
| Title | Pseudo-isothermal ice-crystallization kinetics in the gas-diffusion layer of a fuel cell from differential scanning calorimetry |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2013 |
| Authors | Dursch, Thomas J., M. A. Ciontea, Gregory J. Trigub, Clayton J. Radke, and Adam Z. Weber |
| Journal | International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer |
| Volume | 60 |
| Pagination | 450 - 458 |
| Date Published | 5/2013 |
| ISSN | 00179310 |
| Keywords | crystallization, differential scanning calorimetry, gas-diffusion layer, Heat Transfer, kinetics, melt, nonisothermal crystallization, nucleation, polyesters, polymer crystallization, solidification |
| Abstract | Non-isothermal ice-crystallization kinetics in the fibrous gas-diffusion layer (GDL) of a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell is investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Non-isothermal ice-crystallization rates and ice-crystallization temperatures are obtained from heat-flow measurements in a water-saturated commercial GDL at cooling rates of 2.5, 5, 10, and 25 K/min. Our previously developed isothermal ice-crystallization rate expression is extended to non-isothermal crystallization to predict ice-crystallization kinetics in a GDL at various cooling rates. Agreement between DSC experimental results and theory is good. Both show that as the cooling rate increases, ice-crystallization rates increase and crystallization temperatures decrease monotonically. Importantly, we find that the cooling rate during crystallization has a negligible effect on the crystallization rate when crystallization times are much faster than the time to decrease the sample temperature by the subcooling. Based on this finding, we propose a pseudo-isothermal method for obtaining non-isothermal crystallization kinetics using isothermal crystallization kinetics evaluated at the non-isothermal crystallization temperature. |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2012.12.048 |
| Short Title | International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2012.12.048 |