Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:33:55.893Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Mechanical contact analysis on the interfaces in a protonexchange membrane fuel cell

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2010

Zhiming Zhang
Affiliation:
Laboratoire LMEE, Université d’Évry, 40 rue du Pelvoux, 91020 Évry, France
Christine Renaud
Affiliation:
Laboratoire LMEE, Université d’Évry, 40 rue du Pelvoux, 91020 Évry, France
Zhi-Qiang Feng*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire LMEE, Université d’Évry, 40 rue du Pelvoux, 91020 Évry, France
Hai-Ping Yin
Affiliation:
Université Paris-Est, UR Navier, ENPC, 6–8 Av. Blaise Pascal, 77455 Marne la Vallée, France
*
a Corresponding author:[email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The power density of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) depends on severalparameters. The contact resistance between the bipolar plate (BPP) and the gas diffusionlayer (GDL) and the porosity of the GDL are two main parameters involved in theperformance of the PEMFC. The purpose of this work is to develop a numerical model todescribe the contact behavior (contact zone, contact force) on the interfaces between thedifferent layers in order to propose an optimal structure for the high performance of PEMfuel cells. Numerical results can help to increase the knowledge of fuel cell’sperformance and to determine the optimal structure which can be used in the design of fuelcells.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© AFM, EDP Sciences 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Références

G. Hoogers, Fuel cell Technology Handbook, CRC Press, 2002
Chang, W.R., Hwang, J.J., Weng, F.B., Chan, S.H., Effect of clamping pressure on the performance of a PEM fuel cell, J. Power Sources 166 (2007) 149154 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishra, V., Yang, F., Pitchumani, R., Measurement and prediction of electrical contact resistance between gas diffusion layers and bipolar plate for applications to PEM fuel cells, J. Fuel Cell Sci. Technol. 1 (2004) 29 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, H.L., Sweikart, M.A., Turner, J.A., Stainless steel as bipolar plate material for PEMFCs, J. Power Sources 115 (2003) 243251 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, L.H., Liu, Y., Song, H.M., Wang, S.X., Zhou, Y.Y., Hu, S.J., Estimation of contact resistance in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, J. Power Sources 162 (2006) 11651171 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilde, P.M., Mandle, M., Murata, M., Berg, N., Structural and physical properties of GDL and GDL/BPP combinations and their influence on PEMFC performance, Fuel Cells 3 (2004) 180184 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feser, J.P., Prasad, A.K., Advani, S.G., Experimental characterization of in-plane permeability of GDLs, J. Power Sources 162 (2006) 12261231 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Renaud, C., Feng, Z.-Q., BEM and FEM analysis of Signorini contact problems with friction, Comput. Mech. 31 (2003) 390399 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, Z.-Q., 2D or 3D frictional contact algorithms and applications in a large deformation context, Commun. Numer. Meth. Eng. 11 (1995) 409416 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kozhevnikov, I.F., Duhamel, D., Yin, H.P., Feng, Z.-Q., A new algorithm for solving the multi-indentation problem of rigid bodies of arbitrary shapes on a viscoelastic half-space, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 52 (2010) 399409 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joli, P., Feng, Z.-Q., Uzawa and Newton algorithms to solve frictional contact problems within the bi-potential framework, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 73 (2008) 317330 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiao, K., Li, X.G., Effects of various operating and initial conditions on cold start performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 34 (2009) 81718184 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hensleya, J.E., Waya, J.D., Decb, S.F., Abneyc, K.D., The effects of thermal annealing on commercial nafion membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 298 (2007) 190201 CrossRefGoogle Scholar