Welding of thin stainless-steel sheets using a QCW green laser source
Abstract Bipolar plates are structured thin metal sheets and are, next to the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), one of the main components of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. One of the production steps of such bipolar plates is the joining process of its two halves. Laser welding is a suit...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54305-4 |
| _version_ | 1797275138863923200 |
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| author | E. Haddad F. Poggenburg A. Häusler A. Olowinsky |
| author_facet | E. Haddad F. Poggenburg A. Häusler A. Olowinsky |
| author_sort | E. Haddad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Bipolar plates are structured thin metal sheets and are, next to the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), one of the main components of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. One of the production steps of such bipolar plates is the joining process of its two halves. Laser welding is a suitable method for such an application since it is fast, non-contact, automatable, and scalable. Particularly important aspects of the weld seam are the weld seam width and depth. In this paper, welding of stainless-steel material analogous to materials used in bipolar plates is examined. For this purpose, a newly developed quasi continuous wave (QCW) green laser source with higher beam quality is employed to assess the effect of the wavelength and the spot diameter on the welding of stainless-steel material. By using various focusing lens, different sized beam diameters below 20 µm are achieved and their influence on the final welding result—specifically concerning the seam width—are analyzed. With welding speeds starting at 500 mm/s, reduced weld seam widths (≤ 100 µm) are realized, particularly with a focusing lens of 200 mm focal distance. The suitability of such a process for thin channels of under 75 µm width is examined. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:09:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-579bd99bc6084988ae0906f1ff1df546 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:09:02Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-579bd99bc6084988ae0906f1ff1df5462024-03-05T18:44:42ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-02-0114111210.1038/s41598-024-54305-4Welding of thin stainless-steel sheets using a QCW green laser sourceE. Haddad0F. Poggenburg1A. Häusler2A. Olowinsky3Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILTChair of Laser Technology LLTFraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILTFraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILTAbstract Bipolar plates are structured thin metal sheets and are, next to the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), one of the main components of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. One of the production steps of such bipolar plates is the joining process of its two halves. Laser welding is a suitable method for such an application since it is fast, non-contact, automatable, and scalable. Particularly important aspects of the weld seam are the weld seam width and depth. In this paper, welding of stainless-steel material analogous to materials used in bipolar plates is examined. For this purpose, a newly developed quasi continuous wave (QCW) green laser source with higher beam quality is employed to assess the effect of the wavelength and the spot diameter on the welding of stainless-steel material. By using various focusing lens, different sized beam diameters below 20 µm are achieved and their influence on the final welding result—specifically concerning the seam width—are analyzed. With welding speeds starting at 500 mm/s, reduced weld seam widths (≤ 100 µm) are realized, particularly with a focusing lens of 200 mm focal distance. The suitability of such a process for thin channels of under 75 µm width is examined.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54305-4HydrogenFuel cellsBipolar platesLaser weldingStainless steelGreen laser |
| spellingShingle | E. Haddad F. Poggenburg A. Häusler A. Olowinsky Welding of thin stainless-steel sheets using a QCW green laser source Scientific Reports Hydrogen Fuel cells Bipolar plates Laser welding Stainless steel Green laser |
| title | Welding of thin stainless-steel sheets using a QCW green laser source |
| title_full | Welding of thin stainless-steel sheets using a QCW green laser source |
| title_fullStr | Welding of thin stainless-steel sheets using a QCW green laser source |
| title_full_unstemmed | Welding of thin stainless-steel sheets using a QCW green laser source |
| title_short | Welding of thin stainless-steel sheets using a QCW green laser source |
| title_sort | welding of thin stainless steel sheets using a qcw green laser source |
| topic | Hydrogen Fuel cells Bipolar plates Laser welding Stainless steel Green laser |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54305-4 |
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