Simulation and Testing of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates Fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wu ◽  
M. C. Leu ◽  
N. Guo
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Simulation Results

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell converts directly electrochemical energy into electricity. Flow channels in bipolar plates, a critical component of fuel cell, were designed, simulated and tested. The bipolar plate used a mixture of graphite materials, and was fabricated using a Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process. The fabricated green parts were carbonized at high temperatures and converted into brown parts. Infiltration of resin was used to enhance the electric conductivity and strength of the bipolar plate. Finite element simulations were performed to investigate the state of species (hydrogen, oxygen) in the channels and Gas Diffusion Layers (GDLs) for four flow field designs including parallel, serpentine, single Hilbert and composite Hilbert. The simulation results were used to obtain the polarization curves and the relationships between stack power and current density, and to discuss the effect of temperature on fuel cell performance. Experiments were conducted to validate the simulation results on voltage and power vs. current density and the effect of temperature on fuel cell performance for the different flow field designs.

Design and Simulation on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates with Hilbert Patterns

2012 ◽  
Vol 608-609 ◽  
pp. 898-903
Author(s):  
Mao Liang Wu ◽  
Zhu Jun Gu ◽  
Shou Feng Cao
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Parallel Channel ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Channel Output ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Serpentine Channel

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cell converts directly electrochemical energy into electricity. Channels in bipolar Plate, a critical component of fuel cell, is designed with Hilbert pattern, which are obtained through offsetting Hilbert curves to both sides according to working size. Polarization curve expresses the same characteristics between Hilbert channel and traditional serpentine and parallel channel. Output current densities of Hilbert channel are equivalent to that of the serpentine channel but larger than that of parallel channel. Simulation demonstrates that fluid flowing states in Hilbert channel are similar to that in serpentine channel and investigates that pressure drop changes with composite Hilbert channel arrangement. Temperature is an important factor influencing fuel cell performance and optimal temperature is close to 333K in this research.

An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of the Environmental Conditions and the Channel Depth for an Air-Breathing Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Hun Park ◽  
Jerald A. Caton
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Channel Depth ◽  
Air Breathing ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

The effects of the environmental conditions and the channel depth for an air-breathing polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell were investigated experimentally. The fuel cell used in this work included a membrane and electrode assembly, which possessed an active area of 25 cm2 with Nafion® 117 membrane. Triple serpentine designs for the flow fields with two different flow depths were used in this research. The experimental results indicated that the relative humidity and temperature play an important role with respect to fuel cell performance. The fuel cell needs to be operated at least 20 min to obtain stable performance. When the shallow flow field was used, the performance increased dramatically for low humidity and slightly for high humidity. The current density was obtained around only 120 mA/cm2 at 30°C with an 80% relative humidity, which was nearly double the performance for the deep flow field. The minimum operating temperature for an air-breathing fuel cell would be 20°C. When it was 10°C at 60% relative humidity, the open circuit voltage dropped to around 0.65 V. The fuel cell performance improved with increasing relative humidity from 80% to 100% at high current density.

Graphene Reinforced Composite Bipolar Plate for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biraj Kumar Kakati ◽  
Avijit Ghosh ◽  
Anil Verma
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Flexural Strength ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Hydrogen Permeability ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Electrical Conductivities

Composite bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) were developed by compression molding technique using vinyl ester resin as a binder and natural graphite, carbon black, and carbon fiber as conductive reinforcements. The developed bipolar plates were characterized for electrical conductivity, flexural strength, deflection at mid-span, hydrogen permeability, and morphology. The in-plane and through-plane electrical conductivities of the composite bipolar plate (VER:25%;CB:5%;CF:5%;NG:65%) were 355.05 and 95.96 S·cm−1, respectively. The flexural strength of the same bipolar plate was 53.50 MPa with a deflection of 5.37%. The hydrogen permeability of the bipolar plate was in the order of 10−9 cm3·cm−1·s−1 at 50°C. The overall properties of the composite bipolar plate were found to achieve the benchmark set by USA-Department of Energy. However, the through-plane electrical conductivity of the above composite was edge below the target value. Therefore, graphene, being one of the most electrical conductive materials, has been reinforced into the composite bipolar plate. The results were very encouraging as 1% graphene reinforcement increased the in-plane and through-plane electrical conductivities of the bipolar plate by around 6 and 35%, respectively. The performance of a PEMFC was evaluated using the developed bipolar plate in in-situ condition.

scholarly journals Corrosion Resistance Measurements of Amorphous Ni40Ti40Nb20 Bipolar Plate Material for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 8-9 ◽  
pp. 335-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
György Thalmaier ◽  
Ioan Vida-Simiti ◽  
Horatiu Vermesan ◽  
Cosmin Codrean ◽  
Mihail Chira
Keyword(s):  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽  
Amorphous Material ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Hydrogen Gas ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Plate Material ◽  
Electrolyte Membrane

Metallic bipolar plates have the advantages of better manufacturability, higher strength over graphite bipolar plates. The higher strength and toughness of the metallic materials permits the reduction of the width of the bipolar plate so, the volume and mass of the fuel cell can also be reduced. In this paper we are investigating the use of Ni-based amorphous material as a bipolar plate for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The major requirements of the metallic bipolar plate material are low weight, high corrosion and low contact resistance. The corrosion property of the present alloy has been investigated under conditions that simulate the fuel cell environment. Hydrogen gas and air were bubbled into a 1 N H2SO4solution at 70 °C, throughout the experiment to simulate the respective anodic and cathodic PEMFC environment. The Ni-base amorphous alloys displayed higher corrosion resistance than stainless steel.

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