The residual stress in a brazed joint of metallic bipolar plates of PEMFC: A numerical model.

Bipolar plates are regarded as the core of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell. In order to obtain a connected stainless steel bipolar plate with low residual stress and small deformation, the brazing process is commonly used for bipolar plate connection. In this study, a numerical model was developed to calculate the residual stress in a brazed joint. Clamp pressure, brazing gap, and solder type were investigated. The results showed that clamping pressure had little influence on residual stress and the residual stress decreased with an increase in the brazing gap, which provided a reference for controlling brazed residual stresses for stainless steel bipolar plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]