Measurement of the electrical contact resistance of PEM fuel cell bipolar plates

Electrical contact resistance between bipolar plates of PEM fuel cells has attracted much attention since it is one significant part of the total contact resistance which plays an important role in fuel cell performance. The effect of contact pressure on the bipolar plates electrical contact resistance is discussed in this paper. Various roughness on the bulk surface and various ingredient percentages of the adhesive compound were considered. The experimental results show that the contact resistance between bipolar plates has a minimum for appropriate values of contact pressure, plate surface roughness and ingredient percentages of the adhesive compound.