TY - JOUR A1 - Tötzke, C. A1 - Gaiselmann, G. A1 - Osenberg, M. A1 - Bohner, J. A1 - Arlt, Tobias A1 - Markötter, H. A1 - Hilger, A. A1 - Wieder, F. A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Hentschel, Manfred P. A1 - Banhart, J. A1 - Schmidt, V. A1 - Lehnert, W. A1 - Manke, I. T1 - Three-dimensional study of compressed gas diffusion layers using synchrotron X-ray imaging N2 - We present a synchrotron X-ray tomographic study on the morphology of carbon fiber-based gas diffusion layer (GDL) material under compression. A dedicated compression device is used to provide well-defined compression conditions. A flat compression punch is employed to study the fiber geometry at different degrees of compression. Transport relevant geometrical parameters such as porosity, pore size and tortuosity distributions are calculated. The geometric properties notably change upon compression which has direct impact on transport conditions for gas and fluid flow. The availability of broad 3D paths, which are most important for the transport of liquid water from the catalyst layer through the GDL, is markedly reduced after compression. In a second experiment, we study the influence of the channel-land-pattern of the flow-field on shape and microstructure of the GDL. A flow-field compression punch is employed to reproduce the inhomogeneous compression conditions found during fuel cell assembly. While homogenously compressed underneath the land the GDL is much less and inhomogeneously compressed under the channel. The GDL material extends far into the channel volume where it can considerably influence gas and fluid flow. Loose fiber endings penetrate deeply into the channel and form obstacles for the discharge of liquid water droplets. KW - Synchrotron X-ray tomography KW - Gas diffusion layer (GDL) KW - Microstructure KW - Water transport path KW - Pore size analysis KW - Geometrical tortuosity PY - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.12.062 SN - 0378-7753 VL - 253 SP - 123 EP - 131 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] AN - OPUS4-29979 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tötzke, C. A1 - Gaiselmann, G. A1 - Osenberg, M. A1 - Arlt, Tobias A1 - Markötter, H. A1 - Hilger, A. A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Schmidt, V. A1 - Lehnert, W. A1 - Manke, I. T1 - Influence of hydrophobic treatment on the structure of compressed gas diffusion layers N2 - Carbon fiber based felt materials are widely used as gas diffusion layer (GDL) in fuel cells. Their transport properties can be adjusted by adding hydrophobic agents such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). We present a synchrotron X-ray tomographic study on the felt material Freudenberg H2315 with different PTFE finishing. In this study, we analyze changes in microstructure and shape of GDLs at increasing degree of compression which are related to their specific PTFE load. A dedicated compression device mimicking the channel-land pattern of the flowfield is used to reproduce the inhomogeneous compression found in a fuel cell. Transport relevant geometrical parameters such as porosity, pore size distribution and geometric tortuosity are calculated and consequences for media transport discussed. PTFE finishing results in a marked change of shape of compressed GDLs: surface is smoothed and the invasion of GDL fibers into the flow field channel strongly mitigated. Furthermore, the PTFE impacts the microstructure of the compressed GDL. The number of available wide transport paths is significantly increased as compared to the untreated material. These changes improve the transport capacity liquid water through the GDL and promote the discharge of liquid water droplets from the cell. KW - Gas diffusion layer KW - Synchrotron Tomography KW - Compression KW - Hydrophobic treatment KW - Water transport PY - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.05.118 SN - 0378-7753 VL - 324 SP - 625 EP - 636 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-36918 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maier, W. A1 - Arlt, Tobias A1 - Wannek, C. A1 - Manke, I. A1 - Riesemeier, Heinrich A1 - Krüger, P. A1 - Scholta, J. A1 - Lehnert, W. A1 - Banhart, J. A1 - Stolten, D. T1 - In-situ synchrotron X-ray radiography on high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells N2 - In contrast to classical low temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (LT-PEFCs), the membrane conductivity in high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (HT-PEFCs) (operating temperature ~ 160 °C) is based on proton transport within phosphorus-oxygen acids at different levels of hydration, orthophosphoric acid (H3PO4) being the simplest example. We present for the first time in-situ synchrotron X-ray radiography measurements applied to a HT-PEFC to gain insight into the local composition of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) under dynamic operating conditions. Transmission changes during the radiographic measurements exhibit a clear influence of the formation of product water on the membrane composition. KW - HT-PEFC KW - Synchrotron x-ray radiography KW - Membrane electrode assembly (MEA) KW - Phosphoric acid PY - 2010 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2010.08.002 SN - 1388-2481 VL - 12 IS - 10 SP - 1436 EP - 1438 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-23962 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tötzke, C. A1 - Manke, I. A1 - Gaiselmann, G. A1 - Bohner, J. A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Hentschel, Manfred P. A1 - Schmidt, V. A1 - Banhart, J. A1 - Lehnert, W. T1 - A dedicated compression device for high resolution X-ray tomography of compressed gas diffusion layers N2 - We present an experimental approach to study the three-dimensional microstructure of gas diffusion layer (GDL) materials under realistic compression conditions. A dedicated compression device was designed that allows for synchrotron-tomographic investigation of circular samples under well-defined compression conditions. The tomographic data provide the experimental basis for stochastic modeling of nonwoven GDL materials. A plain compression tool is used to study the fiber courses in the material at different compression stages. Transport relevant geometrical parameters, such as porosity, pore size, and tortuosity distributions, are exemplarily evaluated for a GDL sample in the uncompressed state and for a compression of 30 vol.%. To mimic the geometry of the flow-field, we employed a compression punch with an integrated channel-rib-profile. It turned out that the GDL material is homogeneously compressed under the ribs, however, much less compressed underneath the channel. GDL fibers extend far into the channel volume where they might interfere with the convective gas transport and the removal of liquid water from the cell. KW - PEM fuel cell KW - Gas diffusion layer (GDL) KW - Compression device KW - X-ray tomography KW - Synchrotron KW - Tortuosity PY - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4918291 SN - 0034-6748 SN - 1089-7623 VL - 86 IS - 4 SP - 043702-1 EP - 043702-6 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville, NY, USA AN - OPUS4-33081 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -