• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.134-142
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• 2012

A bipolar plate is a major component of a fuel cell stack, which occupies 50~60% of the total weight and over 50% of the total cost of a typical fuel cell stack. In this study, a composite bipolar plate is designed and fabricated to develop a compact and light-weight direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) stack for a small-scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) application. The composite bipolar plates for DMFCs are prepared by a compression molding method using resole type phenol resin as a binder and natural graphite and carbon black as a conductor filler and tested in terms of electrical conductivity, mechanical strength and hydrogen permeability. The flexural strength of 63 MPa and the in-plane electrical conductivities of 191 S $cm^{-1}$ are achieved under the optimum bipolar plate composition of phenol : 18%; natural graphite : 82%; carbon black : 3%, indicating that the composite bipolar plates exhibit sufficient mechanical strength, electrical conductivity and hydrogen permeability to be applied in a DMFC stack. A DMFC with the composite bipolar plate is tested and shows a similar cell performance with a conventional DMFC with graphite-based bipolar plate.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.73-76
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• 2008

Bipolar Plates for PEMFC have been a key component of fuel cells with MEA, thus in this research they have been fabricated by a compression molding technique after mixing graphite powder with phenol resin. The results have shown the prominent properties compared with those by foreign advanced company with respect to the electrical conductivity and flexural strength. In addition, it has been carried out that the Voltage-Current characteristics comparison according to the unit cell experiments of bipolar plates. As a result, we have obtained good performances and we are going to research the molding feasibility of bipolar plate's flow channel.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.243-248
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• 2016

Although thermoset carbon fiber composite bipolar plates not only have high mechanical properties but also high corrosion resistance in acid environment, high manufacturing cost and low bulk electrical conductivity are the biggest obstacle to overcome. In this research, thermoplastic polymer is employed for the matrix of carbon composite bipolar plate to increase both the manufacturing productivity and bulk electric conductivity of the bipolar plate. In order to increase the electrical conductivity and strength, plain type carbon fabric rather than chopped or unidirectional fibers is used. Also nano particles are embedded in the thermoplastic matrix to increase the bulk resistance of the bipolar plate. The area specific resistance and the mechanical strength of the developed bipolar plate are measured with respect to the environmental temperature and stack compaction pressure.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.664-671
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• 2017

A composite material was prepared for the bipolar plates of phosphoric acid fuel cells(PAFC) by hot pressing a flake type natural graphite powder as a filler material and a fluorine resin as a binder. Average particle sizes of the powders were 610.3, 401.6, 99.5, and $37.7{\mu}m$. The density of the composite increased from 2.25 to $2.72g/cm^3$ as the graphite size increased from 37.7 to $610.3{\mu}m$. The anisotropy ratio of the composite increased from 1.8 to 490.9 as the graphite size increased. The flexural strength of the composite decreased from 15.60 to 8.94MPa as the graphite size increased. The porosity and the resistivity of the composite showed the same tendencies, and decreased as the graphite size increased. The lowest resistivity and porosity of the composite were $1.99{\times}10^{-3}{\Omega}cm$ and 2.02 %, respectively, when the graphite size was $401.6{\mu}m$. The flexural strength of the composite was 10.3MPa when the graphite size was $401.6{\mu}m$. The lowest resistance to electron mobility was well correlated with the composite with lowest porosity. It was possible the flaky large graphite particles survive after the hot pressing process.

• Carbon letters
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.40-44
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• 2013

The bipolar plate is the most important and most costly component of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The development of a suitable low density bipolar plate is scientifically and technically challenging due to the need to maintain high electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. Here, bipolar plates were developed from different particle sizes of natural and expanded graphite with phenolic resin as a polymeric matrix. It was observed that the particle size of the reinforcement significantly influences the mechanical and electrical properties of a composite bipolar plate. The composite bipolar plate based on expanded graphite gives the desired mechanical and electrical properties as per the US Department of Energy target, with a bulk density of 1.55 $g.cm^{-3}$ as compared to that of ~1.87 $g.cm^{-3}$ for a composite plate based on natural graphite (NG). Although the bulk density of the expanded-graphite-based composite plate is ~20% less than that of the NG-based plate, the I-V performance of the expanded graphite plate is superior to that of the NG plate as a consequence of the higher conductivity. The expanded graphite plate can thus be used as an electromagnetic interference shielding material.

• Composites Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.10-16
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• 2007

The 2-step manufacturing method consisting of preforming and stamping processes was developed to manufacture composite bipolar plates for PEMFCS. The preform was composed of expanded graphite, graphite flake and phenol resin. Procuring conditions were optimized by checking the electrical conductivity, flexural strength and microstructure. Procuring temperature $(100^{\circ}C)$ slightly above the melting point of phenol powders $(90^{\circ}C)$ induced moderate curing, but also prevented excessive curing. Preforms utilizing the tangled structure of expanded graphite were easily fabricated at low pressure of 0.07-0.28MPa. The proper procuring time, 5min, was determined to fabricate the preform stably because insufficient and excessive procuring deteriorated the flexural strength of composite bipolar plates.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.283-288
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• 2003

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.671-674
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• 2009

In this work, high-aspect-ratio graphite nanofibers (GNFs) were used to improve the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer, as well as those of PMMA composites suitable for use in bipolar plates. In the result, an electrical percolation threshold for the composites was formed between 1 and 2 wt% GNF content. This threshold was found to be influenced strongly by the three separate stages of the meltblending process. The composites exhibited higher thermal and mechanical properties and lower thermal shrinkage compared with the neat PMMA. Thus, GNFs were demonstrated to have positive impacts on the thermo-mechanical properties of PMMA composites and showed, thereby, reasonable potential for use in composites employed in the fabrication of bipolar plates.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.522-532
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• 2020

Conductive polymer composites with high electrical and mechanical properties are in demand for bipolar plates of phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC). In this study, composites based on natural graphite/fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) and different ratios of carbon black are mixed and hot formed into bars. The overall content of natural graphite is replaced by carbon black (0.2 wt% to 3.0 wt%). It is found that the addition of carbon black reduces electrical resistivity and density. The density of composite materials added with carbon black 3.0 wt% is 2.168 g/㎤, which is 0.017 g/㎤ less than that of non-additive composites. In-plane electrical resistivity is 7.68 μΩm and through-plane electrical resistivity is 27.66 μΩm. Compared with non-additive composites, in-plane electrical resistivity decreases by 95.7 % and through-plane decreases by 95.9 %. Also, the bending strength is about 30 % improved when carbon black is added at 2.0 wt% compared to non-additive cases. The decrease of electrical resistivity of composites is estimated to stem from the carbon black, which is a conductive material located between melted FEP and acts a path for electrons; the increasing mechanical properties are estimated to result from carbon black filling up pores in the composites.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.105-108
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• 2006

The fuel cell is one of the promising environment-friendly energy sources for the next generation. The fuel cell provides good energy efficiency above 40% without pollution or noise. Different fuel cell types are usually distinguished by the kind of electrolyte. Among these, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has advantages of high power density. low operating temperature, relatively quick start-up, and rapid response to varying loads. The bipolar plate is a major component of the PEM fuel cell stack, and it takes a large portion of stack volume, weight and cost. In this study, as alternative materials for bipolar plate of PEM fuel cells, graphite composites were fabricated by compression molding and by machining. Graphite particles mixed with epoxy resin were used as the main substance to provide electric conductivity. Flow channels were fabricated by compression molding with design of experiments (DOE) to evaluate moldability. The cost for compression molding of graphite-composite bipolar plate was compared with machining cost to make the same bipolar plate.