Numerical studies on Vibro-creep of PEM fuel cell elements used in mobile applications

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2023-09, Vol.48 (78), p.30570-30584
• Main Authors: Sławiński, Daniel, Bykuć, Sebastian, Gliński, Michał, Chaja, Patryk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Creep; Failure; Fuel cell; Heat affected zone (HAZ); Kachanov; Vibro-creep
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.04.195

The wide use of fuel cells in mobile applications carries significant risks caused by accompanying vibrations, the origin of which can be found in the interaction of the ground or other vibration-generating components. The classical approach treated vibration and creep as two separate phenomena. One generated pulses, and the other caused durable deformations under the influence of temperature and static loads. This work combines both phenomena, describing the impact of vibrations on the material's structure and estimating the magnitude of durable deformations caused by the aggregation of alloy inclusions and dislocations in the material mesh. The Norton creep model and the failure model described by Kachanov were used for this. In addition, Stobyriev's reduced stresses were used to reflect the failure spectrum of the material: from brittle to ductile. •The previous approach treated vibration and creep as two separate phenomena.•A material with brittle deformation showed a high affinity for Vibro-creep.•Ductile materials exhibit low Vibro-creep values.•Martensitic α phase in austenite structure increases Vibro-creep.•The phenomenon of creep-fatigue reduced the life of the weld joint.