• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.50-58
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• 2021

We proposed an MEA development methodology that accurately measures intrinsic MEA performance while considering the uneven reaction environments formed inside a large-area BP. To facilitate measurement of the inherent MEA performance, we miniaturized the active area of the MEA to 3 cm², and prepared two MEAs with different ionomer contents of 0.65 and 0.80 (I/C). By simulating the operating conditions of a 100 cm² BP at the inlet (I), center (C), and outlet (O), the oxygen concentration and relative humidity were determined to be 20.7, 13.8, 11.7%, and 50, 66.1, and 70.1% respectively. We measured the performance and electrochemical analysis of the prepared MEAs under the three simulated conditions. Based on the results of statistical analysis of the evaluated MEA performance data, I/C 0.65 MEA had a higher average performance and lower performance deviation than I/C 0.80 MEA. Hence, it can be concluded that an I/C 0.65 MEA is a more effective MEA for large-area BP. Based on the above research process, we confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed MEA development methodology.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.125.1-125.1
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• 2010

A high efficiency polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack was developed for pressurized pure hydrogen and oxygen supplying conditions. The design objective for the cell stack was to maximize the electric efficiency and to minimize exhaust-gas emissions from it simultaneously. To achieve this objective, the cell stack was designed to use pure hydrogen and oxygen as fuel and oxidant, respectively, and to be operated under high gas inlet pressures and in a stage-wise dead-end operation mode. Major components constituting the cell stack, such as membrane electrode assembly, bipolar-plate, and gasket, have been developed to meet a target durability even in severe operating conditions: high gas inlet pressures and usage of pure oxygen. A high-power fuel cell stack was assembled using these components to verify the performance. The cell stack showed a good performance in terms of the efficiency and maximum power output.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.347-353
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• 2010

Source terms of metal waste comprising a spent fuel assembly are relatively important when the spent fuel is pyroprocessed, because cesium, strontium, and transuranics are not a concern any more in the aspect of source term of permanent disposal. In this study, characteristics of radiation source terms for each structural component in spent fuel assembly was analyzed by using ORIGEN-S with a assumption that 10 metric tons of uranium is pyroprocessed. At first, mass and volume for each structural component of the fuel assembly were calculated in detail. Activation cross section library was generated by using KENO-VI/ORIGEN-S module for top-end piece and bottom-end piece, because those are located at outer core with different neutron spectrum compared to that of inner core. As a result, values of radioactivity, decay heat, and hazard index were reveled to be $1.40{\times}10^{15}$ Bequerels, 236 Watts, $4.34{\times}10^9m^3$-water, respectively, at 10 years after discharge. Those values correspond to 0.7 %, 1.1 %, 0.1 %, respectively, compared to that of spent fuel. Inconel 718 grid plate was shown to be the most important component in the all aspects of radioactivity, decay heat, and hazard index although the mass occupies only 1 % of the total. It was also shown that if the Inconel 718 grid plate is managed separately, the radioactivity and hazard index of metal waste could be decreased to 20~45 % and 30~45 %, respectively. As a whole, decay heat of metal waste was shown to be negligible in the aspect of disposal system design, while the radioactivity and hazard index are important.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.1358-1370
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• 2003

The effects of anode, cathode, and cooling channels for a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) on flow fields have been investigated numerically. Continuous open-faced fluid flow channels formed in the surface of the bipolar plates traverse the central area of the plate surface in a plurality of passes such as a serpentine manner. The pressure distributions and velocity profiles of the hydrogen, air and water channels on bipolar plates of the PEMFC are analyzed using a two-dimensional simulation. The conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy in the three-dimensional flow solver are modified to include electro-chemical characteristics of the fuel cell. In our three-dimensional numerical simulations, the operation of electro-chemical in Membrane Electrolyte Assembly (MEA) is assumed to be steady-state, involving multi-species. Supplied gases are consumed by chemical reaction. The distributions of oxygen and hydrogen concentration with constant humidity are calculated. The concentration of hydrogen is the highest at the center region of the active area, while the concentration of oxygen is the highest at the inlet region. The flow and thermal profiles are evaluated to determine the flow patterns of gas supplied and cooling plates for an optimal fuel cell stack design.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.104-109
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• 2005

The catalyst layer design is one of the most important factors to enhance the performance of PEMFC(Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) system. The hydrophobic and ion conductive type is studied for the MEA(Membrane Electrolyte Assembly). It is found that those have some limitations for performance enhancement when they are used separately. Thus, the dual catalyst type, a mixed model, is developed for the better MEA performance. In the meantime, the design of flow field plate is subsequently carried out in order to give more enhanced output during its operation. The conductivity of flow field plate showed better performance in the case of manufactured by the more compressed process(20MPa) than by the less compressed process(10MPa). The micro-structure of the flow field plate is examined in details using SEM(Scanning Electron Microscope) to analyse the effects on the different compression processes.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.5-11
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• 2012

To identify the flow characteristics of the SMART reactor, a flow distribution model test and a numerical simulation are performed in KAERI. Among several part of the SMART reactor, the fuel assemblies are simulated using simulators because of the complexity. The geometries of the core in the SMART reactor and simulator are different, but some similarities are maintained such as the ratio of pressure drop in the vertical and cross directions. There are cross flow holes in each core simulator to reproduce the cross flow of SMART fuel assemblies. To know the flow characteristics of the cross flow, numerical analysis is performed. As the cross flow area is decreased, the pressure drop between inlet and outlet is decreased. Also, when the flow imbalance between two core simulators is constant, the cross flow area does not significantly affect the cross flow.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.618-623
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• 2022

The bipolar plate is a key component of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) that transfers reactants and electrons, discharges water and heat as by-products, and serves as a mechanical support for the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Therefore, the flow field structure of the bipolar plate plays an important role in improving fuel cell performance. In this study, PEMFC performance was investigated with copper foams with different compressibility ratios applied to cathode bipolar plates using a 25 cm² unit cell. The total resistance decreased as the compressibility ratio of the metal foams increased, and, in particular, the charge transfer and mass transfer resistance were significantly improved compared to the serpentine flow field, lowering voltage loss in medium and high current density region. In the case of pressurized air reactant flow with serpentine structure, fuel cell performance was similar to that of a compressed metal foam flow field (S3) up to the medium current density region, but low performance appeared in the high current density region due to flow field structure limitations.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.193-195
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• 2007

These days, to change the new & renewable energy change the subject because environmental pollution and exhausted fossil power. The most notable Fuel cells by one of the new & renewable energies are one of very useful power conversion sources. Their advantages are low environmental pollution, highly efficient power generation, diversity of fuels (natural gas, LPG, methanol and naphtha), and reusability of exhaust heat, modularity, and faster installation. PEMFC by one of the Fuel Cells is the energy of new technology which is produced by the electric chemical reaction directly. The essential composition elements of PEMFC stack are membrane electrode assembly (MEA), catalyst, Bipolar Plate. Under the this study, know-how is manufacturing single cell of PEMFC and Study design of Low Voltage, Low Electric Power System by PEMFC Single Cell.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.106-115
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• 2018

The forward and afterward parts of ships and offshore structures are designed to improve the fuel consumption performance. These are made of curved plates with a large thickness. If a fabricated curved plate has some dimensional errors, a lot of additional cost is incurred in the assembly process. Thus, an accurate dimensional assessment is very important for fabrication. In this paper, we propose an assessment method for the dimensional quality management of curved plates. This can be applied to data measured using a variety of three-dimensional instruments, with boundary measurement points automatically classified and sorted to create a measurement surface. The assessment is evaluated after matching the CAD surface and the measured surface considering constrained conditions. The fabrication assessment is evaluated as a probability of how much the tolerance is satisfied.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.905-911
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• 2015

In this study, to examine the effect of a hole size change(smaller hole diameter) in the outer region of the lower-support-structure-bottom plate(LSSBP) on the reactor core-inlet flow-distribution, simulations were conducted with the commercial CFD software, ANSYS CFX R.15. The predicted results were compared with those of the original LSSBP. Through these comparisons, it was concluded that a more uniform distribution of the mass flow rate at the core-inlet plane could be obtained by reducing the hole size in the outer region of the LSSBP. Therefore, from the nuclear regulatory perspective, design change of the hole pattern in the outer region of the LSSBP may be desirable in terms of improving both the mechanical integrity of the fuel assembly and the core thermal margin.