Numerical Study on the Stress Concentration Phenomenon in the Membranes of PEMFCs in an Assembled State
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 5
Abstract
Mechanical damage to the membrane of the electrode assembly (MEA) in a proton electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of the main factors influencing its durability. In this study, a two-dimensional finite-element model is developed for a metal bipolar plate stack. We focus on studying the stress concentration phenomenon in the MEA of a PEMFC containing complete sealing components in an assembled state by considering the factors of assembly load, sealing structure, and sealing material. The results indicate that stresses are clearly concentrated in the area of the membrane under the edge of the rib of the bipolar plate on both sides of the sealing structure. Even if the average pressure on the MEA is only 0.43 MPa, the local stress is greater than 6 MPa, potentially leading to the plastic deformation of the membrane. At the joint between the frame and gas diffusion layer, the shear stress on the membrane is unusually high. Optimally designing the sealing structure, including a suitable layout of the joint, the selection of the ration of the sealing gasket height to the sealing groove depth, and the selection of the frame with material properties close to those of the membrane, will alleviate the stress concentration effectively.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
Financial support from the following sources is gratefully acknowledged by the authors: the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21676207) and the National Key Development Project of the New Energy Vehicle Test Program of China (Nos. 2016YFB0101207 and 2017YFB0102803).
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Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 5 • October 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 28, 2019
Accepted: May 27, 2020
Published online: Aug 7, 2020
Published in print: Oct 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jan 7, 2021
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