Constitutive Modeling for Mechanical Response of Ionomer-Based Nano-Phase Composite Laminates

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

CMS 0408807 Constitutive Modeling for Mechanical Response of Nano-Phase Composite Laminates Ken Reifsnider and Xinyu Huang Global Fuel Cell Center, ME Department, UCONN Abstract A major concentration of the national initiative to develop fuel cell power systems is focused on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) cells, which use polymer-based composite laminates and membranes. Durability has been identified by several current national studies as the most important barrier to progress in this important enterprise, so the question of mechanical behavior is an essential issue. The present program will address three high risk aspects of this barrier. It will make the first attempt to construct constitutive concepts for the fully nonlinear and anisotropic mechanical response of ionomeric membranes, attempt to identify a failure criterion for such membranes, and identify the strain-rate dependence of that failure criterion using classical stress-rupture concepts. The broader impact of this program will be to remove a critical barrier to the design of durable fuel cells to enable a sustainable society by introducing the findings of the program into courses taught by the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center.