Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Geometrical Parameters on the Springback of Metallic Bipolar Plates in the Stamping Process

Today, the use of metallic bipolar plates in the fuel cell industry has attracted the attention of many researchers due to its much lower cost than thick graphite plates produced by machining. The best method for the production of metallic bipolar plates is forming process. Among the different forming methods, the stamping process has a higher production rate, simpler process, and lower production cost. One of the major problems in the formation of the metallic bipolar plates is the springback of the sheet after forming, which causes distortion and non-uniformity in the formed channels. In this study, the effects of geometrical parameters such as draft angle, corner radius, depth of channel and process parameter such as lubricant on filling profile as well as springback of formed sheet made of stainless steel 304 with a thickness of 0.1 mm were investigated. For this purpose, the simulation was performed using ABAQUS finite element software and the results were verified by experimental analysis. Then the outputs were evaluated by changing the input parameters in the simulation. The results showed that the draft angle and channel width had the most influence on the springback value of the formed plates. The results related to the process parameter such as the lubricant effect showed that the springback value is almost independent of the lubricant parameter. However, in quite equal conditions, the stress distribution in the corners and channel walls is much more uniform when using the lubricant.