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Analysis and Modeling of the Mechanical Durability of Proton Exchange Membranes Using Pressure-Loaded Blister TestsGrohs, Jacob R. 29 May 2009 (has links)
Environmental fluctuations in operating fuel cells impose significant biaxial stresses in the constrained proton exchange membranes (PEM). The PEM's ability to withstand cyclic environment-induced stresses plays an important role in membrane integrity and consequently, fuel cell durability. In this thesis, pressure loaded blister tests are used to study the mechanical durability of Gore-Select® series 57 over a range of times, temperatures, and loading histories. Ramped pressure tests are used with a linear viscoelastic analog to Hencky's classical solution for a pressurized circular membrane to estimate biaxial burst strength values. Biaxial strength master curves are constructed using traditional time-temperature superposition principle techniques and the associated temperature shift factors show good agreement when compared with shifts obtained from other modes of testing on the material. Investigating a more rigorous blister stress analysis becomes nontrivial due to the substantial deflections and thinning of the membrane. To further improve the analysis, the digital image correlation (DIC) technique is used to measure full-field displacements under ramped and constant pressure loading. The measured displacements are then used to validate the constitutive model and methods of the finite element analysis (FEA). With confidence in the FEA, stress histories of constant pressure tests are used to develop linear damage accumulation and residual strength based lifetime prediction models. Robust models, validated by successfully predicting fatigue failures, suggest the ability to predict failures under any given stress history whether mechanically or environmentally induced - a critical step in the effort to predict fuel cell failures caused by membrane mechanical failure. / Master of Science
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Measuring Material Properties of Proton Exchange Membranes using Pressure Loaded Blister Testing and Digital Image CorrelationSiuta, Chase Michael 08 September 2011 (has links)
The strength and durability of proton exchange membranes for use in fuel cells has received much attention recently due to the increased push for sustainable alternatives to the internal combustion engine. To be viable, these alternatives must have comparable lifetimes and power outputs to the internal combustion engines they replace. Chemical degradation was once viewed as the most common culprit of early fuel cell failure, but as membranes and catalysts improved, mechanical failure became an important factor. As a result, fundamental research on the mechanically-induced failure mechanisms of fuel cell membranes, coupled with development and processing of less expensive membranes, has become an important topic. The use of the blister test geometry, along with digital image correlation of the deformed shape, creates a self-contained analysis tool useful for measuring the biaxial strength of membranes. In this work, blister tests are used to measure biaxial stress and strain for fuel cell membranes subjected to ramped pressure loading to form stress-strain curves that indicate the onset of yielding under biaxial stress conditions. Stress-life curves are developed experimentally for Gore-Selec? series 57 members using data collected under constant pressure conditions. These results are used to predict blister failure under ramped and fatigue loadings. A newly implemented hydrocarbon membrane system is evaluated with constant-pressure-to-leak blister testing. Improved strength following an isothermal hold at 100°C (pretreatment) is shown to occur. Ramped pressure testing indicates that the material after the pretreatment is stiffer and has a higher yield stress than the material before treatment. Morphological and constitutive characterization indicated differences in the materials that are consistent with the improved performance. / Master of Science
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Experimental Studies on the Mechanical Durability of Proton Exchange MembranesLi, Yongqiang 28 December 2008 (has links)
Three testing methods are proposed to characterize properties of fuel cell materials that affect the mechanical durability of proton exchange membranes (PEMs). The first two methods involved measuring the in-plane biaxial strength of PEMs and the biaxial hygrothermal stresses that occur in PEMs during hygrothermal cycles. The third method investigated the nonuniform thickness and compressibility of gas diffusion media which can lead to concentrated compressive stresses in the PEM in the through-plane direction.
Fatigue and creep to leak tests using multi-cell pressure-loaded blister fixtures were conducted to obtain the lifetimes of PEMs before reaching a threshold value of gas leakage. These tests are believed to be more relevant than quasi-static uniaxial tensile to rupture tests because of the introduction of biaxial cyclic and sustained loading and the use of gas leakage as the failure criterion. They also have advantages over relative humidity cycling test because of the controllable mechanical loading. Nafion® NRE-211 membrane was tested at three different temperatures and the time-temperature superposition principle was used to construct a stress-lifetime master curve. Tested at 90°C, extruded Ion Power® N111-IP membrane was found to have longer lifetime than Gore™-Select® 57 and Nafion NRE-211 membranes under the same blister pressure profiles.
Bimaterial specimens fabricated by bonding a piece of PEM to a substrate material were used to measure the hygral stresses, compressive and tensile, in the PEM during relative humidity cycles. The substrate material and its thickness were carefully chosen so that stresses in the PEM could be obtained directly from the curvature of the bimaterial specimen without knowing the constitutive properties of the PEM. Three commercial PEMs were tested at 80°C by cycling the relative humidity between 90% and 0% and by drying the membrane to 0%RH after submersion in liquid water. Stress histories for all three membranes show strong time-dependencies and Nafion® NRE-211 exhibited the largest tensile stress upon drying.
Besides in-plane stresses, hard spots in gas diffusion media (GDM) can locally overcompress PEMs in the out-of-plane direction and cause electrical shorting. In this study, GDM samples sealed with an impermeable Kapton® film on the surface were compressed with uniform air pressure and the nonuniform displacement field was measured with a three-dimensional digital image correlation technique. Hard spots as a result of the nonuniform thickness and compressibility of the GDM were found and their severities as stress risers are evident. Locally, a nominal platen compression (similar to bipolar plate land compression) of 0.68 MPa can lead to compressive stress as large as 2.30 MPa in various hard spots that are in the order of 100s µm to 1 mm in size. / Ph. D.
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