A new equation for predicting electrical conductivity of carbon-filled polymer composites used for bipolar plates of fuel cells

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 128; no. 3; pp. 1497 - 1509
• Main Authors: Taherian, Reza, Hadianfard, Mohammad Jaffar, Golikand, Ahmad Nozad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 05-05-2013; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Applied sciences; carbon; composite; Composites; Electrical conductivity; Electrical resistivity; Exact sciences and technology; Fillers; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; Fuel cells; Materials science; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; polymer; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Polymer matrix composites; Polymers; Resistivity; Technology of polymers; polymer; Experimental test; Electrical conductivity; Electrical properties; Theoretical study; Mineral fiber; Modeling; Composite material; Wettability; Thermodynamic model; Statistical model; carbon; composite; Concentration effect; Graphite; Cation exchange membrane; Surface properties; Percolation; Numerical simulation; model; Proton exchange membrane fuel cells; Carbon fiber
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.38295

In this article, a statistical‐thermodynamic formula based on a new approach has been developed to predict electrical conductivity of carbon‐filled composites used for bipolar plate of proton exchange membrane fuel cell. In this model, based on percolation threshold phenomenon, it is assumed that the relationship between electrical conductivity of composite and filler volume fraction follows a sigmoidal equation. Afterwards, the four effective factors on composite conductivity including filler electrical conductivity, filler aspect ratio, wettability, as well as interface contact resistance are replaced upon constant parameters of sigmoidal function. In order to test the model, some single‐filler composites have been manufactured by using the phenolic resin as binder and graphite (G), expanded graphite (EG), and carbon fiber (CF) as fillers. The fitting quality is measured by R‐square, adjusted R‐square, SSE, and RMSE parameters. The results showed that there is a noteworthy agreement between the model and the experimental data. Compared to the other models, this model can be used for more types of fillers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013