Through-Plane Thermal Conductivity of PEMFC Porous Transport Layers

We report the through-plane thermal conductivities of the several widely used carbon porous transport layers (PTLs) and their thermal contact resistance to an aluminum polarization plate. We report these values both for wet and dry samples and at different compaction pressures. We show that depending on the type of PTL and the existence of residual water, the thermal conductivity of the materials varies from 0.15 W K-1 m(-1) to 1.6 W K-1 m(-1), one order of magnitude. This behavior is the same for the contact resistance varying from 0.8 m(2) K W-1 to 11 x 10(-4) m(2) K W-1. For dry PTLs, the thermal conductivity decreases with increasing polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) content and increases with residual water. These effects are explained by the behavior of air, water, and PTFE in between the PTL fibers. It is also found that Toray papers of differing thickness exhibit different thermal conductivities. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4002403]