Study of the forming process effects on the wrinkling and thinning percentage of the micro-channels with serpentine layout

In the present study, the lubricated and non-lubricated stamping processes are used for fabrication of the metallic bipolar plates (MBPPs) with a thickness of 0.1 mm made of SS3316 with a serpentine flow field. Experimental tests together with the finite element (FE) model are utilized to define the directional thickness distribution. According to the results, considering the friction factor of 0.1 during the FE analysis is capable of providing accurate results in terms of thickness prediction under lubricated conditions. The largest thinning percentages in the modified conditions are found to be 27.02%, 30.40%, and 26.00% in the longitudinal, diagonal, and transverse directions, respectively, indicating that the diagonal direction is the most critical one. Finally, the effect of lubricating condition on wrinkling of the sample is investigated. According to the results, using the lubricated condition during the stamping process would lead to augmentation of the wrinkling of the bipolar plate and also, the wrinkling of bipolar plate’s margin was not symmetrical.