Performance Of Bipolar Plate Research Articles

Research Progress and Prospects of Bipolar Plate Materials for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The bipolar plate is an essential component of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), with crucial functions such as gas separation, cooling, conduction, heat dissipation, and water ejection. The advancement of proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology relies on the performance of the bipolar plate. Recognizing the significance of bipolar plates for PEMFC functionality, researchers have been striving to create bipolar plates with high conductivity, good gas tightness, appropriate mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and cost-effectiveness. This paper provides a detailed analysis of recent research progress on bipolar plates, aiming to contribute to the development of new and optimized products in the PEM fuel cell industry. The study in this paper focuses on three aspects: (1) Introduction to the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology system and development directions, (2) Discussion on the structure of carbon-based fillers and their impact on the final electrical performance of composite bipolar plates, (3) Introduction to the Dual Percolation Effects of resins and Their Applications.

A review of polymeric bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Materials, fabrication, applications, cost analysis, and current status

Bipolar plates play a crucial role in the performance and viability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Polymeric composites have demonstrated their potential as alternatives to graphite and metallic materials for bipolar plates due to their good corrosion resistance, lightweight nature, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. However, these polymeric materials often suffer from low electrical conductivity. The incorporation of various electrically conducting fillers can improve the electrical conductivity of these materials. This work presents a comprehensive review of the utilization of polymeric materials-based composites for bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Various aspects related to bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, including materials, fabrication techniques, applications, cost analysis, and the current status of proton exchange membrane fuel cells are discussed in this work. Both thermoplastic and thermoset-based composites are explored as matrix materials for bipolar plates, along with different conducting filler/reinforcement options, and their best results are also explored. The impact of traditional as well as emerging fabrication techniques on the performance of bipolar plates is evaluated, emphasizing the need to reduce the cost of bipolar plates for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Furthermore, the paper also examines the applications and current status of proton exchange membrane fuel cells in India as well as worldwide.

A review of the research progress of composite bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells with different substrate materials

As an important component in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, the performance of bipolar plates, such as electrical conductivity, bending strength, corrosion resistance, gas tightness, etc., directly determines the lifetime of fuel cells and their promotion applications. Composite bipolar plates have become a research hotspot and have been applied and promoted in related fields because of their strong design, flexible formulation, excellent performance, low cost, and applicability to various operating environments. This paper analyzes in detail the research progress of composite bipolar plates using different matrix materials, briefly analyzes and introduces the research on improving the performance of composite bipolar plates, and makes an outlook on the future development trend of composite bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane batteries.

Research progress in carbon-based composite molded bipolar plates

Bipolar plates are significant components in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), thus playing a decisive role in the weight, volume, efficiency, durability, and cost of battery stacks. At present, the preparation technologies of metal and graphite plate stacks have become relatively mature, and have been widely used in the fields of commercial and passenger vehicles. However, production of composite material bipolar plates has not been marketed on a large scale in China due to the incomplete localization of raw material formulation, absence of mass production lines and high production cost. Therefore, it is of great significance to find low-cost raw materials, screen raw material compositions and ratios, optimize processing conditions including molding temperature, pressure and time, and shorten the processing cycle for the industrialization of composite bipolar plates. In this review, the characteristics of metal bipolar plates, graphite bipolar plates and composite material bipolar plates were compared. Moreover, the molding process and its advantages in composite bipolar plate production were introduced. Subsequently, recent progress in research of carbon-based composite molded bipolar plates was summarized. This includes resin/graphite composite bipolar plates using thermosetting resins such as phenol formaldehyde resin, epoxy resin and vinyl ester resin as the binder, and carbon black, carbon fiber and carbon nanotube reinforced composite bipolar plates. The effects of the types and ratios of raw materials and molding process conditions on the performance of bipolar plates were emphasized. Finally, the industrialization status of composite bipolar plates was discussed, and the problems faced by major composite bipolar plate manufacturers at home and abroad were pointed out. Prospects in the development of composite bipolar plates were also explored. Additionally, unified performance test standards for composite bipolar plates were recommended to make the performance of products developed by different enterprises comparable.

Experimental performance assessment of metal-foam flow fields for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Interest in fuel-cell technology as a clean power source has been increasing. Fuel cells are prime candidates for replacing internal combustion engines, and for use as power plants. Flow fields in bipolar plates of proton exchange membrane fuel cells distribute reactants over the reactive sites of the membrane electrode assembly. Bipolar plates are typically graphite with parallel or serpentine channels as flow fields. The efficiency of a fuel cell or a stack depends on the performance of the bipolar plates, which is contingent on the flow field design. The drawbacks of graphite include heavy weight, fabrication inaccuracy, high cost, fixed porosity, and brittleness. In this paper, open-cell metal foam is experimentally investigated as a flow field for a new bipolar plate design. The performance of the conventional bipolar plate with a serpentine flow field is directly compared to that of the metal-foam designs (with various porosities) at the same operational conditions. Results show that, in the case of the new design, the cell current, voltage and power density are improved, and temperature and pressure distributions on the membrane are more even. Metal-foam flow fields are seen to maintain safe operating temperature for the membrane (55–87 °C). Just as important, the conversion efficiency is 9.9% higher for the metal-foam design, and its weight is 27.8% lower compared to the graphite bipolar plate. There is a savings of 4% in hydrogen use when using the metal-foam flow fields. As such the new design is a viable replacement for the conventional graphite bipolar plate.

Effects of Molding Parameters on the Through-Plane Resistance of Injection Molded Composite Polymer Bipolar Plate

In this study, bipolar plates were molded by conventional injection molding (CIM) and injection-compression molding (ICM). Two materials were used. One of them was made of poly phenylene sulfide (PPS) blended with 50 wt.% carbon fiber (CF), and the other was poly phenylene sulfide (PPS) blended with 20 wt. % CF and 30 wt.% graphite (GF). The through-plane resistance (TPR) was one important performance of the bipolar plate measured by the contact resistance method. The distribution and orientation of the carbon fiber and graphite were affected by the different molding conditions and also affected the performance of bipolar plate; therefore, a micrograph of specimen was captured by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The results show that the TPR values are lower with increased mold temperature, melt temperature, holding pressure in CIM and initial open gap in ICM. By the same token, increased injection velocity would raise TPR values. If the optimum molding parameters from experiments are chosen, TPR value can be reduced by 45% in CIM and 64% in ICM. With 30% graphite added, TPR would be reduced by 88%.

Study on the mesocarbon microbeads/polyphenylene sulfide composite bipolar plates applied for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Thermoplastic/graphite composite bipolar plates based on polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) were prepared by compression molding at a pressure of 40 MPa and 400 °C. Electrical conductivity, bulk density, flexural strength, water and ethanol absorption were determined as function of PPS content. The influences of molding time, actived carbon and carbon fiber on the properties of the composite bipolar plates were investigated, the cross section of the composite plates were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). We found that the optimized PPS content is 20 wt% and the required molding time is 30 min. In particular, the composite plates containing 20 wt% PPS demonstrated in-plane conductivity as high as 133.7 S cm −1, through-plane conductivity 21.37 S cm −1, in addition to showing the value of density, flexural strength, water and ethanol absorption as 1.98 g cm −3, 38.82 MPa, 0.0409 and 0.352 g cm −3. The addition of actived carbon degraded all the performance of the bipolar plate, while addition of carbon fiber improved almost all the performance of bipolar plate except bulk density and through-plane conductivity. The performances of fuel cell with this composite bipolar plate were tested, no distinct variation occurred after the composite plates operating in fuel cell. These data indicates the chemical and mechanical stability of the composite plates and their potential application in fuel cell.