Thermal Contact Resistance Measurements of Compressed PEFC Gas Diffusion Media

Abstract

Localized temperature gradients in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) are known to decrease the durability of the polymer membrane. The most important factor in controlling these temperature gradients is the thermal contact resistance at the interface of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) and the bipolar plate. Here, we present thermal contact resistance measurements of carbon paper and carbon cloth GDLs over a pressure range of 0.7–14.5 MPa. Contact resistances are highly dependent upon the clamping pressure applied to a fuel cell, and in the present work, contact resistances vary from 3.5 × 10−4 to 2.0 × 10−5 m2 K/W, decreasing nonlinearly over the pressure range for each material tested. The contact resistances of carbon cloth GDLs are two to four times higher than contact resistances of carbon paper GDLs throughout the range of pressures tested. The data presented here also show that the thermal resistance of the sample is negligible in comparison to the thermal contact resistance. Controlling temperature gradients in a fuel cell is desirable, and the measurements presented here can be used to more accurately predict temperature distribution in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell.