• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.169-174
• /
• 2014

The effect of varying amounts of graphite and $TiB_2$ on the electrical conductivity of composite bipolar plates was systematically studied. In this study, Titanium diboride ($TiB_2$) which has a high electrical conductivity, was selected as a filler and a additive material instead of conventional graphite. For proper distribution of the filler and matrix materials, ball milling using alumina balls was conducted for 1h, and then the hot press method was applied for the preparation of composite samples. The results showed a rapid increase in the electrical conductivity of composite bipolar plates at the critical filler content. However, $TiB_2$ and graphite composite bipolar plates showed similar increases in the electrical conductivity even though $TiB_2$ has a higher electrical conductivity than graphite. In addition, it was also found that a small addition of $TiB_2$ to graphite filler could be very effective for increasing the electrical conductivity and flexural strength of the composite bipolar plate.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.3627-3632
• /
• 2015

We investigated mechanical, rheological and electrical properties of graphite/PP/LCP composites for a bipolar plate of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. The composites containing very low molecular weighted PP showed much higher electrical conductivity compared with other thermoplastics. This was attributed to the enhanced dispersion of graphite particles due to the low viscosity of the PP. The conductivity of the composites was increased in a great extent by incorporation of small amount of carbon nano tube (CNT). However, the acid treated CNT which contains oxygen atoms did not increase the conductivity of the composite. From this result, it is concluded that the CNT has higher affinity with non polar polymer. The composite with low molecular weighted PP provided good processability so that the composites can be processed by an injection molding while the mechanical strength is deficient compared to other polymers. In order to reinforce the low mechanical property, LCP/PP was used as a binder and the graphite/PP/LCP composite showed the higher conductivity and moderate mechanical strength maintaining suitable processability.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.1999-2004
• /
• 2011

This research aims to develop polymer composites which can be used for PEMFC bipolar plate by injection molding process. Considering the moldability and stiffness, we used LCP(Liquid crystal polymer) as base resin. In order to improve electrical conductivity and mechanical properties, we chose carbon black, and both synthetic graphite and expanded graphite. The composites with different recipe are prepared for injection molding of PEMFC bipolar plate and CAE(Computer Aided Engineering) analysis was performed to predict melt flow and fiber orientation We did successfully fabricate the ASTM specimens by injection molding, and measure the electrical conductivity of the samples by using four point probe device. We measured mechanical properties such as flexural strength, flexural modulus and Izod impact strength. Conclusively, the electrical conductivity increased with increasing additive concentration, but both flexural strength and Izod impact strength decreased due to the brittle nature of carbon-based additives.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.218-224
• /
• 2016

Thermal radiation pastes were prepared by dispersing carbon materials as fillers with a content of 1 weight percent in an acrylic resin. The kind of fillers was as follows; $25{\mu}m$ graphite, $45{\mu}m$ graphite, $15{\mu}m$ carbon nanotube(CNT), a 1:1 mixture of $25{\mu}m$ graphite and $15{\mu}m$ CNT, and a 1:1 mixture of $45{\mu}m$ graphite and $15{\mu}m$ CNT. Thermal emissivity was measured as 0.890 for the samples with graphite only, 0.893 for that with CNT only, and 0.892 for those containing both. After coating prepared pastes on a side of 0.4 mm thick aluminium plate and placing the plate over an opening of a box maintained at $92^{\circ}C$ with the coated side out, the temperatures on the uncoated side of the plates were measured. The samples containing graphite and CNT showed the lowest temperatures. The paste with mixed fillers was coated on the back side of the PCB of an LED module and thermal analysis was carried out using Thermal Transient Tester (T3ster) in a still air box. The thermal resistance of the module with coated PCB was measured as 14.34 K/W whereas that with uncoated PCB was 15.02 K/W. The structure function analysis of T3ster data revealed that the difference between junction and ambient temperatures was $13.8^{\circ}C$ for the coated case and $18.0^{\circ}C$ for the uncoated. From the infrared images of heated LED modules, the hottest-spot temperature of the module with coated PCB was lower than that of the uncoated one for a given period of LED operation.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2009.06a
• /
• pp.331-334
• /
• 2009

Currently, the bipolar plates are fabricated mainly from graphite materials. However, metal bipolar plate are getting most attractive due to their good feasibility of mass production and low cost. In this study, metal bipolar plates for fuel cell Vehicles were developed with a concept based on the straight flow patterns to minimize the pressure drop and spring back. And molded gasket apply to the bipolar plate for improve sealing performance. Results show that the metal bipolar plate have a high potential to replace for graphite materials in fuel cell application.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.625-635
• /
• 1989

Mixed mode fracture problem is analyzed for the finite orthotropic plate where an inclined crack parallel to the fiber direction is centrally placed. Modified mapping collocation method with both uniform stress and uniform displacement boundary conditions is utilized to calculate stress intensity correction factors for glass/epoxy and graphite/epoxy composites. Computed results are presented for selected combinations of crack length to width ratio L/W and plate aspect ratio H/W with various fiber orientations.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2004.04a
• /
• pp.69-69
• /
• 2004

• Composites Research
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.148-154
• /
• 2021

Carbon/epoxy composite bipolar plate (BP) is a BP that is likely to replace existing graphite bipolar plate of vanadium redox flow cell (VRFB) due to its high mechanical properties and productivity. Multi-functional carbon/epoxy composite BP requires graphite coating or additional surface treatment to reduce interfacial contact resistance (ICR). However, the expanded graphite coating has the disadvantage of having low durability under VRFB operating conditions, and the surface treatments incur additional costs. In this work, an excessive resin absorption method is developed, which uniformly removes the resin rich area on the surface of the BP to expose carbon fibers by applying polyester fabric. This method not only reduces ICR by exposing carbon fibers to BP surfaces, but also forms a unique ditch pattern that can effectively hold carbon felt electrodes in place. The acidic environmental durability, mechanical properties, and gas permeability of the developed carbon/epoxy composite BP are experimentally verified.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.248-251
• /
• 2005

Graphite reinforced conductive polymer composites for PEMFC bipolar plates were fabricated by the compression molding technique. Graphite powder was mixed with an phenol resin to impart electrical property in composites. In this study, conductive polymer composites with high filler $loadings(>60wt.\%)$ were manufactured to accomplish high electrical conductivity above 100S/cm. The level of compaction is important because graphite powder increase electrical conductivity of composites by direct physical contact between particles. The optimum molding pressure according to filler was proposed experimentally. Various tests(electrical conductivity, flexural strength, compressive strength, leach test, etc) were carried out to verify the performance of fabricated composites for PEMFC bipolar plates. Fabricated composites have good electrical conductivity and mechanical strength. The results of leach test and contact angle measurement showed similar characteristics compared with commercial bipolar plates.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2007.06a
• /
• pp.146-149
• /
• 2007

The 2-step manufacturing method consisting of preforming and stamping processes was developed to manufacture composite bipolar plates for PEMFCs. The preform was composed of expanded graphite, graphite flake and phenol resin. Precuring conditions were optimized by checking the electrical conductivity, flexural strength and microstructure. Precuring temperature ($100^{\circ}C$) slightly above the melting point of phenol powders ($90^{\circ}C$) induced moderate curing, but also prevented excessive curing. Preforms utilizing the tangled structure of expanded graphite were easily fabricated at low pressure of 0.07-0.28MPa. The proper precuring time, 5min, was determined to fabricate the preform stably because insufficient and excessive precuring deteriorated the flexural strength of composite bipolar plates.