초록
To investigate the characteristics of water droplet on the gas diffusion layer from both top-view and side-view of the flow channel, a rig test apparatus was designed and fabricated with prism attached plate. This experimental device is used to simulate the growth of single liquid water droplet and its transport process with various air flow velocity and channel height. The contact angle hysteresis and height of water droplet are measured and analyzed. It is found that droplet tends towards to be instable by decreasing channel height, increasing flow velocity or making GDL more hydrophobic. Also, the simplified force balance model matches with experimental data only in a restricted range of operating conditions and shows discrepancy as the air flow velocity and channel height increases.