A Study on the Characteristics of New Type of Composite Bipolar Plate for the PEM Fuel Cell

고분자전해질 연료전지용 새로운 타입의 복합재료 분리판의 특성연구

Composite bipolar plates offer several advantages of low cost, light weight, and ease of manufacturing compared to traditional graphite plate. However, it is difficult to achieve both high electrical conductivity and high flexural strength. In this study, the hybrid carbons filled epoxy composite bipolar plates were fabricated to test electrical conductivity and flexural properties. Graphite powders were used as the main conducting filler and continuous carbon fiber fabrics were inserted to improve the mechanical properties of the composite. This hybrid composite showed improved in-plane electrical conductivity and flexural property. The moldability of the hybrid composite was also improved comparing to the continuous prepreg composite. This study suggested that the continuous carbon fiber inserted graphite/epoxy composites can be a potential candidate material to overcome the disadvantages of conventional graphite composite or continuous prepreg composite bipolar plates.