Dissertation
HYBRID POLYMER COMPOSITE BIPOLAR PLATES FOR FUEL CELL POWER PLANTS
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2018
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/111044
Abstract
Abstract
by Ahmed Saib Naji Al-Alawi, Ph.D.
Washington State University
December 2018
Chair: Amir Aboutaleb Ameli
Using unclean fuels such as fossil fuel has many consequences including global warming and environmental pollution. Nowadays, searching for the clean, sustainable and cheap energy source is increasing. Many suggestions have been put on the table; among them, fuel cell technology represents the most promising one. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are the most common ones used widely in various applications ranging from portable batteries to the fuel cell power plants. PEMFC is still expensive, heavy and not efficient enough to be available in the markets in a cost-effective manner. The main part of the fuel cell which is involved with these problems is the bipolar plate (BPP). Therefore, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has suggested a list of requirements for the BPP to commercialize the PEMFC. Up-to-date, different types of BPP have been developed using several material types. Among these materials, conductive polymer composites (CPCs) have shown great promises owing to their outstanding combination of the required proportions.
In this study, CPC materials based on polycarbonate and hybrid carbon-based fillers were manufactured using three different technologies: solution casting, melt mixing with singular polymer and melt mixing with a blend of polymers. The results showed that the dispersion and distribution of the conductive filler play an important role in controlling the morphological, electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. Moreover, the percolation threshold of the singular and hybrid filler systems and the localization of the fillers within the matrix are important factors governing various properties. The results showed that the solution casting can yield light CPCs but they do not still qualify to manufacture BPP, because of their low conductivities and poor mechanical properties. The melt mixing approach for singular polymer matrix provided a significant improvement in the conductivities and the mechanical properties over the solution casting CPCs. However, the melt mixing of the singular polymer is still challenging due to the required high filler loads. Using a plasticizer with this technology proved an effective solution toward increasing filler load and enhancing various properties. Finally, CPCs fabricated using melt mixing of polymer blends exhibited the best combination of various physical and mechanical properties suitable for BPP performance.
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Details
- Title
- HYBRID POLYMER COMPOSITE BIPOLAR PLATES FOR FUEL CELL POWER PLANTS
- Creators
- Ahmed Saib Naji Al-Alawi
- Contributors
- Amir Aboutaleb Ameli (Advisor)Amir Aboutaleb Ameli (Committee Member)Changki Mo (Committee Member)Messiha Todary Saad (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Mechanical and Materials Engineering, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 210
- Identifiers
- 99900581710501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation