Biaxial fatigue crack growth in proton exchange membrane of fuel cells based on cyclic cohesive finite element method

During the operation of proton exchange membrane in fuel cells, cyclic mechanical loads are introduced due to humidity cycles. The resulting fatigue crack is known be main source for its degradation. In this paper, we use a relation between damage evolution cohesive elements and Paris law simulate biaxial growth. effects various loading conditions investigated. predicted growth good agreement with experimental studies. Both transverse stress tensile overload have retardation effects. It also found that rate associated shorter pre-crack depends more on load waveform. Moreover, grows faster under low-high history than high-low one. These simulation results provided significant insights into failure behavior membranes during can help improve their durability.