Fabrication of titanium bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells by uniform pressure electromagnetic forming

Dong, Pengxin; Li, Zhangzhe; Feng, Sheng; Wu, Zelin; Cao, Quanliang; Li, Liang; Chen, Qi; Han, Xiaotao

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.09.086

Cited by 29 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…According to the forming characteristics of ultra-thin metal sheets, traditional cold stamping processes for bipolar plates are prone to serious defects such as springback, local thinning, and cracking [5]. To overcome these limitations, many scholars have proposed advanced forming processes, such as multistep stamping [6], electromagnetic bulging [7], rubber forming [8], warm stamping [9], etc. Compared the above process, parts formed using the multi-step stamping process exhibit improved aspect ratio, draft angles, and smaller corner radii.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forming of large scale bipolar plates for high power fuel cell stacks

Ma,

Zhang,

Guo

et al. 2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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Developing high-power (e.g. megawatt-scale) single fuel cell stacks is of significance to extending the application of hydrogen fuel cells in high-energy-consumption fields such as aerospace, maritime, and rail transportation. Bipolar plate is one of the core components of hydrogen fuel cell stacks. Currently, the mainstream hydrogen fuel cell stacks achieve a maximum power of about 200 kW with a bipolar plate area of approximately 600 cm2. While the megawatt-scale hydrogen fuel cell stacks requires large scale bipolar plates with an area of e.g. >2000 cm2 and higher geometric complexity of flow channel. However, the structural design and manufacturing process for such large scale bipolar plates remain unexplored. Based on the concept of “partitioned modular manufacturing”, the large scale bipolar plate is divided into multiple smaller scale bipolar plate modules in this work, and then integrated into a single component, which is then formed by applying multi-step stamping process to each module. Therefore, a so-called “partitioned multi-step stamping process” is proposed to form large scale bipolar plates with fine flow channels. Experimental validation was conducted using 0.1 mm thick titanium sheets and austenitic stainless steel sheets, demonstrating a prospective solution to manufacture large scale bipolar plates for high power hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forming of large scale bipolar plates for high power fuel cell stacks

Ma,

Zhang,

Guo

et al. 2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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“…This technique's advantage is a better distribution of the deformation pressure on the workpiece surface. Dong et al [5] address the EMF fabrication process of titanium bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The authors established a coupled electromagnetic-mechanical 3D model to optimize the EMF process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Strains of Metal Sheet Parts Processed by Electromagnetic Forming

Luca,

Luca

2023

JMMP

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Electromagnetic forming is applied to form metal sheet parts from both non-ferrous and ferrous materials. In this paper, the electromagnetic forming behavior of aluminum alloy, copper and steel sheets was investigated through experiments. The disk-shaped specimens were electromagnetically free bulged with increasing deformation energies and parts with different deformation depths were obtained. The deformation was done with and without clamping the movement of the specimens’ edges. The specimens were printed with a mesh of diametrical lines and concentric circles with a predetermined pitch. The mesh served to determine the displacements in the mesh nodes after the deformation of the specimens, with which the axial, radial and circumferential strains were then calculated. The experimental data obtained was subjected to statistical correlation and regression analyses, and the mathematical models for the three main strains in each material were established. The strains of AlMn0.5Mg0.5 and Cu-OF parts are maximum in the center and have a similar variation, while the FeP04 parts have the maximum strains in an intermediate zone between the center and the edge.

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“…Wu et al [16] developed a new internal field UPC technique that achieved a maximum channel depth of 0.294mm in TA1 BPPs under a discharge energy of 7.5kJ, which has not yet reached the desired mold channel depth of 0.4mm. Dong et al [17] realized the formation of TA1 titanium BPPs with a channel depth-to-width ratio of 0.67 using a two-step stamping process with rigid molds wrapped in bidirectional Zylon fibers under the conditions of a discharge energy of 10.8kJ and an acceleration distance of 4mm in a vacuum chamber. Zhu et al [18] proposed a hybrid forming method combining electromagnetic pulse forming and quasi-static forming (EMPB-QS), successfully producing 75μm thick pure titanium BPPs using a two-step stamping process with a 0.45mm deep rigid mold.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication of automotive titanium bipolar plates by uniform pressure electromagnetic incremental forming based on arc spiral coil

Wang,

Xu,

Zhao

et al. 2023

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

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Facing the forming requirements of large-sized automotive titanium bipolar plates (BPPs), a uniform pressure electromagnetic incremental forming (UP-EMIF) process was utilized. Corresponding simulation and analysis were conducted based on the designed arc spiral coil. Analysis of the magnetic field revealed that during the forming process, electromagnetic forces on the coil wire tended to compress in radial direction, while the electromagnetic forces on the outer channel exhibited repulsive tendencies toward the driver sheet, and the electromagnetic forces on the driver sheet transitioned from a wavy pattern to a uniform distribution. Velocity and equivalent strain analysis showed that the maximum deformation velocity of the blank occurred at the bottom of the channel, reaching 195m/s. The highest equivalent strain of the blank occurred in the rounded corner R region, which was prone to thinning of wall thickness. Based on these findings, UP-EMIF and traditional quasi-static drive rubber pad forming (QS-DRPF) experimental devices were developed, and a comparative study on the forming of 0.1mm thick automotive titanium BPPs was conducted. Research indicated that successful production of a titanium BPP measuring 485mm×195mm was achieved using three consecutive discharges of 9kV in each discharge region under the discharge capacitor of 100μF, an acceleration distance of 2mm, a coil overlap rate of 15%, and a 0.3mm thick Cu110 driver sheet. The depth of the channels was 0.4mm (channel depth-to-width ratio of 0.53). Compared to traditional QS-DRPF, the 9kV UP-EMIF reduced channel thinning effectively, with a maximum thinning rate of 18.2%, while simultaneously improving channel filling, with a maximum filling rate of 96.3%. This demonstrates the feasibility of UP-EMIF as a process for fabricating automotive titanium BPPs.

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Fabrication of titanium bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells by uniform pressure electromagnetic forming

Cited by 29 publications

References 28 publications

Forming of large scale bipolar plates for high power fuel cell stacks

Forming of large scale bipolar plates for high power fuel cell stacks

Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Strains of Metal Sheet Parts Processed by Electromagnetic Forming

Fabrication of automotive titanium bipolar plates by uniform pressure electromagnetic incremental forming based on arc spiral coil

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