Scale-up of Carbon/Carbon Bipolar Plates

David P. Haack

关键词: COMPOSITE MATERIALS;    CONTRACTORS;    CORROSION;    DESIGN;    DIMENSIONS;    FUEL CELLS;    GRAPHITE;    MANUFACTURING;    MOLDING;    PERFORMANCE;    PLATES;    RAW MATERIALS;    SHAPE;    TESTING Fuel Cells;    bipolar plates;    carbon-carbon composite;   

DOI  :  10.2172/950868
RP-ID  :  DOE/AL/67627-1
PID  :  OSTI ID: 950868
Others  :  TRN: US200911%%437

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

This project was focused upon developing a unique material technology for use in PEM fuel cell bipolar plates. The carbon/carbon composite material developed in this program is uniquely suited for use in fuel cell systems, as it is lightweight, highly conductive and corrosion resistant. The project further focused upon developing the manufacturing methodology to cost-effectively produce this material for use in commercial fuel cell systems. United Technology Fuel Cells Corp., a leading fuel cell developer was a subcontractor to the project was interested in the performance and low-cost potential of the material. The accomplishments of the program included the development and testing of a low-cost, fully molded, net-shape carbon-carbon bipolar plate. The process to cost-effectively manufacture these carbon-carbon bipolar plates was focused on extensively in this program. Key areas for cost-reduction that received attention in this program was net-shape molding of the detailed flow structures according to end-user design. Correlations between feature detail and process parameters were formed so that mold tooling could be accurately designed to meet a variety of flow field dimensions. A cost model was developed that predicted the cost of manufacture for the product in near-term volumes and long-term volumes (10+ million units per year). Because the roduct uses lowcost raw materials in quantities that are less than competitive tech, it was found that the cost of the product in high volume can be less than with other plate echnologies, and can meet the DOE goal of $4/kW for transportation applications. The excellent performance of the all-carbon plate in net shape was verified in fuel cell testing. Performance equivalent to much higher cost, fully machined graphite plates was found.