COSMOS helps Ballard Power Systems refine fuel cell technology

Company Ballard Power Systems Industry Power Location Canada Product Used COSMOSM™ Type of Analysis Linear Static, Thermal More Details

The Challenge
Ballard Power Systems, North Vancouver, developed and manufactures a power generating alternative they describe as "silent, space efficient and non-polluting," with "the power to change the world." The fuel cells - which consist of a plastic membrane with carbon electrodes on both sides sandwiched between graphite plates - convert fuel into electricity, heat and pure water.

In production, Ballard needed to optimize their designs for such things as weight and material cost.

The Solution
In the past, Ballard's designers relied on textbook style rules and formulas for calculating material stresses, and often ended up with over-designed parts and excess material.

Ballard decided to buy COSMOSM from the MDA CAD T.E.A.M., an application group of The T.E.A.M. Corporation. "COSMOSM helps ensure there is less waste, less guesswork, and that we meet requirements better," says John Kenna, mechanical design engineer for Ballard Power Systems.

Initially, the company invested in COSMOSM to study such mechanical issues as stack design, compression loading and composite materials characterization, but quickly found themselves using it for such other purposes as optimizing flow fields to get even distribution of gas and fluid supply to the stack.

"Ballard management recognizes that to be successful, our engineers must have the best tools to maximize our capabilities," says Kenna.

 

"The company sees COSMOSM as a way to optimize the design, to get the product built right the first time."         John Kenna, Mechanical Design Engineer