การพัฒนาแบบจำลองเพื่อทำนายปรากฏการณ์ถ่ายโอนในชั้นเร่งปฏิกิริยาของเซลล์เชื้อเพลิงแบบพอลิเมอร์อิเล็กโทรไลต์ที่มีรอยแตกขนาดเล็ก

The issue of an energy shortage, climate change, and global warming is a major global problem. This has led to numerous efforts to shift the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy. This can be seen from the acceleration of electric vehicle usage, which can be considered the first gateway to a renewable energy society since the energy used for vehicles no longer has to be fossil fuels. Traditional electric vehicles have significant limitations since raw materials are limited with the current battery technology, and there is no cost-effective way to recycle the raw materials. If all car production in this world were battery electric vehicles, it would leave the world with only 20-25 years for Li-ion battery production due to the limited lithium supply. This makes the prospects of batteries no different from fossil fuels, ultimately leading to an energy crisis. 

Hydrogen is one of the cleanest and most sustainable energies expected to play a significant role in the future. One of the most popular hydrogen devices for transportation applications is the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) due to its low operating temperature and pressure, high efficiency, and good response. However, PEFCs are also affected by high costs. As a result, PEFCs still need to be developed to improve performance to reduce costs. One of the significant problems with PEFCs is the loss in the cathode caused by oxygen transport. Past studies have shown that perforations in the gas diffusion layer and cracks in the microporous layer facilitate the transfer of water and oxygen. However, the researchers still do not have a model for the transfer phenomenon within the fuel cell to consider the effect of cracks in the microporous layer. As a result, researchers still lack the basic knowledge to design and improve the gas diffusion layer and microporous layer. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to develop a PEFC model by considering the microporous layer's structure and the gas diffusion layer. The model will determine the effect of the size, location and shape of cracks in the microporous layer and perforations in the gas diffusion layer, particularly the liquid water transport. The simulation results are then compared with the experimental results using soft X-ray radiography and IV performance curve. The results of this project will promote a fundamental understanding of the PEFC, which will help researchers understand how to increase PEFC performance and facilitate the transition from traditional fossil fuels to the upcoming hydrogen economy.