Numerical Simulation of an Innovative PEM Fuel Cell Stack

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanthi L. Bhamidipati ◽  
Hoda Amani ◽  
Sylvia Strauss ◽  
Tequila A. L. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Comparison Study ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack ◽  
Novel Design ◽  
Reactant Distribution

This paper describes a novel design approach for a fuel cell stack to address the uniformity of reactant streams and eliminate the bipolar plate to reduce cost, size, volume, and weight. Computational analysis for a novel PEM fuel cell stack and two conventional stacks is conducted. Preliminary results based on a comparison study have shown that eliminating bipolar plates from the fuel cell drastically increases power density, while maintaining uniformity in reactant distribution. Specifically, preliminary case studies suggest that the power density using the novel design is four times that of conventional approaches.

Investigating the Use of Stamped Metal Foils as Bipolar Plates in PEM Fuel Cell Stacks

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel T. Backes ◽  
David T. McMillan ◽  
Andrew M. Herring ◽  
John R. Berger ◽  
John A. Turner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Thin Sheet ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Steel Plates ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack ◽  
Serpentine Flow Field

The process of stamping stainless steel bipolar plates is developed from initial plate design through manufacturing and use in a fuel cell stack. A stamped design incorporating a serpentine flow field for the cathode and an interdigitated flow field for the anode is designed. This bipolar plate consists of only one piece of thin stainless steel sheet. The process of rubber-pad stamping was chosen to reduce shearing of the thin sheet. Dies were designed and made. Stainless steel plates were stamped, but stress were higher than anticipated and die failure was observed. The plates were tested both in-situ and by doing simulated fuel cell testing. Although sealing was an issue due to lack of proper gaskets and endplates, tests determined that the stamped bipolar plates will work in a PEM fuel cell stack. Dies were redesigned to improve durability. Gaskets and endplates were designed to complete the stack construction.

PEM Fuel Cell Bipolar Plate Reliability and Material Selection

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Ajersch ◽  
Michael W. Fowler ◽  
Kunal Karan ◽  
Brant A. Peppley
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Bipolar Plates

The majority of the research on PEM fuel cells to date has been focused on assessing fuel cell behavior in the early stages of its life cycle. However, as widespread commercialization approaches, PEM fuel cells will be required to operate reliably for increasingly longer periods of time. It therefore also becomes equally important to characterize fuel cell performance at the end of its lifecycle. The reliability of a PEM fuel cell is dependent on the material properties, the manufacturing methods, and the design of its individual components. Among these components, the bipolar plates have received the least attention as a factor that may limit a fuel cell’s life cycle performance. Driven by the need for cost and weight reduction of fuel cell stacks, a significant amount of development work has been directed towards the development of new materials and designs for bipolar plates. Selection of an appropriate design and/or material for bipolar plates requires that reliability and durability data must be available, and that testing protocols appropriate and indicative of fuel cell operation be established. This paper provides a review fuel cell bipolar plate reliability and durability. Topics that will be addressed include bipolar plate functionality and design requirements, plate materials selection, plate failure modes. This is followed by a description of new bipolar plate reliability/durability test methods being developed at the CAMM Fuel Cell Research Group.

Optimum Design of O-Ring Shapes for a PEM Fuel Cell Stack With Carbon Based Bipolar Plates

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tien-Tung Chung ◽  
Chin-Te Lin ◽  
Huan-Ruei Shiu ◽  
Kuei-Han Chen ◽  
Chi-Chang Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Optimum Design ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Computing Time ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Structural Safety ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack ◽  
Design Program ◽  
Carbon Based

Carbon based bipolar plates and O-rings are key components and account for most weight and about half cost of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack. One function of bipolar plates is to channel fluids through a PEM fuel cell stack, and O-rings are used to avoid leaks of these fluids. However, inappropriate designs of O-ring shapes cannot seal the fluids in operation, and may induce the failure of bipolar plates in the assembly process. In this paper, we use an optimum design program and a commercial finite element analysis (FEA) software to find the best shape of O-rings for a PEM fuel cell stack whose bipolar plates are made of carbon. First of all, the behaviors of the original O-ring shape are determined by FEA with a two-dimension structural model. Non-linear material properties are also considered in the structural analysis. According to the results, the original O-ring design has drawbacks and might damage the carbon bipolar plates during the assembling. Therefore, an optimum design problem is formulated to improve the performance of O-rings. The objective of this optimum design program is to find a set of parameters to minimize the bipolar plate stress. The constraints include geometrical limit, functional requirement, and the structural safety of bipolar plates. Finally, a structural optimization program integrated with FEA software and an optimum design program is developed for this optimum design problem. Approximation concepts are also implemented in the optimum search process to reduce the computing time. The results of the optimization promote the stack structure.

scholarly journals Design and Analysis of Bipolar Plate for 500w Pem Fuel Cell Stack

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-128
Author(s):  
A. Kalaiyarasan ◽  
C. Srinivasan ◽  
S. Sundaram
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack

Development and characterization of a miniature PEM fuel cell stack with carbon bipolar plates

2008 ◽  
Vol 176 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Po-Chang Lin ◽  
Benjamin Y. Park ◽  
Marc J. Madou
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack

Evaluation of Silver-coated Magnesium Bipolar Plate for Lightweight PEM Fuel Cell Stack

2014 ◽  
pp. 141111165052003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tosoon Park ◽  
Jihyun Oh ◽  
Kyunghwan Kim ◽  
Sejin Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Fuel Cell Stack

scholarly journals A Competitive Design and Material Consideration for Fabrication of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates

Designs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Noor Ul Hassan ◽  
Bahadir Tunaboylu ◽  
Ali Soydan
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Mass Production ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Expanded Graphite ◽  
Pem Fuel Cell ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

The bipolar plate is one of the most significant components of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell, and contributes substantially to the cost structure and the weight of the stacks. A number of graphite polymer composites with different fabrication techniques have been reported in the literature. Graphite composites show excellent electromechanical properties and chemical stability in acidic environments. Compression and injection molding are the most common manufacturing methods being used for mass production. In this study, a competitive bipolar plate design and fabrication technique is adopted in order to develop a low-cost and light-weight expanded graphite (EG) polymer composite bipolar plate for an air-breathing PEM fuel cell. Cutting molds are designed to cut fuel flow channels on thin expanded graphite (EG) sheets (0.6 mm thickness). Three separate sheets, with the flow channel textures removed, are glued to each other by a commercial conductive epoxy to build a single bipolar plate. The final product has a density of 1.79 g/cm3. A bipolar plate with a 20 cm2 active area weighs only 11.38 g. The manufacturing cost is estimated to be 7.77 $/kWe, and a total manufacturing time of 2 minutes/plate is achieved with lab-scale fabrication. A flexural strength value of 29 MPa is obtained with the three-point bending method. A total resistance of 22.3 milliohms.cm2 is measured for the three-layer bipolar plate. We presume that the suggested design and fabrication process can be a competitive alternate for the small-scale, as well as mass production of bipolar plates.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document