Optimization of a Carbon Composite Bipolar Plate for PEM Fuel Cells
- PDF / 1,507,276 Bytes
- 8 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 71 Downloads / 212 Views
FF7.1.1
Optimization of a Carbon Composite Bipolar Plate for PEM Fuel Cells Theodore M. Besmann1, John J. Henry, Jr.1, Edgar Lara-Curzio1, James W. Klett1, David Haack2 and Ken Butcher2 1 Metals and Ceramics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6063, USA 2 Porvair Fuel Cell Technology Hendersonville, NC 28792, USA ABSTRACT A carbon composite bipolar plate for PEM fuel cells has been developed that has high electrical conductivity, high strength, light weight, is impermeable, and has the potential for being produced at low cost. The plate is produced by slurry molding short carbon fibers into preform structures, molding features into the green body, and using chemical vapor infiltration to strengthen the material, give it high conductivity, and densify the surface to make it impermeable. Current efforts have focused on optimizing the fabrication process and characterizing prototypical components. INTRODUCTION The significant and growing interest in fuel cells for stationary power and transportation applications has been demonstrated by the attention these technologies are receiving from both government and industry, and particularly from the automotive sector [1]. Interest for vehicular applications has focused on the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) because of its low-temperature operation and thus rapid start-up. Currently, challenges for PEMFC technology for automobiles include reducing the cost and weight of the fuel cell stack, the goal being a ~50 kW system of
Data Loading...
