Flow field plates in fuel cells

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10615427-B2
Application number	US-201715820862-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 22, 2017
Priority date	Jan 17, 2013
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

A method of producing a flow field plate for a fuel cell comprises over-profiling relief features in a die set to more accurately reproduce the intended flow channel features in the pressed plate. The process includes determining a target relief profile of features extending across the plate along at least a first dimension of the plate, modulating the relief profile with an over-profiling parameter, as a function of the first dimension; forming a die with the modulated relief profile; and pressing a flow field plate using the die with modulated relief profile to thereby produce the unmodulated, target relief profile in the flow field plate.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A flow field plate for a fuel cell, comprising:
a plate with a relief profile extending along at least a first dimension of the plate;
said plate having a plurality of channels extending across the plate, the plurality of channels having a uniform height across the flow field plate, and
wherein the relief profile defines the plurality of channels with a non-uniform height, with channel depth increasing towards the center of the modulated relief profile.

2. The plate of claim 1 , further comprising a relief profile of features extending across the plate along a second dimension of the plate orthogonal to the first dimension.

3. The plate of claim 2 , wherein the relief profile comprises a height factor applied to the height of features in the relief profile, the height factor varying as a function of distance along at least one of the first and second dimension.

4. The plate of claim 2 , wherein the relief profile comprises a width factor applied to the width of features in the relief profile, the width factor varying as a function of distance along at least one of the first dimension and second dimension.

5. The plate of claim 2 , which the relief profile comprises an offset to a baseline of the relief profile, the offset varying as a function of distance along at least the first dimension.

6. The plate of claim 2 , in which the relief profile comprises a height supplement applied to the height of features in the relief profile, the height supplement varying as a function of distance along at least one of the first and second dimensions.

7. The plate of claim 2 , in which the relief profile comprises a width supplement applied to the width of features in the relief profile, the width factor varying as a function of distance along at least one of the first and second dimension.

8. The plate of claim 1 , which the relief profile comprises an offset to a baseline of the relief profile, the offset varying as a function of distance along at least the first dimension.

9. The plate of claim 1 , in which the relief profile comprises a height supplement applied to the height of features in the relief profile, the height supplement varying as a function of distance along at least the first dimension.

10. The plate of claim 1 , in which the relief profile comprises a width supplement applied to the width of features in the relief profile, the width factor varying as a function of distance along at least the first dimension.

11. The plate of claim 1 , further comprising, introducing one of concavity and convexity into the profile via a baseline offset Δbx and/or Δby to the relief profile.

Assignees

• Intelligent Energy Ltd

Inventors

• Conlon Christopher

Classifications

• H01M8/026

  characterised by grooves, e.g. their pitch or depth · CPC title

• B21D53/04

  of sheet metal · CPC title

• B21D37/20

  Making tools by operations not covered by a single other subclass · CPC title

• H01M8/0206

  Metals or alloys · CPC title

• B21D22/02

  Stamping using rigid devices or tools · CPC title