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 JF - Journal of power sources 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 DO - 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 - Manke, I. A1 - Hartnig, C. A1 - Kuhn, R. A1 - Riesemeier, Heinrich A1 - Banhart, J. T1 - Investigation of carbon fiber gas diffusion layers by means of synchrotron X-ray tomography JF - ECS transactions N2 - The 3-dimensional spatial distribution of liquid water in different gas diffusion layer (GDL) materials was analyzed using synchrotron X-ray tomography. The capability of the method was demonstrated by virtually separating the GDL components in order to facilitate individual analysis of fiber material, liquid water and gas filled pore spaces. The influence of hydrophobic surface treatment on the water distribution in the GDL was illustrated by analyzing three GDL materials with different degrees of hydrophobicity. In the least hydrophobic sample, liquid water tends to form larger clusters which stretch out about several hundred µm inside the porous GDL. In contrast, only small water clusters were found in the strongly hydrophobic material with high Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-content as the liquid is partially pressed out of the GDL. Additionally, the influence of fiber orientation on the water distribution in the felt material was demonstrated. KW - Synchrotron X-ray tomography KW - Fuel cell KW - Gas diffusion layer (GDL) materials KW - Analysis of fiber material PY - 2011 DO - https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3635571 SN - 1938-6737 SN - 1938-5862 VL - 41 IS - 1 SP - 379 EP - 386 CY - Pennington, NJ, USA AN - OPUS4-25348 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -