The electrical and mechanical properties of new lightweight graphite polymeric separator plates aged in a PEM fuel cell were investigated to assess their resistance to short-term durability. While the changes in electrical properties of great interest to the operation of the fuel cell, mechanical and dimensional stability over the life of the cell are critical. Thus, new polymeric based separator plates developed at Virginia Tech were aged under standard operating conditions in a PEM fuel cell over 300 hours at low pressure and 85°C. A comparison of conductivity, stiffness and strength of aged plates was made to as manufactured and unaged plates. Over the aging period, electrical conductivity did not decline even as the fuel cell performance showed some changes as evidenced by polarization curves. However, the mechanical strength of the monopolar plates was observed to declined less than 10% after 300 hours of fuel cell operation, due to the lack of stability of the polyester resin used to facilitate the rapid manufacturing of these new plates. These property changes were found to be independent of aging on the reduction and oxidation sides. Further work continues on plates formed through both fiber wet lay technology and those produced by compression molding of unique graphite filled epoxy systems, and to improve the electrochemical performance of cells fabricated using the resulting plates to levels comparable to those observed when using existing plate materials.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME 2004 2nd International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology
June 14–16, 2004
Rochester, New York, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Nanotechnology Institute
ISBN:
0-7918-4165-0
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Durability and Performance of Press Molded Polymer Composite Monopolar Plates
Vernon Webb,
Vernon Webb
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Search for other works by this author on:
Michael Hickner,
Michael Hickner
Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM
Search for other works by this author on:
Donald Baird,
Donald Baird
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Search for other works by this author on:
Scott Case,
Scott Case
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Search for other works by this author on:
John Lesko
John Lesko
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Search for other works by this author on:
Vernon Webb
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Michael Hickner
Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM
Donald Baird
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Scott Case
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
John Lesko
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Paper No:
FUELCELL2004-2504, pp. 443-448; 6 pages
Published Online:
November 17, 2008
Citation
Webb, V, Hickner, M, Baird, D, Case, S, & Lesko, J. "Durability and Performance of Press Molded Polymer Composite Monopolar Plates." Proceedings of the ASME 2004 2nd International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. 2nd International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. Rochester, New York, USA. June 14–16, 2004. pp. 443-448. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/FUELCELL2004-2504
Download citation file:
8
Views
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
A Feasibility Study of Ribbon Architecture for PEM Fuel Cells
J. Fuel Cell Sci. Technol (October,2010)
Chemical Treatment Method for the Aluminum Bipolar Plates of PEM Fuel Cells
J. Fuel Cell Sci. Technol (August,2005)
Processing of Raney-Nickel Catalysts for Alkaline Fuel Cell Applications
J. Fuel Cell Sci. Technol (February,2007)
Related Chapters
Mathematical Background
Vibrations of Linear Piezostructures
Effects of Metallic Plate and Objects on Performance of Inverted F Antenna for ISM Band Application
International Conference on Computer and Automation Engineering, 4th (ICCAE 2012)
Joint Polarization Information for Fast Multi-Target Localization in Bistatic MIMO Radar System
International Symposium on Information Engineering and Electronic Commerce, 3rd (IEEC 2011)