Sealing Technologies for the Manufacturing of Bipolar Plates via Active and Passive Hydroforming

Abstract

Hydrogen technology is central to the process of turning away from fossil fuels. Electrolyzers and fuel cells of various sizes are needed to implement the hydrogen strategy. The cost-efficient forming of bipolar plates is key to the implementation of this strategy. Based on previous research, this paper presents active and passive hydroforming using the example of the production of bipolar plates for fuel cells. Furthermore, different systems for sealing the hydroforming pressure between tool and sheet are presented and compared with regard to their behavior in forming tests, their failure characteristics and the resulting process parameters.

Keywords

• electric vehicle
• forming
• fuel cell
• hydroforming
• manufacturing process
• metal forming