Modeling of laser cladding with application to fuel cell manufacturing.

Details

• Creators:
  Fa, Zhiqiang
• Corporate Creators:
  Missouri University of Science and Technology. Center for Transportation Infrastructure and Safety
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Cladding Fuel Cells Lasers Manufacturing Mathematical Models Metal Coatings Plates (Engineering)
• Publication/ Report Number:
  NUTC R203 ; Project #00016751
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Missouri
• Corporate Publisher:
  Missouri University of Science and Technology. Center for Transportation Infrastructure and Safety
• Abstract:
  Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells have many advantages such as compactness,
  
  lightweight, high power density, low temperature operation and near zero emissions. Although
  
  many research organizations have intensified their efforts towards commercialization of fuel
  
  cells, several technical problems are yet to be overcome. One of the important issues is the
  
  availability of low cost bipolar plates. Thus far carbon-based bipolar plates have been the main
  
  focus of the development activities. These materials will fulfill all requirements in the near future.
  
  Nevertheless, further cost reduction and an increase of power density is beneficial for fuel cell
  
  technology [1]. Bipolar plates based on coated metals offer a high potential to reduce costs and
  
  enhance power density. Aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, and nickel are considered possible
  
  alternative materials for the bipolar plate in PEM fuel cells. These metals need to be coated
  
  properly because bipolar plates are exposed to an operating environment with a pH of 2–3 at
  
  high temperatures. Borup and Vanderborgh [2] suggest that coatings for bipolar plates should
  
  be conductive and adhere to the base material properly to protect the substrate from the
  
  operating environment. Laser cladding is considered an alternative coating process for solid or
  
  modular metallic bipolar plates. In laser cladding, the coating material is metallurgically bonded
  
  with the substrate, which is very important for the functioning of bipolar plates. The advantages
  
  of laser cladding include chemical cleanliness, localized heating, low dilution of the cladding
  
  material by the substrate and rapid cooling rates. To understand the relationships between the
  
  fuel cell component performance and manufacturing process parameters and variability, a
  
  numerical model has been developed to simulate the physical phenomena associated with laser
  
  cladding of bipolar plates. This report summarizes the numerical model developed.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DTRT06-G-0014
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:2941facff15dd92a681a6a2f2bc6a9d9c7f7927909de56214f438b72a3bcb87e
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/27913/dot_27913_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.19 MB ]