Fuel cell manifold assembly including a self-supporting polymer material liner

Abstract

An illustrative example embodiment of a fuel cell manifold device includes a self-supporting polymer material liner body including a generally planar primary wall and a plurality of side walls. The side walls respectively extend generally perpendicularly from the primary wall. Interior surfaces on the primary wall and the side walls collectively define a cavity. The primary wall has a length and awidth that is smaller than the length. The primary wall includes a plurality of ribs situated width wise along the primary wall. The ribs are spaced apart from each other in a lengthwise direction. The ribs allow for some thermal expansion of the liner body.

Description

Background technique [0001] Fuel cell devices provide electrical power based on electrochemical reactions. Some fuel cell arrangements use phosphoric acid as the electrolyte. Such fuel cells are often referred to as phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC). [0002] Fuel cell power plants typically include a stack assembly having a plurality of fuel cells. A manifold can be positioned along at least one side of the stack assembly to direct reactants to the fuel cells. In some PAFCs, the manifolds are carbon steel and must be protected from phosphoric acid. A common method involves electrostatically coating the manifold disk with a perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin (PFA) coating. While such coatings provide a useful acid barrier and serve as a dielectric barrier on metal manifold pans, additional expense is incurred with such coatings. Multiple coating and sintering steps are often required to form a coating thick enough to be an effective barrier. [0003] An alternative approach i...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The method is not without difficulties, as the installation technique can be cumbersome, and the dimensional relationship of the resin sheet to the manifold disk must accommodate the different thermal expansion of the materials.

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