Compatibility of polymers for fuel cell automobiles

Within the current architecture of fuel cell automobiles, polymers are applied in various places such as seals in the form of O-rings or polymer liners. Upon sustained contact with hydrogen, different aging processes can occur, which potentially lead to hydrogen leakage and, thus, pose significant security risks. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to develop a set of obligatory specifications for the used materials, potentially resulting in standardization guidelines or legal regulations for the automobile industry.
In this context, the project “Compatibility of Polymers for Fuel Cell Automobiles” was proceeded. For this, different sample types were selected, subjected to hydrogen aging treatment and subsequently characterized with different analytical methods.
The conducted study presents an overview about possible testing procedures and their applicability for the development of standardization guidelines and yields information about effects occurring after accelerated hydrogen aging treatments.

在当前燃料电池汽车架构中，聚合物被广泛应用于各个部位，如O型圈或聚合物衬里等密封件。在持续接触氢气的条件下，可能会发生不同的老化过程，这可能导致氢气泄漏，从而带来重大的安全隐患。因此，制定一套关于所用材料的强制性规范显得尤为迫切，这将有可能导致标准化指南或汽车行业的法律规范的产生。
在此背景下，开展了“燃料电池汽车聚合物兼容性”项目。为此，选择了不同类型的样品，经氢气老化处理，随后采用不同的分析方法进行表征。
本研究概述了可能的测试程序及其在制定标准化指南方面的适用性，并提供了加速氢气老化处理后发生效应的相关信息。