Non-isothermal melting of ice in the gas-diffusion layer of a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell

Dursch, T. J.; Trigub, G. J.; Liu, J. F.; Radke, C. J.; Weber, A. Z.

doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2013.08.067

Non-isothermal melting of ice in the gas-diffusion layer of a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell

Journal Article · Sat Sep 21 04:00:00 EDT 2013 · International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2013.08.067· OSTI ID:1511372

Dursch, T. J. ^[1]; Trigub, G. J. ^[2]; Liu, J. F. ^[2]; Radke, C. J. ^[1]; Weber, A. Z. ^[3]

Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Non-isothermal ice melting in the fibrous gas-diffusion layer (GDL) of a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Non-isothermal ice-melting rates and ice-melting times are obtained from heat-flow measurements in water-saturated Toray GDLs at heating rates of 1, 2.5, 5, 10, and 25 K/min. In all cases, ice-melting times decrease nonlinearly with increasing heating rate. Nevertheless, melting temperatures remain at 272.9 ± 0.5 and 272.7 ± 0.4 K for bulk ice and ice within the GDL, respectively, reiterating that melting is thermodynamic-based at a rate limited by heat transfer. The slight GDL ice melting-point depression is consistent with the Gibbs-Thomson equation for equilibrium melting using an average pore diameter of 30 μm. Ice-melting endotherms are predicted from overall DSC energy balances coupled with a moving-boundary Stefan problem, where an ice-melting front within a GDL propagates with volume-averaged properties through an effective medium. Agreement between DSC experiment and theory is excellent. The proposed model accurately predicts ice-melting endotherms for Toray GDLs with two ice saturations and for bulk ice. Further, a pseudo-steady-state analysis obtains an analytical expression for ice-melting time, which is controlled by the time for heat addition to the propagating solid/liquid interface. Significantly, the new expression elucidates parameters controlling ice melting and allows for better design of both GDL materials and heating strategies to enhance the success of PEMFC cold-start.

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Fuel Cell Technologies Program (EE-3F)

DOE Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1511372

Journal Information:: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Journal Name: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Journal Issue: C Vol. 67; ISSN 0017-9310

Publisher:: Elsevier

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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