Experimental Analysis of Mechanical Behavior of the Composite Bipolar Plates in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The bipolar plate is one of the most important components in a PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell .In this paper the mechanical behavior of the composite bipolar plates are studied and compared with Department of Energy (DOE) criteria. All specimens were prepared by casting under pressure and under the hot press. Phenolic resin powder was used as matrix of composite in manufacturing of bipolar plates. To increase the flexural strength and impact strength, the carbon fibers and carbon fabrics were used as filler. electrical conductivity of the samples was analyzed by adding natural graphite powder in the composite. In for the mechanical behavior of bipolar plates, samples with different weights of phenolic resin were produced and tested. The morphology of samples was conducted using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Finally, the results showed that increasing the percentage of resin, increases the flexural strength and impact strength of composite bipolar plates however the electrically conductivity reduces compare with DOE criteria.