BRIGE: Understanding Mechanisms that Impact the Power Density of an Economical Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Stack

该布里奇奖的研究目标是了解气体通过非传统编织结构的渗透性，该结构受到非均匀孔隙率的影响。这项研究将为开发用于可再生能源装置的维度可控的功能梯度材料所需的机制提供一个基本的理解。这项研究的成功结果将是一种开发具有独特维度的功能材料的方法，从而可以控制气体对流动的阻力。将进行数值模拟，以预测气体将如何流过渐变介质，并帮助确定最佳设计。将进行性能分析，以评估机织结构在功能系统中的性能。如果成功，这项研究的结果将导致对气体透过具有非均匀孔隙率的受控梯度编织结构的基本了解，这一点还没有得到很好的理解。用于不同应用的非传统多孔介质已经出现，这种理解可能会根据所需的结果特性影响这些系统的设计。通过研究聚合物电解质膜燃料电池(PEMFCs)中常用的编织碳布的尺寸，拟议的工作将有助于实现这一目标。这项工作将确定影响这类系统性能的关键参数，导致从根本上挑战传统燃料电池配置及其有效性的创新电堆设计。与技术目标相协调，将采用实施一项名为“电极”的合作方案(教育工作者领导节能和培训不同种族的研究人员)的外联目标。

The research objective of this BRIGE award is to understand the permeability of gases through a non-traditional woven structure subjected to non-uniform porosity. This research will provide a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms required to develop a functional graduated material with controlled dimensionality, for use in renewable energy devices. A successful result of this investigation will be a methodology to develop functional materials with unique dimensionality, such that the resistance of a gas to flow may be controlled. Numerical modeling will be conducted to predict how the gases will flow through the graduated medium and to aid with defining the optimal design. Performance analysis will be conducted to evaluate the properties of the woven structure in a functional system. If successful, the results of this research will lead to a fundamental understanding of gas permeability through a controlled graduated woven structure with non-uniform porosity, which is not well understood. Nontraditional porous media for varying applications have emerged, and such an understanding may impact the design of these systems according to the resulting properties that are desired. The proposed work will contribute to this objective by studying the dimensionality of a woven carbon cloth, which is commonly used in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). This work will identify key parameters that influence the performance of such systems, leading to innovative stack designs that fundamentally challenge conventional fuel cell configurations and their effectiveness. Coordinated with the technical objective, the outreach goal of implementing a collaborative program coined ELECTRoDE (Educators Leading Energy Conservation and Training Researchers of Diverse Ethnicities) will be employed.