In any proton-exchange membrane fuel cell, the bipolar plates grab attention because of the high production cost and heavyweight. Hence, the open-cell nickel foams are considered as an alternative to these grooved plates. The reliability of the metallic foams used as flow distributors and gas diffusion layers plays a vital role in the fuel cell's overall performance. Fretting wear damage of the metal foam at strut/strut interface and strut/supporting frame interface due to the vehicular vibrations and pressurized fuel flow is expected to affect the performance and is investigated. This paper discusses the fretting wear behaviour of nickel foam strut that constitutes open-cell nickel foam based on laboratory tests. The experiments are performed by using two different contact configurations: steel ball on wrought nickel flat and nickel strut on wrought nickel flat. The test results reveal the fretting friction coefficient's dependence on the normal load, surface roughness and contact geometry. Although the nickel strut versus nickel flat fretting wear tests showed a low coefficient of friction, severe damages were observed on the nickel struts’ worn surfaces compared to the wrought nickel flat. Scanning electron microscope images of worn scars on nickel foam struts indicate the presence of shallow grooves, craters, micro-cracks and delamination craters at higher loads.

在任何质子交换膜燃料电池中，双极板都因其高昂的生产成本和重量级而备受关注。因此，开孔镍泡沫被认为是这些开槽板的替代品。用作流量分配器和气体扩散层的金属泡沫的可靠性在燃料电池的整体性能中起着至关重要的作用。由于车辆的振动和加压的燃料流，在支柱/支柱界面和支柱/支撑框架界面处的金属泡沫的微动磨损损坏预计会影响性能，并进行了研究。本文讨论了基于实验室测试的构成开孔型镍泡沫的镍泡沫支柱的微动磨损行为。通过使用两种不同的触点配置来执行实验：变形镍镀层上的钢球和变形镍镀层上的镍支柱。测试结果表明，微动摩擦系数与法向载荷，表面粗糙度和接触几何形状有关。尽管镍撑杆与扁平镍的微动磨损试验显示出较低的摩擦系数，但是与锻造镍扁平相比，在镍撑杆的磨损表面上观察到了严重的损坏。镍泡沫支柱上磨损痕迹的扫描电子显微镜图像表明，在较高的载荷下，存在浅槽，凹坑，微裂纹和分层凹坑。与锻造的镍镀层相比，在镍撑杆的磨损表面上观察到了严重的损坏。镍泡沫支柱上磨损痕迹的扫描电子显微镜图像表明，在较高的载荷下，存在浅槽，凹坑，微裂纹和分层凹坑。与锻造的镍镀层相比，在镍撑杆的磨损表面上观察到了严重的损坏。镍泡沫支柱上磨损痕迹的扫描电子显微镜图像表明，在较高的载荷下，存在浅槽，凹坑，微裂纹和分层凹坑。