A novel water content sensor design and its application for in-situ water content measurement inside the flow channel of PEMFC. (March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Yan; Wang, Weiding; Liu, Yukai; Su, Jinzhan
• Is Part Of: Flow measurement and instrumentation. Volume 89(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-03
• Subjects: PEMFC -- Water content sensor -- Real-time water measurement; Fluid dynamic measurements -- Periodicals; Flow meters -- Periodicals; Fluides, Dynamique des -- Mesure -- Périodiques; Débitmètres -- Périodiques; 681.2805
• DOI: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2022.102277
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0955-5986

Abstract

Abstract: In-situ water content detection in proton exchange fuel cell (PEMFC) is of great importance to its water management. In this study, flexible thin film water content microsensor (WCMS) were fabricated and deployed for real-time measurement of water distribution inside the channel of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The effect of inserting WCMS on the cell performance was confirmed to be negligible. Besides, three WCMS were used to monitor the variation of water distribution in the upstream, midstream, and downstream of the flow channel, respectively. The experimental results show that the WCMS can efficiently detect the change of water content inside the fuel cell in real time. The co-occurrence phenomenon of water column clogging in the flow channel and degradation of cell performance were observed. This work provides a novel design of WCMS and its application on the water content distribution inside flow channel of fuel cells. Highlights: Flexible thin film water content microsensor (WCMS) were fabricated using PI film as the support and a total thickness of 25 μm. Three WCMS were used to monitor the variation of water distribution inside the channel of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The co-occurrence phenomenon of water column clogging in the flow channel and degradation of cell performance were observed.