Document Type : ACEC-2023

Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sirjan University of Technology, Sirjan, Iran

Abstract

Bipolar plates (BPPs) play an important role in PEM fuel cells in terms of weight and cost points of view. In this paper, the manufacturing of titanium BPPs with parallel flow field was experimentally and numerically studied. In this regard, a stamping die with a parallel pattern is conducted to perform the experiments. Then, the process was modeled via the finite element (FE) simulation. By comparing simulation and experiment results, it was found that the results are in good agreement and hereupon, the accuracy of the FE model was verified. To evaluate the sheet formability, a set of FE experiments was designed through the response surface methodology (RSM). The die clearance, forming velocity, and friction coefficient were considered input parameters, and the maximum thickness reduction (MTR) of the sheet was assumed to be the output. The results revealed that a lower friction coefficient causes an increase in thickness reduction and finally tearing in the formed BPPs. Moreover, changing the forming velocity has no remarkable influence on the MTR. Afterward, an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) was trained for predicting the output of the MTR with the three mentioned inputs.

Keywords

Main Subjects

  1. Talebi-Ghadikolaee, H., Barzegari, M.M., and Seddighi, S., 2023. Investigation of deformation mechanics and forming limit of thin-walled metallic bipolar plates. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 48(11), pp.4469–4491. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.10.270
  2. Modanloo, V., Alimirzaloo, V., and Elyasi, M., 2020. Investigation on forming of titanium bipolar plates using micro-stamping process. International Journal of Engineering, 33(2), pp.344–349. Doi: 10.5829/ije.2020.33.02b.20
  3. Talebi Ghadikolaee, H., Seddighi, S., and Barzegari, M.M., 2023. Study of the forming process effects on the wrinkling and thinning percentage of the micro-channels with serpentine layout. Hydrogen, Fuel Cell & Energy Storage, 10(1), pp.81–93. Doi: 10.22104/ijhfc.2023.6007.1255
  4. Khatir, F.A., Barzegari, M.M., Talebi-Ghadikolaee, H., and Seddighi, S., 2021. Integration of design of experiment and finite element method for the study of geometrical parameters in metallic bipolar plates for PEMFCs. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(79), pp.39469–39482. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.09.161
  5. Hamilton, P.J., and Pollet, B.G., 2010. Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Flow Field Plate: Design, Materials and Characterisation. Fuel Cells, 10(4), pp.489–509. Doi: 10.1002/fuce.201000033
  6. Barzegari, M.M., and Khatir, F.A., 2019. Study of thickness distribution and dimensional accuracy of stamped metallic bipolar plates. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 44(59), pp.31360–31371. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.09.225
  7. Elyasi, M., Ghadikolaee, H.T., and Hosseinzadeh, M., 2018. Investigation of dimensional accuracy in forming of metallic bipolar plates with serpentine flow field. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 96(1–4), pp.1045–1060. Doi: 10.1007/s00170-018-1650-5
  8. Modanloo, V., Alimirzaloo, V., and Elyasi, M., 2020. Manufacturing of Titanium Bipolar Plates Using Warm Stamping Process. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 45(11), pp.9661–9667. Doi: 10.1007/s13369-020-04870-3
  9. Modanloo, V., Talebi-Ghadikolaee, H., Alimirzaloo, V., and Elyasi, M., 2021. Fracture prediction in the stamping of titanium bipolar plate for PEM fuel cells. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(7), pp.5729–5739. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.11.088
  10. Mohammadtabar, N., Bakhshi-Jooybari, M., Hosseinipour, S.J., and Gorji, A.H., 2016. Feasibility study of a double-step hydroforming process for fabrication of fuel cell bipolar plates with slotted interdigitated serpentine flow field. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 85(1–4), pp.765–777. Doi: 10.1007/s00170-015-7960-y
  11. Moradian, M., Doniavi, A., Modanloo, V., and Alimirzaloo, V., 2017. Process parameters optimization in gas blow forming of pin-type metal bipolar plates using Taguchi and finite element methods. International Journal of Advanced Design & Manufacturing Technology, 10(2), pp.101–108.
  12. Elyasi, M., Khatir, F.A., and Hosseinzadeh, M., 2017. Manufacturing metallic bipolar plate fuel cells through rubber pad forming process. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 89(9–12), pp.3257–3269. Doi: 10.1007/s00170-016-9297-6
  13. Khatir, F.A., Elyasi, M., Ghadikolaee, H.T., and Hosseinzadeh, M., 2017. Evaluation of Effective Parameters on Stamping of Metallic Bipolar Plates. Procedia Engineering, 183, pp.322–329. Doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.04.047
  14. Modanloo, V., Alimirzaloo, V., and Elyasi, M., 2019. Multi-objective optimization of the stamping of titanium bipolar plates for fuel cell. ADMT Journal, 12(4), pp.1–8.
  15. Koo, J.-Y., Jeon, Y.-P., and Kang, C.-G., 2013. Effect of stamping load variation on deformation behaviour of stainless steel thin plate with microchannel. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 227(8), pp.1121–1128. Doi: 10.1177/0954405412462673
  16. Hu, Q., Zhang, D., Fu, H., and Huang, K., 2014. Investigation of stamping process of metallic bipolar plates in PEM fuel cell—Numerical simulation and experiments. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 39(25), pp.13770–13776. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.01.201
  17. Kim, M.-J., Jin, C.-K., and Kang, C.G., 2014. Comparison of formabilities of stainless steel 316L bipolar plates using static and dynamic load stamping. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 75(5–8), pp.651–657. Doi: 10.1007/s00170-014-5986-1
  18. Dundar, F., Dur, E., Mahabunphachai, S., and Koç, M., 2010. Corrosion resistance characteristics of stamped and hydroformed proton exchange membrane fuel cell metallic bipolar plates. Journal of Power Sources, 195(11), pp.3546–3552. Doi: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2009.12.040
  19. Chen, T.-C., and Ye, J.-M., 2013. Fabrication of micro-channel arrays on thin stainless steel sheets for proton exchange membrane fuel cells using micro-stamping technology. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 64(9–12), pp.1365–1372. Doi: 10.1007/s00170-012-4107-2
  20. Smith, T.L., Santamaria, A.D., Park, J.W., and Yamazaki, K., 2014. Alloy Selection and Die Design for Stamped Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Bipolar Plates. Procedia CIRP, 14, pp.275–280. Doi: 10.1016/j.procir.2014.03.078
  21. Sobhani, B., Safarian Zengir, V., and Kianian, M.K., 2019. Modeling, monitoring and prediction of drought in Iran. Iranian (Iranica) Journal of Energy & Environment, 10(3), pp.216–224. Doi: 10.5829/ijee.2019.10.03.09
  22. Zhou, J., Li, C., Arslan, C.A., Hasanipanah, M., and Bakhshandeh Amnieh, H., 2021. Performance evaluation of hybrid FFA-ANFIS and GA-ANFIS models to predict particle size distribution of a muck-pile after blasting. Engineering with Computers, 37(1), pp.265–274. Doi: 10.1007/s00366-019-00822-0
  23. Ataee, A., Kazemitabar, J., and Najafi, M., 2020. A Framework for Dry Waste Detection Based on a Deep Convolutional Neural Network. Iranian (Iranica) Journal of Energy & Environment, 11(4), pp.248–252. Doi: 10.5829/IJEE.2020.11.04.01
  24. Dorrani, Z., Farsi, H., and Mohamadzadeh, S., 2023. Shadow Removal in Vehicle Detection Using ResUNet-a. Iranian (Iranica) Journal of Energy & Environment, 14(1), pp.87–95. Doi: 10.5829/IJEE.2023.14.01.11
  25. Farhadi, R., Hadavifar, M., Moeinaddini, M., and Amintoosi, M., 2022. Prediction of CO and PM10 in Cold and Warm Seasons and Survey of the Effect of Instability Indices on Contaminants Using Artificial Neural Network: A Case Study in Tehran City. Iranian (Iranica) Journal of Energy & Environment, 13(1), pp.71–78. Doi: 10.5829/IJEE.2022.13.01.08
  26. Benbouhenni, H., 2021. A Novel Direct Active and Reactive Power Control Method Using Fuzzy Super Twisting Algorithms and Modified Space Vector Modulation Technique for an Asynchronous Generator-based Dual-rotor Wind Powers. Iranian (Iranica) Journal of Energy & Environment, 12(2), pp.109–117. Doi: 10.5829/ijee.2021.12.02.02
  27. Deb, N., Alam, M.Z., Rahman, T., Jami, M.S., Bt Mansor, M.F., and Tajuddin, H.B.A., 2023. Design and Analysis of a Fuel Cell and Batteries in Energy Production for Electric Vehicle. Iranian (Iranica) Journal of Energy & Environment, 14(3), pp.301–313. Doi: 10.5829/ijee.2023.14.03.11
  28. Maraki, M.R., Tagimalek, H., and Pasoodeh, B., 2022. Provide a Modeling Algorithm for Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welding of 5 Series Aluminum and Pure-Copper Based on Fuzzy Logic. Iranian (Iranica) Journal of Energy & Environment, 13(2), pp.169–175. Doi: 10.5829/IJEE.2022.13.02.08
  29. Modanloo, V., and Alimirzaloo, V., 2016. Minimization of the sheet thinning in hydraulic deep drawing process using response surface methodology and finite element method. International Journal of Engineering, 29(2), pp.264–273. Doi: 10.5829/idosi.ije.2016.29.02b.16
  30. Hasan Nejad, S.J., Hasanzadeh, R., Doniavi, A., and Modanloo, V., 2017. Finite element simulation analysis of laminated sheets in deep drawing process using response surface method. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 93(9–12), pp.3245–3259. Doi: 10.1007/s00170-017-0780-5
  31. Modanloo, V., Doniavi, A., and Hasanzadeh, R., 2016. Application of multi criteria decision making methods to select sheet hydroforming process parameters. Decision Science Letters, 5(3), pp.349–360. Doi: 10.5267/j.dsl.2016.2.005
  32. Modanloo, V., Gorji, A., and Bakhshi-Jooybari, M., 2019. A Comprehensive Thinning Analysis for Hydrodynamic Deep Drawing Assisted by Radial Pressure. Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Mechanical Engineering, 43(3), pp.487–494. Doi: 10.1007/s40997-018-0221-6