Investigation on Mechanical Properties of a Carbon Paper Gas Diffusion Layer through a 3-D Nonlinear and Orthotropic Constitutive Model

Yanqin Chen, Yuchao Ke, Yingsong Xia and Chongdu Cho
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Yanqin Chen: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yuchao Ke: Key Laboratory of High-Performance Rubber & Products of Anhui Province, Ningguo 242300, China
Yingsong Xia: Key Laboratory of High-Performance Rubber & Products of Anhui Province, Ningguo 242300, China
Chongdu Cho: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: The mechanical loads that gas diffusion layers (GDLs) withstand in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks are sensitive to the assembly and working conditions. The mechanical properties of GDLs mostly depend on their composition materials, microstructural characteristics, operation conditions, etc. An accurate and comprehensive understanding of the mechanical performance of GDLs is significant for predicting the stress distribution and improving the assembly technology of PEMFC stacks. This study presented a novel 3-D nonlinear and orthotropic constitutive model of a carbon paper GDL to represent the material stiffness matrix with its compressive, tensile, and shear properties. Numerical simulations were performed based on the 3-D constitutive model, and the proposed 3-D model was validated against the experimental data reported previously. It is found that the simulation results of the 3-D constitutive model show a good agreement with the experimental results. Besides, the novel 3-D nonlinear and orthotropic model was applied in the overall stress simulation of a simplified PEMFC unit cell, compared to a conventional 3-D linear and isotropic model, and the simulation results of the two models show a significant difference.

Keywords: gas diffusion layer; polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell; mechanical properties; 3-D constitutive model; nonlinear and orthotropic characteristics; material stiffness matrix (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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