Novel approach for reducing thinning during forming of foil metal

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Novel approach for reducing thinning during forming of foil metal

MEERKAMP Max, UHLMANN Lars, MÜLLER Martina, HERRIG Tim, BERGS Thomas

Abstract. The mobility sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union. One approach to reduce these emissions and thereby reach the climate goals set by the European union is the use of alternative drive concepts, such as the hydrogen fuel cell. The economic feasibility of the hydrogen fuel cell depends on its performance which is mostly determined by the volumetric flows of reactants conveyed within the cell. In this context, the key component is the bipolar plate, as its channel depth defines the volumetric flows of reactants. The channel depth is, however, limited by the formability of the material being used and the occurring sheet thinning during forming. This paper presents a novel approach of segmental forming, meaning the forming of individual channels in a defined sequence. The aim is to reduce local stress concentration in the component and to homogenize the spatial thinning within the component in order to avoid a pronounced local sheet thinning. Therefore, five channels are formed by conventional forming in a single step and by segmental forming. The results are then analyzed in terms of the thinning of the sheet thickness that occurs and conclusions are drawn in terms of the stress states that occur.

Keywords
Bipolar Plate, Foil Metal, Novel Forming Approach, Stress State, Thinning

Published online 4/24/2024, 9 pages
Copyright © 2024 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA

Citation: MEERKAMP Max, UHLMANN Lars, MÜLLER Martina, HERRIG Tim, BERGS Thomas, Novel approach for reducing thinning during forming of foil metal, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 41, pp 2374-2382, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903131-261

The article was published as article 261 of the book Material Forming

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

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