Effect of mechanical vibrations on damage propagation in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Roshanak Banan, Aimy Bazylak, Jean Zu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

57 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vibrations and impact loads are common sources of mechanical damage in transportation applications; however, their impacts on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have yet to be fully investigated. In this work, the damage propagation in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is investigated under vibration conditions with a focus placed on the interface between the membrane and catalyst layer at the cathode. A numerical model based on the cohesive element approach is developed, and a parametric study is performed to investigate the effects of amplitude and frequency of applied vibrations as well as initial delamination length on damage propagation. Non-linear relationships were found between the damage propagation and these parameters, with the frequency of vibration having the dominant effect on damage propagation at larger amplitudes. This work provides insight into the importance of considering mechanical damage to the MEA under vibration conditions in transportation applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)14764-14772
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Volume38
Issue number34
DOIs
StatePublished - 13 Nov 2013

Keywords

  • Cohesive elements
  • Damage propagation
  • Delamination
  • Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells
  • Vibration analysis

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