In Situ Fuel Cell Water Metrology at the NIST Neutron Imaging Facility

Abstract

Neutron imaging has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool to measure the in situ water content of commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) in two and three dimensions. The National Institute of Standards and Technology neutron imaging facility was designed to produce a high intensity, highly collimated neutron imaging beam to measure the water content of operating fuel cells. The details of the neutron optics and neutron detection are discussed in terms of the random uncertainty in measuring the liquid water thickness that is typical of operating PEMFCs.