Measuring the through-plane electrical resistivity of bipolar plates (apparatus and methods)

A 2 μohm drift was observed in the resistance measurements on a 24-h period. Two calibration methods were studied. The first calibration method was developed to calibrate the conductivity apparatus using power resistors and we were able to determine that a systematic error of 60 μohm was present. A second calibration method was then used to measure the electrical conductivity of two Poco graphite samples. Using our apparatus, the electrical conductivity of AXF-5Q and DFP-2 Poco graphite samples were both (60-210 μohm cm) lower than their reported statistical value of 1470 and 1500 μohm cm, respectively.