Fuel Cell Separator with Integrated Diffusion Layer for Cost-Effective Design
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Summary
Problems
Conventional fuel cell separators are costly and difficult to make compact while maintaining mechanical strength and corrosion resistance, and they require a separate gas diffusion layer that increases costs and complexity.
Innovation solutions
A separator with a micro-porous layer for fluid supply and diffusion on a metal plate, featuring an equalization layer that intersects the fluid supply and discharge direction to ensure uniform fluid distribution, and a corrosion-resistant layer to enhance mechanical strength and reduce leakage, allowing for efficient gas and coolant distribution without the need for a separate gas diffusion layer.
TRIZ Analysis
Specific contradictions:
General conflict description:
Principle concept:
If a conventional separator with groove-shaped gas flow paths is used, then electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance are improved, but device complexity and cost increase due to requiring a separate gas diffusion layer
Why choose this principle:
The patent combines the separator and gas diffusion layer into a single integrated component. The porous layer is formed directly on the separator surface, eliminating the need for a separate gas diffusion layer while maintaining both corrosion resistance and gas diffusion functionality.
Principle concept:
If a conventional separator with groove-shaped gas flow paths is used, then electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance are improved, but device complexity and cost increase due to requiring a separate gas diffusion layer
Why choose this principle:
The separator is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it provides electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, fluid supply through groove-shaped flow paths, and gas diffusion through the porous layer. This multi-functional design reduces overall device complexity.
Application Domain
Data Source
AI summary:
A separator with a micro-porous layer for fluid supply and diffusion on a metal plate, featuring an equalization layer that intersects the fluid supply and discharge direction to ensure uniform fluid distribution, and a corrosion-resistant layer to enhance mechanical strength and reduce leakage, allowing for efficient gas and coolant distribution without the need for a separate gas diffusion layer.
Abstract
Separators of multiple types capable of supplying and diffusing fluids such as an anode gas, cathode gas and coolant uniformly are prepared and combined to construct a fuel cell stack. Such a cell stack ( 20 ) for fuel cells includes separators of at least two types (types CA, C, A, C, CW and AW) for anode gas and cathode gas. Each separator is such that a corrosion-resistance layer is formed on at least one face of a metal plate ( 30 ) and a fluid supply and diffusion layer for the corresponding gas is formed by an electrically conductive porous layer on the corrosion-resistant layer. The at least two separators are stacked so as to face each other with at least an electrolyte membrane and catalyst layers on both sides of the membrane (a new membrane electrode assembly N-MEA) being sandwiched between the fluid supply and diffusion layers of the separators.