FLOW ELEMENT BIPOLAR PLATE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A FLOW ELEMENT

摘要

In order to produce a flow element which in particular can be used as a component of a bipolar plate in electrochemical devices which is stable and permits efficient flow guiding it is proposed that the flow element comprises a plate shaped base that takes the form of a shaped sheet metal product and has a channel structure wherein the channel structure comprises multiple channels which are formed by depressions in the base and are separated from one another by elevations of the base wherein there is provided at least one region with normal level difference that defines with respect to a height direction running perpendicular to two main directions of extent of the base a height difference between a depression and an adjoining elevation wherein there is provided at least one region of reduced level difference in which a height difference between a depression and an adjoining elevation is less than the normal level difference wherein the at least one region of reduced level difference comprises a parallel expansion region of the base that in the event of an expansion of the base resulting from the deformation of the shaped sheet metal product is expanded along expansion vectors which lie in mutually parallel planes wherein the at least one region of reduced level difference that comprises the parallel expansion region of the base adjoins a curvature expansion region of the base which in the event of an expansion of the base resulting from the deformation of the shaped sheet metal product is expanded along expansion vectors which lie in intersecting planes.