Segmentation of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) with Sub–Millimeter Resolution in the Land-Channel Direction.

The interaction between the flow channels and gas diffusion layer affects the water management and the thermal management. Consequently, the land-channel geometry in a typical PEFC influences the uniformity of current generation in the land-channel direction. Therefore it becomes important to assess the current density distribution along the land-channel direction. This work is focused on developing a segmented PEFC to measure the current density in the land and the channel areas at sub-millimeter resolution. Design criteria pertaining to the segmented PEFC are explained in detail. By paying attention to those criteria, a new design and fabrication method to develop a segmented PEFC to measure current density at sub-millimeter resolution are proposed. Ex-situ experiments are conducted to validate the design, and in-situ tests are performed to obtain the current density distribution under the land and the channel areas in dry and wet condition