• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.393-400
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• 2013

The air supply system has a significant effect on the efficiency of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems. The performance and efficiency of automotive PEMFC systems are greatly influenced by their air supply system configurations. This study deals with the system simulation of automotive PEMFC systems using MATLAB/Simulink framework. In this study, a low-pressure operating PEMFC system adopting blower sub-module (turbo-blower) is modeled to investigate the effects of stack operating temperature and air stoichiometry on the parasitic power and efficiency of automotive PEMFC systems. In addition, the PEMFC net system efficiency and parasitic power of air supply system are mainly compared for the two types (low-pressure operating and high-pressure operating) of automotive PEMFC systems under the same net power conditions. It is suggested that the obtained results from this system approach can be applied for establishing the novel operating strategies for FC vehicles.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2018

Fuel cells are used to generate electricity with a reformer. In particular, methanol has various advantages among the fuels for reformer. Methanol steam reformer devices can efficiently supply hydrogen to PEM fuel cell. This study investigated the optimal operation conditions of a methanol steam reforming process. For this purpose, aspen HYSYS was used for the optimization of reforming process. The optimal operating condition could be designed by setting independent variables such as temperature, pressure and steam to carbon ratio (SCR). The optimal temperature and steam to carbon ratio were $250-270^{\circ}C$ and 1.3-1.5, respectively. It is advantageous to operate at a pressure of 15-20 barg, considering the performance of the hydrogen purifier. In addition, a heat exchange network was designed to supply heat constantly to reformer through the latent heat of steam.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.243-248
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• 2016

Although thermoset carbon fiber composite bipolar plates not only have high mechanical properties but also high corrosion resistance in acid environment, high manufacturing cost and low bulk electrical conductivity are the biggest obstacle to overcome. In this research, thermoplastic polymer is employed for the matrix of carbon composite bipolar plate to increase both the manufacturing productivity and bulk electric conductivity of the bipolar plate. In order to increase the electrical conductivity and strength, plain type carbon fabric rather than chopped or unidirectional fibers is used. Also nano particles are embedded in the thermoplastic matrix to increase the bulk resistance of the bipolar plate. The area specific resistance and the mechanical strength of the developed bipolar plate are measured with respect to the environmental temperature and stack compaction pressure.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.391-403
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• 2013

Propeller aircraft propelled by an electric propulsion system is gaining a renewed interest because of ever-increasing environmental concern on harmful emissions emitted from conventional jet engines and national energy security. Traditional aircraft sizing methods are not readily applicable to electric propulsion aircraft that utilize a variety of alternative energy sources and power generation systems. This study showcases an electric propulsion aircraft sizing exercise based on a generalized, power based sizing method. A general aviation aircraft is propelled by an electric propulsion system that comprises of a propeller, a high temperature super conducting motor, a Proton Exchange Membrance(PEM) fuel cell system fuelled with hydrogen, and power conditioning equipment. In order to assess the impact of technology progression, aircraft sizing was conducted for two different sets of technology assumptions for electric components, and the results were compared with conventional baseline aircraft.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.373-379
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• 2021

A series of novel PBI/SrTiO₃ nanocomposite membranes composed of polybenzimidazole (PBI) and strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) with a perovskite structure were fabricated with various concentrations of SrTiO₃ through a solution casting method. Various characterization techniques such as proton nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and AC impedance spectroscopy were used to investigate the chemical structure, thermal, phosphate absorption and morphological properties, and proton conductivity of the fabricated nanocomposite membranes. The optimized PBI/SrTiO₃-8 polymer nanocomposite membrane containing 8wt% of SrTiO₃ showed a higher proton conductivity of 7.95 × 10^-2 S/cm at 160℃ compared to other nanocomposite membranes. The PBI/SrTiO₃-8 composite membrane also showed higher thermal stability compared to pristine PBI. In addition, the roughness change of the polymer composite membrane was also investigated by AFM. Based on these results, nanocomposite membranes based on perovskite structures are expected to be considered as potential candidates for high-temperature PEM fuel cell applications.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 2006

Hydrogen as new energy sources is highly efficient and have very low environmental emissions. The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an emerging technology that can meet these demands. Therefore, the preparation of stable polymeric membranes with good proton conductivity and durability are very important for hydrogen production via water electrolysis with PEM at medium temperature above $80^{\circ}C$. Currently Nafion of Dupont and Aciflex of Asahi, etc., solid polymer electrolytes of perfluorosulfonic acid membrane, are the best performing commercially available polymer electrolytes. However, these membrane have several flaws including its high cost, and its limited operational temperature above $80^{\circ}C$. Because of this, significant research efforts have been devoted to the development of newer and cheaper membranes. In order to make up for the weak points and to improve the mechanical characteristics with cross -linking, acid-base complexes were prepared by the combination PSf-co-PPSS-$NH_2$ with PEEK-$SO_3H$. The results showed that the proton conductivity decreased in 17.6% and 40% but tensile strength increased in 78% and 98%, about $20.65\;{\times}\;10^6N/m^2$, in comparison with SBPSf/HPA and SPEEK/HPA complex membrane.