The model of stress distribution in polymer electrolyte membrane
  An analytical model of mechanical stress in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) of a hydrogen/air fuel cell with porous Water Transfer Plates (WTP) is developed in this work. The model considers a mechanical stress in the membrane is a result of the cell load cycling under constant oxygen utilization. The load cycling causes the cycling of the inlet gas flow rate, which results in the membrane hydration/dehydration close to the gas inlet. Hydration/dehydration of the membrane leads to membrane swelling/shrinking, which causes mechanical stress in the constrained membrane. Mechanical stress results in through-plane crack formation. Thereby, the mechanical stress in the membrane causes mechanical failure of the membrane, limiting fuel cell lifetime. The model predicts the stress in the membrane as a function of the cell geometry, membrane material properties and operation conditions. The model was applied for stress calculation in GORE-SELECT. 
Vadim V. Atrazhev, Tatiana Yu. Astakhova, Dmitry V. Dmitriev, Nikolay   S. Erikhman, Vadim I. Sultanov, Timothy Patterson an...
physics.chem-ph cond-mat.soft