Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Water in Operating Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

✍ Scribed by S. Tsushima; S. Hirai

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 529 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1615-6846
• DOI: 10.1002/fuce.200800151

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Water management in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is extremely important for the high performance and durable operation of fuel cells. Therefore, fundamental understanding of water transport involved in operating PEMFCs is necessary. This article presents a review of in situ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visualisation of water in operating PEMFCs, which is recognised as a powerful diagnostic tool for probing water behaviours, both in flow fields and in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The basic principles and hardware related to MRI visualisation are described with emphasis on the design, construction and material selection of a PEMFC for MRI experiments. The MRI results reported by several groups are outlined to illustrate the versatility and potential usefulness of in situ visualisation of water in operating PEMFCs using MRI.