Abstract
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. Copyright © 2012 by ASME.
Recommended Citation
M. Wu et al., "Simulation and Testing of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates Fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering," ASME/ISCIE 2012 International Symposium on Flexible Automation, ISFA 2012, pp. 493 - 500, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Jan 2012.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1115/ISFA2012-7249
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Publication Status
Available Access
Keywords and Phrases
Bipolar plates; Channel; Graphite; Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cell; Selective Laser Sintering
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
978-079184511-0
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2024 American Society of Mechanical Engineers, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2012