lenoir, N A1 - Markötter, Henning A1 - Hilger, A A1 - Arlt, T A1 - Paulisch, M A1 - Turek, T A1 - Manke, Ingo T1 - Compact and versatile neutron imaging detector with sub-4μm spatial resolution based on a single-crystal thin-film scintillator JF - Optics Express N2 - A large and increasing number of scientific domains pushes for high neutron imaging resolution achieved in reasonable times. Here we present the principle, design and performance of a detector based on infinity corrected optics combined with a crystalline Gd3Ga5O12 : Eu scintillator, which provides an isotropic sub-4 μm true resolution. The exposure times are only of a few minutes per image. This is made possible also by the uniquely intense cold neutron flux available at the imaging beamline NeXT-Grenoble. These comparatively rapid acquisitions are compatible with multiple high quality tomographic acquisitions, opening new venues for in-operando testing, as briefly exemplified here. KW - Neutron imaging KW - Scintillator KW - Resolution PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-549836 DO - https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.448932 VL - 30 IS - 9 SP - 14461 EP - 14477 PB - Optica CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-54983 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mohseninia, A A1 - Eppler, M A1 - Kartouzian, D A1 - Markötter, Henning A1 - Kardjilov, N A1 - Wilhelm, F A1 - Scholta, J A1 - Manke, I T1 - PTFE Content in Catalyst Layers and Microporous Layers: Effect on Performance and Water Distribution in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells JF - Journal of the Electrochemical Society N2 - This work describes the effects of catalyst layers (CLs) consisting of hydrophobic PTFE on the performance and water management of PEM fuel cells. Catalyst inks with various PTFE contents were coated on Nafion membranes and characterized using contact angle measurements, SEX-EDX, and mercury porosimetry. Fuel cell tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were conducted under varying operating conditions for the prepared materials. At dry conditions, CLs with 5 wt.% PTFE were advantageous for cell performance due to improved membrane hydration, whereas under humid conditions and high air flow rates CLs with 10 wt.% PTFE improved the performance in high current density region. Higher PTFE contents (⩾20 wt.%) increased the mass transport resistance due to reduced porosity of the CLs structure. Operando neutron radiography was utilized to study the effects of hydrophobicity gradients within CLs and cathode microporous layer (MPLC) on liquid water distribution. More hydrophobic CLs increased the water content in adjacent layers and improved performance, especially at dry conditions. MPLC with higher PTFE contents increased the overall liquid water within the CLs and GDLs and escalated the water transfer to the anode side. Furthermore, the role of back-diffusion transport mechanism on water distribution was identified for the investigated cells. KW - Neutron imaging KW - Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell KW - Catalyst Layer KW - Microporous Layer KW - Water Distribution PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/abec53 VL - 168 IS - 3 SP - 034509 PB - IOP Science AN - OPUS4-52402 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kardjilov, N A1 - Manke, I A1 - Hilger, A A1 - Arlt, T A1 - Bradbury, R A1 - Markötter, Henning A1 - Woracek, R A1 - Strobel, M A1 - Treimer, W A1 - Banhart, J T1 - The Neutron Imaging Instrument CONRAD — Post‐Operational Review JF - Journal of imaging N2 - The neutron imaging instrument CONRAD was operated as a part of the user program of the research reactor BER‐II at Helmholtz‐Zentrum Berlin (HZB) from 2005 to 2020. The Instrument was designed to use the neutron flux from the cold source of the reactor, transported by a curved neutron guide. The pure cold neutron spectrum provided a great advantage in the use of different neutron optical components such as focusing lenses and guides, solid‐state polarizers, Monochromators and phase gratings. The flexible setup of the instrument allowed for implementation of new methods including wavelength‐selective, dark‐field, phase‐contrast and imaging with polarized neutrons. In summary, these developments helped to attract a large number of scientists and industrial customers, who were introduced to neutron imaging and subsequently contributed to the Expansion of the neutron imaging community. KW - Neutron imaging KW - Neutron scattering KW - Neutron instrument KW - Tomography PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-534190 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ jimaging7010011 VL - 7 IS - 11 SP - 7010011 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-53419 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jamro, R. A1 - Mente, Tobias A1 - Kardjilov, N. A1 - Markötter, Henning A1 - Al-Falahat, Ala'A. M. A1 - Woracek, R. A1 - Manke, I. A1 - Griesche, Axel T1 - Temperature distribution during welding measured by neutron imaging JF - Journal of Physics: Conference Series N2 - This study was carried out to investigate the neutron transmission signal as a function of sample temperature during a welding process. A theoretical description that includes the Debye-Waller factor was used to describe the temperature influence on the neutron crosssections. Neutron imaging using a monochromatic beam helps to observe transmission variations related to the material temperature. In-situ neutron imaging of welding experiments show the distribution of the temperature in bulk steel samples. The performed finite element modelling of expected temperature distributions shows good agreement with the obtained experimental data. KW - Neutron imaging KW - Debye-Waller-Faktor PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-586268 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2605/1/012026 VL - 2605 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - IOP Publishing Ltd. AN - OPUS4-58626 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Al-Falahat, A.M. A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Hentschel, M.P. A1 - Lange, A. A1 - Kardjilov, N. A1 - Markötter, Henning A1 - Manke, I. T1 - Correction approach of detector backlighting in radiography JF - Review of Scientific Instruments N2 - In various kinds of radiography, deficient transmission imaging may occur due to backlighting inside the detector itself arising from light or radiation scattering. The related intensity mismatches barely disturb the high resolution contrast, but its long range nature results in reduced attenuation levels which are often disregarded. Based on X-ray observations and an empirical formalism, a procedure is developed for a first order correction of detector backlighting. A backlighting factor is modeled as a function of the relative detector coverage by the sample projection. Different cases of sample transmission are regarded at different backlight factors and detector coverage. The additional intensity of backlighting may strongly affect the values of materials’ attenuation up to a few 10%. The presented scenario provides a comfortable procedure for corrections of X-ray or neutron transmission imaging data. KW - X-ray imaging KW - Neutron imaging KW - Radiology KW - Backlighting KW - Digital detector array PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5097170 SN - 0034-6748 VL - 90 IS - 12 SP - 125108 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville, NY, USA AN - OPUS4-50217 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -