Characterization of Direct Laser Melting Technology for the Fabrication of Fuel Cell Bipolar Plate

Abstract

Manufacturing of the bipolar plate of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) by direct laser melting technology (DLM) was attempted. The DLM technology is highly influenced by process parameters such as laser power, scan rate and layering height. Therefore, an analysis of the DLM technology was performed under various conditions. The bipolar plates were fabricated using the DLM process with 316L stainless steel (STS 316L) plates and powder. Powder melting trials at various energy density were performed in order to select a feasible melting range for a given laser power. The melting line height increases and eventually saturates when the energy density increases, but decreases when the laser power increases at a given energy density. For the estimation of the potential performance of the bipolar plate, the surface roughness and contact resistance of the DLM layer were also analyzed. The changes of line height and thickness are useful information to report when manufacturing bipolar plate of fuel cell through the DLM process.

Experimental and Numerical Analyses of Flexible Forming Process for Micro Channel Arrays of Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates

“…최근 환경 및 연료고갈 문제에 대한 인식이 증 가하면서 새로운 대체에너지 개발이 시급한 과제 로 제기되고 있다. 수소와 산소를 연료로 사용하 는 고분자 전해질 연료전지(PEMFC)는 높은 효율 과 빠른 시동, 낮은 반응온도, 안전성 등의 장점 을 가지고 있어 대체에너지 중 가장 가능성이 높 은 미래형 에너지원으로 떠오르고 있다 [1]. 고분자 전해질 연료전지의 보급을 확대하기 위 해서는 주요 부품의 성능과 신뢰성를 향상시키고 시스템 가격을 낮추는 것이 무엇보다 중요하다.…”