Design of Honeycomb‐Filled End Plate for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Based on Topology Optimization

Abstract

Designing a functional end plate for the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a challenging task since the structure that simultaneously satisfies uniform contact pressure and lightweight features must be achieved. To design an end plate for both requirements, a multi‐objective topology optimization model of the PEMFC based on the concept of equivalent stiffness is established with the aim of maximum stiffness and minimum root mean square (RMS) of contact displacement. Based on the final topology, the filled honeycomb‐based end plates with excellent mechanical properties and energy absorption effects are optimized through the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO). The results demonstrate that the end plate mass is reduced by 39.5% and the stress distribution is more uniform. The standard deviation of pressure decreases by 30.8% compared to the original model data. The proposed optimization method is helpful in the design of future end plates.