Fuel cell integrated air intake end plate and fuel cell

Abstract

The present invention provides a fuel cell integrated air intake end plate and a fuel cell, comprising a metal layer and an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer is nested and connected with the metal layer by injection molding or the like, and channels for each chamber of the fuel cell are respectively provided on the insulating layer, and each channel is separately provided. A shrink tube structure is integrated inside the insulating layer, and the high-pressure hydrogen introduced is used to reflect the low-speed and low-energy hydrogen discharged from the fuel cell stack back into the stack through the shrink tube structure, and the metal plate is provided with an inlet and outlet corresponding to the channel of the chamber in the insulating layer. The beneficial effects of the present invention are: it can reduce the requirements for the selection of hydrogen circulation pumps, and even reduce the use of hydrogen circulation pumps, and it can also reduce the power consumption of the system, thereby achieving the purpose of increasing the power output of the system. Through this highly integrated air intake end plate, the integration requirements of the fuel cell system are greatly reduced, while the net output power of the fuel cell is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of fuel cell structural design, and in particular to a fuel cell integrated air intake end plate and a fuel cell. Background Art

[0002] Proton exchange membrane fuel cells primarily generate electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air. During fuel cell operation, heat generated by the electrochemical reaction necessitates temperature control of the fuel cell module through the design of a cooling water circuit. Therefore, appropriate inlet and outlet structures for hydrogen, air, and water must be designed on the fuel cell module end plates. Furthermore, to improve hydrogen utilization, current mainstream fuel cell systems incorporate a hydrogen recirculation structure within the stack, primarily achieved through a hydrogen circulation pump.

[0003] As the power of fuel cells increases, the required hydrogen flow rate also becomes higher and higher. For the large flow rate of hydrogen circulation demand, the power consumption and volume of the hydrogen circulation will increase significantly, reducing the output power of the system. In addition, the vibration of the hydrogen circulation pump during operation will reduce the integrated stability of the system, greatly increasing the difficulty of system integration.

[0004] Patent CN113437323A discloses an intake end plate structure for a fuel cell. This structure involves fitting a sealing ring onto a boss. When the boss on the insulating plate is inserted into a first through-hole on the metal plate, the sealing ring is clamped between the insulating plate and the metal plate, so that the inner sidewall of the sealing ring abuts against the sidewall of the boss, and the outer sidewall of the sealing ring abuts against the sidewall of the first through-hole. This prevents coolant or reactant gas from leaking through the gap between the boss and the first through-hole. A stopper, inserted into the gap between the boss and the sidewall of the first through-hole, can define the assembly position of the sealing ring.

[0005] Therefore, the current existing technology lacks improvements in hydrogen recirculation technology, and mainly uses a hydrogen circulation pump, which easily leads to a decrease in the power of the fuel cell. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention discloses a highly integrated fuel cell intake end plate that realizes passive, power-saving recirculation of hydrogen. The technical solution of the present invention is implemented as follows:

[0007] A fuel cell integrated air intake end plate comprises an insulating layer and a metal layer, the insulating layer being nested and connected to the metal layer by injection molding, a hydrogen chamber, an air chamber and a cooling water chamber being provided in the insulating layer, the hydrogen chamber, the air chamber and the cooling water chamber being separately provided on the insulating layer, the inlet of the hydrogen chamber being connected to the inlet of a second gas source via a shrinkable tube structure, the outlet of the hydrogen chamber being connected to the inlet of the second gas source via the shrinkable tube structure, and the inlet and outlet of each chamber being respectively provided on the metal plate layer.

[0008] Preferably, a water cavity inlet, an air inlet, a first air source inlet, an air outlet and a water cavity outlet are provided on the metal plate layer.

[0009] Preferably, the water chamber inlet is connected to the inlet of the cooling water chamber.

[0010] Preferably, the air inlet is connected to the inlet of the air chamber.

[0011] Preferably, the first gas source inlet is connected to the second gas source inlet on the insulating plate layer.

[0012] Preferably, the air outlet is connected to an outlet of the air chamber.

[0013] Preferably, the water cavity outlet is connected to the outlet of the cooling water chamber.

[0014] A fuel cell comprises any one of the above-mentioned fuel cell integrated air intake end plates.

[0015] The technical solution of the present invention can solve the technical problems in the prior art of large-power fuel cell hydrogen circulation, such as large volume and power, and reduced system integration stability due to the use of a hydrogen ring pump. The technical solution of the present invention integrates an insulating layer and a metal layer on the air inlet end plate, separately provides channels for each chamber on the insulating layer, and provides a contraction tube structure in the hydrogen chamber. The technical effects that can be achieved include:

[0016] 1. By integrating the hydrogen ejector function inside the intake end plate, the fuel cell achieves autonomous hydrogen reflux, reducing system power consumption;

[0017] 2. Reduce the space layout requirements of the fuel cell system and improve the power density of the fuel cell system;

[0018] 3. The vibration impact of the hydrogen circulation pump on the fuel cell system is reduced, and the stability of the fuel cell system is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only one embodiment of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0020] Identical components are denoted by the same reference numerals. It should be noted that the terms "front," "rear," "left," "right," "upper," and "lower" used in the following description refer to directions in the accompanying drawings, and the terms "bottom," "top," "inner," and "outer" refer to directions toward or away from the geometric center of a particular component, respectively.

[0021] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the integrated air intake end plate structure;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the insulation layer of the integrated air intake end plate;

[0023] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the metal layer structure of the integrated air intake end plate.

[0024] In the above drawings, the figure numbers represent:

[0025] 1 metal layer

[0026] 1-1 Water cavity inlet

[0027] 1-2 air inlet

[0028] 1-3 Gas source import

[0029] 1-4 air outlet

[0030] 1-5 water cavity outlet

[0031] 2 insulation layers

[0032] 2-1 Hydrogen chamber inlet

[0033] 2-2 Shrink tube structure

[0034] 2-3 Second gas source inlet

[0035] 2-4 Air chamber inlet

[0036] 2-5 Inlet of cooling water chamber

[0037] 2-6 Hydrogen chamber outlet

[0038] 2-7 Cooling water chamber outlet

[0039] 2-8 Air chamber outlet DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Example

[0041] In preferred embodiment 1, Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a fuel cell integrated air intake end plate includes a metal layer 1 and an insulating layer 2. The insulating layer 2 can be made of plastic. When plastic is used as the material of the insulating layer 2, the insulating layer 2 and the metal layer 1 can be nested and connected by injection molding. Figure 1 As shown. The various chambers and channels of the fuel cell are arranged on the insulating layer 2, so that the various chambers and channels of the fuel cell are highly integrated, as shown. Figure 2 As shown, the plastic layer 2 is provided with a cooling water chamber, an air chamber and a hydrogen chamber. Each chamber and pipeline is independent of each other. Each chamber is separately provided on the plastic layer 2. The inlet 2-1 of the hydrogen chamber is connected to the shrinkable tube structure 2-2. The shrinkable tube structure 2-2 is formed by structural design. The other end of the shrinkable tube structure 2-2 is connected to the second gas source inlet 2-3. One side of the shrinkable tube structure 2-2 is connected to the outlet 2-6 of the hydrogen chamber. High-pressure hydrogen is introduced into the second gas source inlet 2-3. By introducing high-pressure hydrogen into the second gas source inlet 2-3, the hydrogen discharged from the outlet 2-6 of the hydrogen chamber is guided back to the inlet 2-1 of the hydrogen chamber, thereby re-discharging the hydrogen into the fuel cell stack, reducing the selection requirements of the hydrogen circulation pump, and even reducing the use of the hydrogen circulation pump. It can also reduce the system power consumption and achieve improved system power output. The insulating layer 2 is also provided with a cooling water chamber inlet 2-5 and a cooling water chamber outlet 2-7. The cooling water chamber inlet 2-5 and the cooling water chamber outlet 2-7 are respectively arranged at different positions on the insulating layer 2. Cooling water enters through the cooling water chamber inlet 2-5 and is discharged from the cooling water chamber outlet after cooling the fuel cell. The insulating layer 2 is also provided with an air chamber inlet 2-4 and an air chamber outlet 2-8. In Example 1, the air chamber inlet 2-4 and the air chamber outlet 2-8 are respectively arranged at diagonal positions of the insulating layer 2. Air enters through the air chamber inlet 2-4, and the air and hydrogen react in the fuel cell stack. The remaining air is discharged through the air chamber outlet 2-8. The hydrogen that has not fully reacted is re-directed back to the hydrogen chamber inlet 2-1 through the high-pressure, high-energy hydrogen introduced through the gas source inlet 2-3 and the low-speed, low-energy hydrogen discharged from the hydrogen chamber outlet 2-6 through the contraction tube structure 2-2.

[0042] Corresponding inlets and outlets are provided on the metal layer 1, wherein the corresponding inlets and outlets correspond to the inlets and outlets of the chamber channels on the insulating layer 2, such as Figure 3 As shown, the metal layer 1 is provided with a water cavity inlet 1-1, an air inlet 1-2, a first gas source inlet 1-3, an air outlet 1-4, and a water cavity outlet 1-5, wherein the water cavity inlet 1-1 is connected to the cooling water cavity inlet 2-5 on the insulating layer 2, the air inlet 1-2 corresponds to the air cavity inlet 2-4 on the insulating layer 2, the first gas source inlet 1-3 corresponds to the second gas source inlet 2-3 on the insulating layer 2, the air outlet 1-4 corresponds to the outlet 2-8 of the air cavity on the insulating layer 2, and the water cavity outlet 1-5 corresponds to the outlet 2-7 of the cooling water cavity. External high-pressure hydrogen enters the fuel cell stack through the gas source inlet 1-3, the gas source inlet 2-3, and then through the hydrogen cavity inlet 2-1. The metal layer 1 and the insulating layer 2 are nested and connected by injection molding to ensure the integrity and unity of the entire intake end plate structure, while also ensuring the sealing performance of the intake end plate. Example

[0043] According to a fuel cell in Example 1, the air intake plate of the fuel cell adopts the highly integrated air intake plate described in Example 1. For other parts of the fuel cell, common structures on the market can be adopted. The air intake end plate adopts plastic injection molding on the metal plate to ensure the integrity and uniformity of the air intake end plate structure. Various chambers and pipelines of the fuel cell are highly integrated on the internal plastic layer. At the same time, the sealing of the fuel cell can be ensured by combining the metal layer 1 and the plastic layer. At the same time, a shrink tube structure 2-2 is set in the plastic layer to realize the low-speed and low-energy hydrogen discharged from the stack to be injected back into the stack, reducing the selection requirements of the hydrogen circulation pump and even reducing the use of the hydrogen circulation pump. It can also reduce the system power consumption and achieve the purpose of improving the system power output. Through this highly integrated air intake end plate, the integration requirements of the fuel cell system are greatly reduced, and the net output power of the fuel cell is improved.

[0044] It should be pointed out that the above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fuel cell integrated air intake end plate, characterized in that: The invention comprises an insulating layer and a metal layer, wherein the insulating layer is nested and connected with the metal layer by injection molding, a hydrogen chamber, an air chamber and a cooling water chamber are provided in the insulating layer, and the hydrogen chamber, the air chamber and the cooling water chamber are respectively and separately provided on the insulating layer, the inlet of the hydrogen chamber is connected to the inlet of a second gas source through a shrinkable tube structure, the outlet of the hydrogen chamber is connected to the inlet of the second gas source through the shrinkable tube structure, the inlet of the second gas source is introduced with high-pressure hydrogen, and the high-pressure hydrogen guides the hydrogen at the outlet of the hydrogen chamber back to the inlet of the hydrogen chamber through the shrinkable tube structure, and the inlet and outlet of each chamber are respectively provided on the metal layer.

2. A fuel cell integrated air intake end plate according to claim 1, characterized in that: A water cavity inlet, an air inlet, a first air source inlet, an air outlet and a water cavity outlet are arranged on the metal layer.

3. The fuel cell integrated air intake end plate according to claim 2, characterized in that: The water cavity inlet is connected to the inlet of the cooling water chamber.

4. The fuel cell integrated air intake end plate according to claim 3, characterized in that: The air inlet is connected to the inlet of the air chamber.

5. The fuel cell integrated air intake end plate according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first gas source inlet is connected to the second gas source inlet on the insulating layer.

6. The fuel cell integrated air intake end plate according to claim 5, characterized in that: The air outlet is connected to the outlet of the air chamber.

7. The fuel cell integrated air intake end plate according to claim 6, characterized in that: The water cavity outlet is connected to the outlet of the cooling water chamber.

8. A fuel cell, characterized in that: It comprises any one of the fuel cell integrated air intake end plates described in claims 1-7.

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