The present disclosure includes a system, method, and device related to controlling brakes of a towed vehicle. A brake controller system includes a brake controller that controls the brakes of a towed vehicle based on acceleration. The brake controller is in communication with a speed sensor. The speed sensor determines the speed of a towing vehicle or a towed vehicle. The brake controller automatically sets a gain or boost based on the speed and acceleration.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for monitoring a dry state of an electrode substrate in which electrode slurry is applied to a collector. The monitoring method comprises emitting light onto a surface of the electrode substrate; receiving the light reflected by the surface of the electrode substrate; and analyzing a luminous intensity or spectrum of the received light to estimate a drying rate of the electrode substrate. The apparatus includes a light emitting part emitting light from a light source onto a surface of the electrode substrate; a light receiving part receiving the light reflected by the surface of the electrode substrate; and a computing device analyzing a luminous intensity or spectrum of the received light and comparing analyzed characteristics of the light with the reference data of the reflected light to the drying rate of the electrode substrate.

A hydrophilic porous carbon electrode which has excellent hydrophilicity, which has high reaction activity when used for a battery, and with which excellent battery characteristics is able to be obtained is provided. A hydrophilic porous carbon electrode is a sheet-form hydrophilic porous carbon electrode in which a carbon fiber is bonded using a resin carbide and has a contact angles θ.sub.A of water on both surfaces in a thickness direction being 0 to 15° and a contact angle θ.sub.B of water in a middle portion in the thickness direction being 0 to 15°. The hydrophilic porous carbon electrode is obtained by forming the carbon fiber and a binder fiber into a sheet, impregnating the sheet into a thermosetting resin, subjecting it to heat press processing, and then subjecting it to carbonization at 400 to 3000° C. in an inert atmosphere. The hydrophilic porous carbon electrode is transported and is subjected to a heat treatment while an oxidizing gas flows at 400 to 800° C. in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the hydrophilic porous carbon electrode is transported to be subjected to hydrophilization.

A composite including an electrolyte layer containing solid oxide, and at least one electrode selected from a cathode disposed on one side of the electrolyte layer in a first direction and an anode disposed on the other side of the electrolyte layer in the first direction. Either one of two surfaces of the composite located on opposite sides in the first direction satisfies a first requirement that, as viewed in the first direction, a curvature determined on the basis of any three points juxtaposed at intervals of 5 mm is less than 0.0013 (l/mm) and that, as viewed in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the curvature is the reciprocal of the radius of an imaginary circle passing through the any three points.

Provided according to an embodiment are a carbon electrode material and a method for preparing same. The method comprises the steps: mixing a carbon precursor powder, a molding powder, and a metal precursor powder to form a mixed powder; and thermally treating the mixed powder to form a nitrogen-doped carbon composite, wherein: the molding powder includes a metal-organic framework (MOF); the carbon precursor powder is contained in an amount of 10 wt % to 20 wt % on the basis of the total mixed powder; the molding powder is contained in an amount of 50 wt % to 80 wt % on the basis of the total mixed powder; the metal precursor powder is contained in an amount of 0.1 wt % to 5 wt % on the basis of the total mixed powder; and the carbon composite has a monoatomic or nanometer-unit sized metal located therein.

The present disclosure provides a gas diffusion layer for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The gas diffusion layer is a graphene membrane, and graphene lamellae in the graphene membrane are arranged irregularly. The present disclosure further provides a preparation method for the gas diffusion layer, and the proton exchange membrane fuel cell including the gas diffusion layer.

A process for preparing a catalyst material, said catalyst material comprising a support material, a first metal and one or more second metals, wherein the first metal and the second metal(s) are alloyed and wherein the first metal is a platinum group metal and the second metal(s) is selected from the group of transition metals and tin provided the second metal(s) is different to the first metal is disclosed. The process comprises depositing a silicon oxide before or after deposition of the second metal(s), alloying the first and second metals and subsequently removing silicon oxide. A catalyst material prepared by this process is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a method for producing a membrane for a fuel cell or electrolytic cell, in which (i) a liquid coating composition, which contains a supported catalyst containing precious metal and also contains an ionomer, is applied to a polymer electrolyte membrane which contains an ionomer, the ionomer of the liquid coating composition and the ionomer of the polymer electrolyte membrane each being a copolymer which contains as monomer a fluoroethylene and a fluorovinyl ether containing a sulfonic acid group, (ii) the coated polymer electrolyte membrane is heated to a temperature in the range from 178° C. to 250° C.

The present invention addresses the problem of providing: a porous carbon structure that has a high micropore volume and can be self-contained; a manufacturing method therefor; a positive electrode material using the same; and a battery (particularly an air battery) using the same. The present invention is a porous carbon structure that is for a positive electrode for an air battery and has voids and a skeleton formed by incorporating carbon, the porous carbon structure satisfying all of the following conditions (a) to (d). (a) The t-plot external specific surface area is within the range of 300m.sup.2/g to 1600m.sup.2/g; (b) the total volume of micropores having a diameter of lnm to 200 nm is within the range of 1.2 cm.sup.3/g to 7.0cm.sup.3/g; (c) the total volume of micropores having a diameter of lnm to 1000 nm is within the range of 2.3cm3/g to 10.0 cm.sup.3/g; and (d) the overall porosity is within the range of 80% to 99%.

Disclosed are an electrode for fuel cells, a membrane electrode assembly for fuel cells including the same and a method for manufacturing the same in which the electrode is manufactured by forming an ionomer layer between an electrode layer and a catalyst layer and an antioxidant is dispersed into the catalyst layer of the electrode and an ion exchange layer of an electrolyte membrane so as to improve interfacial bonding force between the electrode and the electrolyte membrane, the electrode is bonded to the electrolyte membrane using a transfer process, and durability of the electrode and the electrolyte membrane is improved.