COMPOSITE BIPOLAR SEPARATOR PLATE FOR AIR COOLED FUEL CELL

摘要

In an air cooled fuel cell, a composite bipolar separator plate is used in place of a thicker bipolar plate made from a single piece of material. The composite separator plate comprises a base plate and a corrugated plate. The base plate has an anode flow field on one major surface and the corrugated plate is adjacent the other major surface of the base plate. The major surface of the corrugated plate that is opposite the base plate serves as a cathode flow field. The adjacent major surfaces of the corrugated plate and the base plate together define air cooling channels that would not generally be present if the plate were made in a single piece. This composite construction provides greater air cooling capacity for a given thickness of bipolar plate.