Experimental study on the effect of temperature and water content on the thermal conductivity of gas diffusion layers in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The gas diffusion layer is one of the key components of proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Temperature and water content of gas diffusion layers have a significant impact on its thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of the dry gas diffusion layer shows an upward trend with increasing temperature, but the change is small. The thermal conductivity of the gas diffusion layer shows a linear increase with the increase of water content. When the water content of the gas diffusion layer is 77%, its thermal conductivity increases with the temperature. Its thermal conductivity increased from 0.3592 W/(m.K) at 25 degrees C to 0.7871 W/(m.K) at 85 degrees C.