Optimization of the preform shape in the three-stage forming process of the shielded slot plate in fuel cell manufacturing

The shielded slot plate, a repeated structure of high sheared protrusions, is a major component of metallic bipolar plates for the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). In order to increase the efficiency of the MCFC and long-term operation capability, the sheared protrusion should have a relatively large flat contact area. In addition, defects from the forming process such as local thinning should be minimized. In this work, the preform shape in the three-stage forming process that integrates the slitting process, the preforming process, and the final forming process was optimized to minimize the effective plastic strain. In the simulation of the forming process, the ductile fracture criterion was employed to the user material subroutine VUMAT in ABAQUS/Explicit. Steepest descent method was utilized in the design of the forming process to minimize equivalent plastic strain. High sheared protrusions were manufactured without defects from the three-stage forming process using the optimized preform shape. The minimum thickness of one sheared protrusion was increased by 25% over that of the two-stage forming process. The three-stage forming process using the optimized preform shape enables more uniformly distributed deformation and reduces localized deformation.