Formability improvement in multi-stage stamping of ultra-thin metallic bipolar plate for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Multi-stage stamping process is the promising technology to fabricate the metallic bipolar plate (BPP) for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. In the present study, a novel die design in the pre-forming stage is proposed and its effect on the formability of ultra-thin metallic BPP is verified by the finite element (FE) simulations of micro-and macro-scale BPP channels. It reveals that the multi-stage forming with the proposed die approach significantly improve the formability of ultra-thin BPP. As a result, the more uniform thickness distribution and considerable reduction of springback are beneficial to the fabrication of high quality metallic BPP. Furthermore, the relatively high reaction efficiency (similar to 79.4%) of fuel cell stacks can be predicted, indicating the high fuel consumption. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed die design in the fabrication of ultra-thin metallic BPP based on the perspectives of both the formability and energy efficiency. (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel die design is proposed for the fabrication of ultra-thin metallic bipolar plates (BPP) for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Finite element simulations demonstrate that the multi-stage forming with the proposed die approach significantly improves the formability of ultra-thin BPP. The results indicate a more uniform thickness distribution and reduced springback, leading to the fabrication of high-quality metallic BPP and a relatively high fuel consumption efficiency.