Modeling and experimental study on the sealing gasket of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

In this study, the cross section geometry and material of gaskets in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells have been investigated to achieve a fuel cell with more terms of energy ef ciency. The role of gaskets in fuel cells is sealing and preventing combinations of gas  ow channels. In a PEM stack, a gasket with approved geometry which suffers more stress has better sealing. For this investigation, experimental leakage tests have been done  rst and then gaskets manufacturing, stack assembly, and  nally putting the setup under press and studying leakage values in terms of time and various pressures. The results showed that a sealing gasket with a width of 3mm and thickness of 0.4 mm in pressure of 2 MPa seals well according to standards. To obtain optimal results, the width of 3mm and thickness of 0.4 mm has been considered for numerical simulation. After the leakage test, some materials have been tested and results showed that a gasket with hyper elastic properties is the best choice for sealing. After the experimental tests six gasket shape cross section pro les in a fuel cell stack have been modeled in Abaqus software and the best material and pro le shape for gaskets in a fuel cell has been selected. Results of simulations showed good uniform pressure distribution in the stack

Modeling and experimental study on the sealing gasket of proton exchange membrane fuel cells Keywords:

PEM fuel cell , Sealing gasket , More energy ef ciency , Leakage test , Abaqus FEM software ,