Hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicle based on composite material

Abstract

The application discloses a hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicle based on composite material, which comprises a valve body and a valve rod connected by interference fit, the valve body is composed of four cylinders which are 90 degrees to each other, among which three cylinders are respectively provided with an inlet flow channel, an outlet flow channel and a thermal pressure relief flow channel, and the end of the flow channels is converged at the middle position of the valve body to form a valve body flow channel, the valve body flow channel is communicated with a valve rod flow channel, and the upper end of the valve rod is connected with a hydrogen cylinder; the inlet flow channel is connected with an inlet, the inlet is provided with an overflow valve and an inlet one-way valve; the outlet flow channel is connected with an outlet, the outlet is provided with an outlet one-way valve; a TPRD valve is installed in the thermal pressure relief flow channel; the outlet flow channel is further connected with the outlet of an electromagnetic pilot valve, and the electromagnetic pilot valve is installed in the fourth cylinder. The application reduces the weight of the hydrogen cylinder valve by means of carbon fiber and valve body composite means, and improves the overall strength of the cylinder valve.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of on-board hydrogen supply technology for fuel cell vehicles, and particularly relates to a hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials. Background Technology

[0002] Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), as one of the most promising and popular fuel cell technologies, offer numerous advantages such as zero pollution, high energy conversion efficiency, short charging time, low operating temperature, and low noise. They can be widely used in transportation vehicles, fixed base stations, mobile portable devices, drones, military equipment, and many other fields. For fuel cell systems, the hydrogen supply system is an indispensable auxiliary system. The hydrogen cylinder valve, as a key component of the hydrogen supply system, enables the filling and releasing of hydrogen from the cylinder. Currently, the high hydrogen pressure of up to 70 MPa necessitates a large wall thickness for the hydrogen cylinder valve to withstand the pressure, resulting in a large valve body weight and volume. Considering that multiple hydrogen cylinder valves are used in fuel cell vehicles, how to design lightweight hydrogen cylinder valves has become an urgent problem to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials. The aim is to simplify the valve body structure, reduce the valve body weight, and enhance the valve body strength by wrapping carbon fiber around the valve body surface.

[0004] The present invention achieves the above-mentioned technical objectives through the following technical means.

[0005] A hydrogen cylinder valve for a fuel cell vehicle based on composite materials, comprising:

[0006] The valve body is composed of four cylinders at 90° intervals, namely cylinder A, cylinder B, cylinder C, and cylinder D, each with carbon fiber wound around it. Cylinder A has an inlet channel, cylinder B has an outlet channel, and cylinder C has a heat relief channel. Cylinder C has a heat relief port channel at its bottom that communicates with the heat relief channel. The ends of the inlet channel, the outlet channel, and the heat relief channel converge at the middle of the valve body to form the valve body flow channel.

[0007] The valve stem has an interference fit between its bottom and the middle part of the valve body. The valve stem has a flow channel machined inside, which is connected to the flow channel of the valve body. The upper end of the valve stem is connected to the hydrogen cylinder.

[0008] The first end of the air intake channel is connected to one end of the air intake port, and the air intake port is provided with an overflow valve and an air intake port check valve in sequence along the air intake direction.

[0009] The first end of the air outlet channel is connected to one end of the air outlet, and the air outlet is provided with an air outlet check valve; the air outlet channel is also connected to the outlet of the electromagnetic pilot valve, and the electromagnetic pilot valve is installed in the cylinder D.

[0010] A TPRD valve is installed in the heat relief flow channel.

[0011] The above technical solution also includes a nozzle, which is connected to the upper part of the valve stem flow channel and located inside the hydrogen cylinder mouth, and a filter is provided inside the nozzle.

[0012] The above technical solution also includes a temperature sensor, which is fixed on the upper part of a channel on the valve stem and located inside the hydrogen cylinder opening. This channel is used to arrange the wires connecting the temperature sensor to an external power source. The data collected by the temperature sensor is transmitted to the hydrogen management system for real-time monitoring of the temperature inside the hydrogen cylinder.

[0013] In the above technical solution, sealing rings are installed at both the upper and lower ends of the valve stem, which are used to achieve a sealed connection with the hydrogen cylinder and the valve body, respectively.

[0014] In the above technical solution, a gasket is installed on the inner side of the sealing ring.

[0015] In the above technical solution, the carbon fiber is wound in a circumferential direction.

[0016] In the above technical solution, a winding machine is used to achieve circumferential winding of carbon fiber.

[0017] In the above technical solution, the carbon fiber filament is wound clockwise at 85° starting from the outer end of cylinder A. When the carbon fiber filament reaches the inner end of cylinder A, it passes over cylinders B and D at 45°. Then, the carbon fiber filament continues to be wound clockwise at 85° starting from the inner end of cylinder C. When the carbon fiber filament reaches the outer end of cylinder C, it is wound clockwise at 85° from the outer end of cylinder C to the outer end of cylinder A, so that the carbon fiber filament is intertwined and wound on the cylinder surface. The above process is repeated. After the winding of cylinders A and C is completed, the direction of the valve body is reversed, and cylinders B and D are wound.

[0018] In the above technical solution, before the valve stem is connected to the valve body by interference fit, the valve stem is first placed in a cooling pool filled with liquid nitrogen for pre-cooling.

[0019] In the above technical solution, the other end of the air inlet is connected to an external air source, and the other end of the air outlet is connected to the hydrogen supply pipeline of the fuel cell.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: The valve body of this invention is composed of four cylinders at 90° intervals, namely cylinder A, cylinder B, cylinder C, and cylinder D. Cylinder A has an inlet channel, cylinder B has an outlet channel, and the outlet channel is also connected to an electromagnetic pilot valve. Cylinder C has a heat relief channel, and the bottom of cylinder C has a heat relief port channel communicating with the heat relief channel. The inlet channel, outlet channel, and heat relief channel converge at the middle of the valve body to form the valve body channel, which communicates with the valve stem channel, realizing hydrogen addition, hydrogen release, and heat relief. This invention ensures the normal operation of the hydrogen cylinder valve by setting only four cylinders at 90° intervals, greatly reducing the wall thickness of the cylinder valve, achieving lightweighting of the cylinder valve, and saving economic costs. This invention also utilizes the shape of the valve body to achieve circumferential winding of carbon fiber, thereby improving the overall strength of the cylinder valve. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing the structure and connection relationship of the hydrogen cylinder valve described in this invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the valve body structure of the hydrogen cylinder valve described in this invention;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the hydrogen cylinder valve stem described in this invention;

[0024] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the hydrogen cylinder valve sub-valve and flow channel described in this invention;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a diagram of the carbon fiber winding process described in this invention;

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the carbon fiber winding machine described in this invention;

[0027] In the diagram: 1-Valve body, 2-Valve stem, 3-Inlet, 4-Outlet, 5-Solenoid pilot valve, 6-TPRD valve, 7-Temperature sensor, 8-Nozzle, 31-Relief valve, 32-Inlet check valve, 41-Outlet check valve, 81-Filter, 21-Lower sealing ring, 22-Lower sealing gasket, 23-Upper sealing ring, 24-Upper sealing gasket, 10-Inlet flow channel, 11-Valve stem flow channel, 12-Outlet flow channel, 13-Hot pressure relief flow channel, 14-Hot pressure relief port flow channel, 15-Valve body flow channel, 101-Guide rail, 102-Gearbox, 103-Carbon fiber filament, 104-Nose. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clear and complete, the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only some, not all, embodiments of the present invention, and are merely illustrative of the embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention.

[0029] This invention is described in detail with reference to the schematic diagrams. When detailing the embodiments of this invention, for ease of explanation, the cross-sectional views illustrating the device structure may be partially enlarged, not adhering to the usual scale. Furthermore, the schematic diagrams are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this invention. In actual fabrication, the three-dimensional spatial dimensions of length, width, and depth should be included.

[0030] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "inner," "outer," "top," "bottom," "side," and "surface," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0031] Unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" in this invention should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; similarly, they can refer to mechanical connections, electrical connections, or direct connections, or indirect connections through an intermediate medium, or internal connections between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0032] The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention discloses a hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials, comprising a valve body 1, a valve stem 2, an air inlet 3, an air outlet 4, an electromagnetic pilot valve 5, a TPRD valve (thermal pressure relief valve) 6, a temperature sensor 7, and a nozzle 8.

[0034] Specifically, the valve stem 2 is provided with an upper sealing ring 23, an upper sealing ring washer 24, a lower sealing ring 21, and a lower sealing ring washer 22. Figure 3The upper end of the valve stem 2 has a groove, in which an upper sealing ring gasket 24 is embedded. An upper sealing ring 23 is fitted onto the upper sealing ring gasket 24. A lower sealing ring gasket 22 is installed at the lower end of the valve stem 2, and a lower sealing ring 21 is installed on the lower sealing ring gasket 22. The lower sealing ring 21 is embedded in a groove on the valve body 1. (See also...) Figure 1 The air inlet 3 is provided with an overflow valve 31 and an air inlet check valve 32, the air outlet 4 is provided with an air outlet check valve 41, and the nozzle 8 is provided with a filter 81.

[0035] like Figure 2 As shown, the valve body 1 is composed of four cylinders at 90° intervals, namely cylinders A, B, C, and D. Cylinder A has an inlet air passage 10, cylinder B has an outlet air passage 12, and cylinder C has a heat relief passage 13. A heat relief port passage 14, communicating with the heat relief passage 13, is located at the bottom of cylinder C. The inlet air passage 10, outlet air passage 12, and heat relief passage 13 converge at the middle of the valve body 1 to form the valve body flow channel 15. Carbon fiber is wound around each of the four cylinders, and sub-valve holes and flow channels are machined on them. The flow channels of the four cylinders are interconnected. The sub-valve holes are used to assemble the overflow valve 31, the inlet check valve 32, the solenoid pilot valve 5, the TPRD valve 6, and the outlet check valve 41. By machining a hole in the middle of the valve body 1, the valve stem 2 is pre-cooled and press-fitted with the valve body 1 with an interference fit, thus fixing the valve stem 2 to the valve body 1. The valve stem 2 has two internal machining channels.

[0036] The bottom of the valve stem 2 is interference-fitted with the middle part of the valve body 1. Specifically, when installing the interference fit valve stem 2, the valve stem 2 is first placed in a cooling pool filled with liquid nitrogen for pre-cooling. After pre-cooling, the valve stem 2 shrinks in volume. At this time, the valve stem 2 is immediately hammered into the valve stem hole of the valve body 1 with a wooden hammer. After the valve stem 2 returns to room temperature, the valve body 1 and the valve stem 2 form an interference fit. One end of the air inlet 3 is connected to the air inlet channel 10 of the valve body 1 by a thread, and the other end is connected to an external air source through an air inlet pipe. The overflow valve 31 is located inside the air inlet 3, and the one-way valve 32 of the air inlet is located between the overflow valve 31 and the air inlet channel 10 of the valve body 1. One end of the air outlet 4 is connected to the air outlet channel 12 of the valve body 1 by a thread, and the other end is connected to an external air outlet pipe. The one-way valve 41 of the air outlet is located inside the air outlet 4. The electromagnetic pilot valve 5 is installed in the cylinder D of the valve body 1 by threaded clamping force. The electromagnetic pilot valve 5 is connected to an external power source via a wire. Furthermore, the outlet of the electromagnetic pilot valve 5 is connected to the outlet air passage 12. When the electromagnetic pilot valve 5 is energized, its outlet is connected to the outlet air passage 12. The TPRD valve 6 is threadedly connected to the heat relief passage 13 of the valve body 1. The temperature sensor 7 is fixed to the upper part of one channel of the valve stem 2 by a locking nut. This channel is connected to the cylinder D and is used to arrange wires that connect the temperature sensor 7 to an external power source. The nozzle 8 is threadedly connected to the upper part of another channel of the valve stem 2. This channel is the valve stem passage 11, which is connected to the valve body passage 15. The filter 81 is located inside the nozzle 8. The upper end of valve stem 2 is threadedly connected to the hydrogen cylinder. Temperature sensor 7, nozzle 8, and upper sealing ring 23 are all located inside the hydrogen cylinder opening. Temperature sensor 7 is used to monitor the temperature inside the hydrogen cylinder in real time and transmit the data to the HMS (Hydrogen Management System). A warning is issued when the temperature exceeds the set value. The inlet 3, outlet 4, solenoid pilot valve 5, temperature sensor 7, and nozzle 8 are installed using a wrench, while the TPRD valve 6 is installed using a special triangular wrench.

[0037] Figure 5 The carbon fiber winding process for the hydrogen cylinder valve is described here, where the carbon fiber winding is circumferential. When winding the valve body 1 with carbon fiber, the valve body 1 is fixed using tooling, specifically... Figure 6The winding machine shown in the figure: the valve body 1 is driven by the gearbox 102 to rotate, the carbon fiber filament 103 is led out from the nozzle 104 and wound onto the valve body 1, the nozzle 104 moves laterally on the guide rail 101 under the drive of the drive motor, and by controlling the rotation speed of the valve body 1 and the lateral movement speed of the nozzle 104, a certain angle can be generated when the carbon fiber filament is wound. First, starting from the outer end of cylinder A, wind the carbon fiber filament 103 clockwise at 85°. When the filament reaches the inner end of cylinder A, wind it over cylinders B and D at 45°. Then, continue winding the filament 103 clockwise at 85° from the inner end of cylinder C. When the filament reaches the outer end of cylinder C, wind it back towards cylinder A at 85° clockwise, intertwining the filaments on the cylinder surface. Repeat this process multiple times to increase the carbon fiber layer thickness. After winding cylinders A and C, remove the valve body 1 from the fixture, reverse the direction, and continue winding cylinders B and D to enhance the strength of the valve body 1. The formula for calculating the number of circumferential winding layers n is as follows:

[0038]

[0039] In the formula, R is the radius of the valve body cylinder, in cm; P is the internal pressure of the valve body cylinder, in 10... -1 MPa; m is the density of carbon fiber filaments during circumferential winding, filaments / cm; f is the average strength of each bundle of carbon fiber filaments, 9.8 N / bundle; α is the winding angle of the carbon fiber filaments.

[0040] Referring to Figure 4, the operation of the hydrogen cylinder valve includes hydrogen addition, hydrogen release, and thermal depressurization. During hydrogen addition, hydrogen enters from the inlet 3, passes through the overflow valve 31 and the inlet check valve 32, enters the inlet channel 10 of the valve body 1, flows through the valve body channel 15 and into the valve stem channel 11, and then passes through the filter 81 into the hydrogen cylinder. During hydrogen release, hydrogen enters the valve stem channel 11 from the hydrogen cylinder through the filter 81, then flows into the valve body channel 15. The electromagnetic pilot valve 5 is energized and opens, allowing hydrogen to pass through the electromagnetic pilot valve 5 into the outlet channel 12, and then through the outlet check valve 41 into the fuel cell hydrogen supply line. During thermal depressurization, if the ambient temperature exceeds the limit, the glass bulb of the TPRD valve 6 breaks, and the TPRD valve stem is pushed open by the hydrogen pressure. Hydrogen then enters the thermal depressurization port channel 14 from the thermal depressurization channel 13 and is released into the atmosphere.

[0041] The specific embodiments of the technical solution of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various modifications or variations within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the substantive content of the present invention.

Claims

1. A hydrogen cylinder valve for a fuel cell vehicle based on composite materials, characterized in that, include: The valve body (1) is composed of four cylinders at 90° to each other, namely cylinder A, cylinder B, cylinder C and cylinder D, and carbon fiber is wound on each of the four cylinders; cylinder A has an inlet air passage (10), cylinder B has an outlet air passage (12), cylinder C has a heat relief passage (13), and the bottom of cylinder C has a heat relief port passage (14) communicating with the heat relief passage (13); the ends of the inlet air passage (10), the end of the outlet air passage (12) and the end of the heat relief passage (13) converge at the middle position of the valve body (1) to form the valve body passage (15); The valve stem (2) is connected to the valve body (1) in the middle with an interference fit at its bottom. The valve stem (2) has a valve stem flow channel (11) inside, which is connected to the valve body flow channel (15). The upper end of the valve stem (2) is connected to the hydrogen cylinder. The first end of the air intake channel (10) is connected to one end of the air intake port (3), and the air intake port (3) is provided with an overflow valve (31) and an air intake one-way valve (32) in sequence along the air intake direction; The first end of the air outlet channel (12) is connected to one end of the air outlet (4), and the air outlet (4) is provided with an air outlet check valve (41); the air outlet channel (12) is also connected to the outlet of the electromagnetic pilot valve (5), and the electromagnetic pilot valve (5) is installed in the cylinder D. A TPRD valve (6) is installed in the heat relief channel (13).

2. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a nozzle (8), which is connected to the upper part of the valve stem flow channel (11) and located inside the hydrogen cylinder mouth. The nozzle (8) is equipped with a filter (81).

3. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a temperature sensor (7), which is fixed on the upper part of a channel of the valve stem (2) and located inside the hydrogen cylinder. This channel is used to arrange the wires connecting the temperature sensor (7) to the external power supply. The data collected by the temperature sensor (7) is transmitted to the hydrogen management system for real-time monitoring of the temperature inside the hydrogen cylinder.

4. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper and lower ends of the valve stem (2) are equipped with sealing rings, which are used to achieve a sealed connection with the hydrogen cylinder and the valve body (1), respectively.

5. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 4, characterized in that, A gasket is installed on the inside of the sealing ring.

6. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, The carbon fiber is wound in a circumferential direction.

7. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 6, characterized in that, A winding machine is used to achieve circumferential winding of carbon fibers.

8. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 7, characterized in that, Starting from the outer end of cylinder A, the carbon fiber filament (103) is wound clockwise at 85°. When the carbon fiber filament (103) reaches the inner end of cylinder A, it passes over cylinders B and D at 45°. Then, the carbon fiber filament (103) continues to be wound clockwise at 85° from the inner end of cylinder C. When the carbon fiber filament (103) reaches the outer end of cylinder C, it is wound clockwise at 85° from the outer end of cylinder C to the outer end of cylinder A, so that the carbon fiber filament (103) is intertwined and wound on the cylinder surface. The above process is repeated. After the winding of cylinders A and C is completed, the direction of valve body (1) is reversed, and cylinders B and D are wound.

9. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before the valve stem (2) is connected to the valve body (1) by interference fit, the valve stem (2) is first placed in a cooling pool filled with liquid nitrogen for pre-cooling.

10. The hydrogen cylinder valve for fuel cell vehicles based on composite materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, The other end of the air inlet (3) is connected to an external air source, and the other end of the air outlet (4) is connected to the hydrogen supply pipeline of the fuel cell.

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