抄録
Lateral distribution of water content in a polymer electrolyte membrane in an operating fuel cell was measured by using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3D-MRI), which clearly visualized not also lateral water distribution in the membrane but also condensed water in flow channels in the cell. A parallel flow and a serpentine flow were investigated. It was revealed that the membrane near the gas inlet shows lower water content compared to those near the gas outlet in both cases. It was also shown that flow pattern considerably affect water content distribution in the membrane presumably due to plugging the gas channel by condensed water droplet under fuel cell operation.
