Journal Articles
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Item Review on physical and chemical properties of low and high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEFC) sealants(Elsevier Ltd, 2022) Kumar, V.; Koorata, P.K.; Shinde, U.; Padavu, P.; George, S.C.Sealants (or gaskets) play an exceptional role in the efficient functioning of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEFCs). They prevent leakage of reactant gases and coolants from the perimeter of cell. Also, they circumvent the direct mixing of reactant gases in the active region of the PEFC. Sealants ensure electrical insulation, preventing a short circuit between anode and cathode of the PEFCs. Sealants enhance the safety, thereby improving the functional performance of the PEFCs. In addition, the sealants have functional requirements that contain excellent physical and chemical properties to withstand the working conditions of PEFCs. Hence, the physical and chemical properties of the sealants are crucial for improving the sealing capability as well as the performance of PEFC. In this article, properties such as weight loss, indentation load, elastic modulus, hardness, hysteresis loss, chemical composition and chemical structure of well-known PEFC sealants are reviewed. These PEFC sealants are classified into low-temperature PEFC (LT-PEFC) and high-temperature PEFC (HT-PEFC) sealants, depending on the operational temperature. The polymeric materials such as silicone rubber, fluoroelastomers (FKM), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) rubber, etc. are found to be suitable sealant materials for PEFCs. © 2022 Elsevier LtdItem A review on transport properties and performance of commercial and novel membranes for anion exchange membrane water electrolyser(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Naik, V.V.; Koorata, P.K.; Nuggehalli Sampathkumar, S.N.; Van herle, J.The growing demand for renewable-powered hydrogen drives interest in water electrolysis, making anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) an emerging technology. The anion exchange membrane (AEM) integrates the benefits of both the proton exchange membrane (PEMs) and alkaline water electrolysis (AWEs), enabling the use of cost-efficient transition metal catalysts instead of precious metals and operating in distilled water or low-concentration KOH electrolytes, thereby reducing corrosion issues. Like PEMWE, AEMWE offers high-purity hydrogen, broader material compatibility, and reduced system costs. Moreover, it offers a low-temperature alternative to solid oxide electrolysis (SOECs), simplifying system integration. Despite these benefits, large-scale adoption is limited by several challenges, including limited alkaline stability of membranes, trade-offs between ionic conductivity and durability, insufficient long-term stability of PGM-free catalysts, and elevated interfacial resistance at membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and porous transfer layer (PTL) junctions. These constraints are reflected in conventional AEMs, which typically exhibit limited conductivities of ∼100 mS/cm at 60–80 °C with lifetimes of under 1000 h. In contrast, commercial membranes demonstrate higher conductivities of ∼150 mS/cm, enabling improved performance, delivering current densities of 0.8–1.2 A/cm2 at voltages of 1.8–2.0 V. Recent developments in novel AEMs have further enhanced both current density and stability by 20–30 %, achieving >1.6 A/cm2 and >1500 h under optimised conditions. However, the long-term durability of PGM-free catalysts remains a critical limitation. In addition to technical performance, AEMWE also presents economic advantages over other electrolysis technologies. This review systematically evaluates commercial membranes, including Tokuyama, Fumatech, Orion, Aemion, Sustainion, and Piperion, alongside emerging alternatives. Key aspects such as chemical structures, ion transport properties, electrochemical performance, cost analysis of commercial membranes, degradation mechanisms, and advances in MEAs are examined. The role of PGM and PGM-free catalysts in improving efficiency and reducing costs is also highlighted. Several novel membranes demonstrate performance comparable to or exceeding commercial standards, indicating strong potential for future commercialisation. Finally, the review identifies critical research gaps, including the need for alkaline-stable polymers, durable PGM-free catalysts, optimised MEA/PTL architectures to mitigate interfacial resistance, and standardised long-term testing protocols, which are essential for transitioning AEMWE from laboratory studies to scalable, cost-effective hydrogen production systems. © 2025 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLCItem Compressive cyclic response of PEM fuel cell gas diffusion media(Elsevier Ltd, 2021) Koorata, P.K.; Bhat, S.D.The fuel cell gas diffusion media (GDM) is a highly porous carbon-fiber-reinforced thin composite layer. The experimental response of these materials is observed to be highly nonlinear at low-stress levels. The cyclic mechanical response of GDM is investigated in terms of stiffness and damage parameters. The prediction of the state of deformation in GDM is vital in relating GDM's properties to ohmic and transport losses. To this end, a compressible form of the phenomenological model is proposed to capture the experimental cyclic response accurately. The model is constituent dependent; that is, the cumulative cyclic stress-strain response of GDM is a function of individual constituent phases present in the material. These individual constituents are porous matrix and reinforced fibers. The model hence derived for a typical GDM material, can predict residual strain, hysteresis, and damage quotient associated with the stress softening. This advanced model is implemented in the numerical domain to evaluate the response of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) unit cell. The stress-strain distribution fields are analyzed and compared with those of conventional GDM models. The results point to a remarkable deviation from the conventional notion of structural analysis. © 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLCItem Case study for contact pressure improvisation with graded implant material in articular cartilages of knee joint(Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2021) Raju, V.; Koorata, P.K.; Kamat, Y.In this study, the effect of graded design in comparison to homogeneous cartilage material is investigated for contact pressure distribution in the human knee joint. Knee implants are assumed a homogeneous material. In reality, cartilages are not homogeneous, and to replicate the heterogeneity of cartilages, a graded design is proposed. Simulation results show improved contact pressure distribution in the knee joint due to the graded composition of cartilages. The results are helpful in designing a new class of implant materials. © 2021, The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.Item Numerical investigation on the sensitivity of endplate design and gas diffusion material models in quantifying localized interface and bulk electrical resistance(Elsevier Ltd, 2021) Shinde, U.; Koorata, P.K.A localized non-intuitive relationship between electrical interface contact resistance and bulk properties such as bulk electrical resistance and permeability in the fuel cell gas diffusion layer (GDL) is reported. A numerical method is adopted to investigate contact pressure and hence the interface contact resistance at the interfaces of bipolar plate (BPP)|GDL and GDL|Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM). The results are observed to be sensitive to GDL material models as well as endplate designs. This means, endplates designed to improve the electrical contact resistance or contact pressure at the BPP|GDL interface may not necessarily assure an improvement in bulk properties, in fact, it is observed in this study that these properties are inversely related. Further, a differential deformation in GDL along with consolidation effect is predicted with compressible version of hyperelastic material model. More importantly, it is revealed that the selection of material models plays a significant role in the deformation behaviour of the GDLs irrespective of the clamping design adopted. © 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLCItem Numerical investigation of cooling performance of a novel air-cooled thermal management system for cylindrical Li-ion battery module(Elsevier Ltd, 2021) Kausthubharam, n.; Koorata, P.K.; Chandrasekaran, N.Batteries strongly influence the performance of electric vehicles. Therefore it is crucial to develop a battery thermal system that is highly efficient in removing the battery pack's heat during its operation. In this paper, a numerical analysis of a lumped thermal model coupled with fluid flow equations is employed to investigate the novel air-cooled battery thermal management system (BTMS). The cooling efficiency of the proposed battery thermal system with commercial thermal interface material (3M™) is investigated by comparing it with a standard battery pack at different discharge rates. The proposed solution offers a 25% reduction in peak temperature when compared to the standard one. The thickness of the thermal interface material is found to have an insignificant impact on the battery pack's thermal performance. Introducing forced air-cooling in the battery pack reduced the maximum temperature considerably but increased the temperature difference compared to the battery pack without forced convection. Then the effect of various structural and operational parameters on the performance of the BTMS is investigated. Moving the air inlet-outlet boundaries to a central location increased the uniformity of temperature distribution in the battery pack. Although the increase in the inlet airflow velocity reduces the maximum temperature, it comes at the cost of an increase in temperature difference and power consumption. It is further observed that a reduction in ambient temperature reduces the peak temperature and makes the temperature distribution in the battery pack more homogeneous. The discharge voltage curves indicate a slight reduction in cell potential as a reducing function of temperature. © 2021 Elsevier LtdItem Impact of mechanical stiffening and softening on the spatial distribution of lithium ions in spherical electrode particle under galvanostatic charging(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2021) Kausthubharam, n.; Koorata, P.K.; Chandrasekaran, N.This article investigates the lithiation of low-expansion electrode particles with concentration-dependent properties. The conventional electrochemical coupled stress equations do not take into account concentration dependency, especially for particles with a low volume of expansion, as they are assumed to have no impact on the lithium-ion (Li-ion) migration. However, considerable changes are observed in the present study when this factor is included. The Li-ion concentration gradient is observed to decrease with stiffening and increase with softening in an electrode particle. The stresses at the center of the particle increase with stiffening and reduce with the softening. It is observed that the effect of concentration-dependent elastic modulus on the concentration gradient of lithium ions at the surface of the particle is more prominent at higher charging rates. The stresses in the electrode particle are observed to increase in proportion to an increase in the charging rate up to a critical limit beyond which its magnitude reduces. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Item Numerical investigation on the improved reactant mass transport with depth-dependent flow fields in polymer electrolyte fuel cell under inhomogeneous gas diffusion layer compression(Elsevier Ltd, 2021) Padavu, P.; Koorata, P.K.; Bhat, S.D.In this work, a numerical model is developed to analyse the effects of depth-dependent reactant flow field geometry under inhomogeneous gas diffusion layer (GDL) compression on the mass transport process and performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). The types of depth-dependent flow channels considered in this study are: converging channel (depth continuously decreasing) and diverging channel (depth continuously increasing), and the conventional flow field designs. The model is investigated for local and global inhomogeneity due to GDL compression. The localized inhomogeneity is introduced in the flow-field rib as well as channel regions. The results are compared for reactant concentration, water concentration, local current density, and the polarization curve for different flow channel combinations. It is observed that the availability of reactants is higher in case of converging channel design, which leads to an increase in cell performance at higher currents. However, this is subjected to GDL inhomogeneity in compression. We observe in this study that such inhomogeneity, instead of having a significant impact on cell performance, lead to minimal influence in terms of reduction in cell performance. This we observe is due to improved H2 availability at anode and reduced O2 distribution at cathode that ultimately impacts respective hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and reduction in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). This study aims to investigate the cases for altered variation in cell performance due to change in depth-dependent flow fields. © 2021Item Computational evaluation of the effect of femoral component curvature on the mechanical response of the UHMWPE tibial insert in total knee replacement implants(Elsevier Ltd, 2022) Raju, V.; Koorata, P.K.Total knee replacement (TKR) surgery is done on individuals with end-stage osteoarthritis to restore knee function and alleviate joint discomfort. There have been recent developments in the design of customized implants based on patient-specific data obtained from MRI scans and subsequent image processing techniques. Here curvature of the femoral component plays an important role in effective implant design. Therefore, the objective here is to investigate the influence of this curvature of the femoral component on the mechanical response of the bearing component. A 3D finite element knee implant model with a circular and an elliptical femoral component is developed and investigated for gait kinetics and kinematics. Responses such as contact pressure, stresses, strains, and wear produced on the tibial insert are estimated throughout the gait cycle. These findings suggest that the elliptical femoral component generates less contact pressure on the tibial insert than its circular counterpart. It is also inferred that too much variation in this curvature is not recommended as it may affect the patient's comfort level. In addition, the wear of the tibial insert is computed based on the contact pressure created by both knee implant models. Our study suggests an optimum value for the curvature and the comfort level of the patients over the existing knee implant designs. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Item Thermomechanical stability and inelastic energy dissipation as durability criteria for fuel cell gas diffusion media with pre-assembly effects(Elsevier Ltd, 2022) Koorata, P.K.; Bhat, S.D.In this article, pre-assembly hot-press pressure and thermal expansion effects in gas-diffusion layers (GDLs) are addressed to explore the practicalities of the constitutive model reported in the companion article. A facile technique is proposed to include deformation history dependent residual strain effects. The model is implemented in the numerical environment and compared with widely followed conventional models such as isotropic and orthotropic material models. With the normal and accelerated thermal expansion effects no significant variation in stresses or strains is reported with the compressible GDL model in contrast to the conventional incompressible form of the GDL model. The present work identifies the critical differences with advanced and extended variants of the model along with conventional GDL material models in terms of planar stress/strain distribution and the membrane response. Finally, the model is simulated for micro-cyclic stress loads of varying amplitudes that imitate the real working conditions of fuel cell. The inelastic energy dissipation in GDLs is predicted using the proposed model, which is utilized further to distinguish the safe (elastic) and unsafe (inelastic shakedown) operating limits. The inelastic collapse of GDLs is shown to be a active function of high amplitude micro-cyclic load with high initial clamping load. © 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC
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