Bipolar plate structure and fuel cell

Abstract

The invention discloses a bipolar plate structure and a fuel cell, and relates to the technical field of fuel cells, the bipolar plate structure comprises a cathode plate, an anode plate and a support column; the cathode plate extends in a first direction, and the cathode plate comprises a plurality of air flow channels extending in the first direction; the anode plate extends in a first direction, and the anode plate comprises a plurality of hydrogen flow channels extending in the first direction; the multiple supporting columns are arranged and supported between the negative plate and the positive plate at intervals, so that a heat dissipation channel is formed between the negative plate and the positive plate. According to the bipolar plate structure provided by the invention, the plurality of supporting columns are arranged between the cathode plate and the anode plate to replace traditional cooling fins, so that the heat dissipation space can be increased, the heat dissipation efficiency can be improved, and meanwhile, the weight of the bipolar plate structure can be reduced to reduce the weight of a galvanic pile, so that the power-to-weight ratio of the galvanic pile can be reduced, and the applicability of the galvanic pile can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of fuel cell technology, and more specifically, to a bipolar plate structure and a fuel cell. Background Art

[0002] In the field of fuel cells, common air-cooled bipolar plates are usually of two types: open air-cooled bipolar plates and closed air-cooled bipolar plates. Among them, open air-cooled bipolar plates often use two metal plates, one side of the metal plate is stamped into a hydrogen flow channel, and the other side of the metal plate is a heat sink. Closed air-cooled bipolar plates often use three metal plates, the upper and lower metal plates are stamped to form hydrogen and air flow channels, and the metal plate in the middle is a heat sink. The three plates are combined to form a closed structure, which makes the closed air-cooled bipolar plate heavier than the open air-cooled bipolar plate, resulting in an increase in the weight of the stack and a decrease in the power-to-weight ratio of the stack, which will limit the use scenarios of the stack.

[0003] Therefore, how to improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the closed air-cooled bipolar plate while reducing the weight of the closed air-cooled bipolar plate has become a technical problem that needs to be urgently solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the object of the present application is to provide a bipolar plate structure so as to improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the closed air-cooled bipolar plate while reducing the weight of the closed air-cooled bipolar plate.

[0005] Another object of the present application is to provide a fuel cell having the above-mentioned bipolar plate structure.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] A bipolar plate structure comprising:

[0008] a cathode plate extending in a first direction and comprising a plurality of air flow channels extending along the first direction;

[0009] an anode plate extending in the first direction and comprising a plurality of hydrogen flow channels extending along the first direction;

[0010] There are multiple support columns, and each support column is supported between the cathode plate and the anode plate at intervals to form a heat dissipation channel between the cathode plate and the anode plate.

[0011] Optionally, in the above bipolar plate structure, both the cathode plate and the anode plate have a concave-convex structure.

[0012] Optionally, in the above bipolar plate structure, the protrusion of the cathode plate and the protrusion of the anode plate are arranged opposite to each other, and the support column is supported between the protrusion of the cathode plate and the protrusion of the anode plate.

[0013] Optionally, in the above bipolar plate structure, each of the support columns is supported between the protrusion of the cathode plate and the protrusion of the anode plate at intervals along the first direction.

[0014] Optionally, in the above-mentioned bipolar plate structure, a membrane electrode is also included, and the protrusion of the cathode plate extends away from one side of the membrane electrode to form the air flow channel between the protrusion of the cathode plate and the membrane electrode, and the protrusion of the anode plate extends away from the other side of the membrane electrode to form the hydrogen flow channel between the protrusion of the anode plate and the membrane electrode.

[0015] Optionally, in the above bipolar plate structure, the distance between two adjacent support columns is 0.5 mm to 10 mm; and / or,

[0016] The maximum distance of the cross section of the support column is 0.05 mm to 2 mm.

[0017] Optionally, in the above bipolar plate structure, the support column is at least one of a cylinder, a prism and a square column.

[0018] Optionally, in the above bipolar plate structure, the cathode plate and the anode plate are respectively fixed to the support column by bonding or welding; and / or,

[0019] The support column is made of one of metal, engineering plastic and graphite; and / or

[0020] The cathode plate and the anode plate are both made of metal or graphite.

[0021] Optionally, in the above bipolar plate structure, the air flow channel array is distributed on the cathode plate; and / or,

[0022] The hydrogen flow channel array is distributed on the anode plate.

[0023] A fuel cell comprises the bipolar plate structure as described in any one of the above items.

[0024] The bipolar plate structure provided in the present application is provided with a plurality of air flow channels extending along a first direction on the cathode plate, and a plurality of hydrogen flow channels extending along a first direction on the anode plate, so that hydrogen and oxygen in the air can undergo an electrochemical reaction to generate electrical energy. At the same time, a plurality of support columns can be supported between the cathode plate and the anode plate, so that a certain distance can be provided between the cathode plate and the anode plate to form a heat dissipation channel, so that the cooling air provided by the heat dissipation fan can dissipate heat for the cathode plate and the anode plate through the heat dissipation channel. As can be seen from the above examples, the bipolar plate structure provided in the present application is provided with a plurality of support columns between the cathode plate and the anode plate to replace the traditional heat sink, which can increase the heat dissipation space and improve the heat dissipation efficiency. At the same time, the weight of the bipolar plate structure can be reduced to reduce the weight of the battery stack, thereby reducing the power-to-weight ratio of the battery stack and improving the applicability of the battery stack.

[0025] The technical features mentioned above, the technical features described below, and the technical features shown individually in the accompanying drawings may be combined arbitrarily, as long as the combined technical features do not conflict with each other. All possible feature combinations are technical contents explicitly described in this document. Any of the multiple sub-features included in the same statement can be applied independently and does not necessarily have to be applied in conjunction with the other sub-features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without any creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 It is a traditional open air-cooled bipolar plate structure;

[0028] Figure 2 It is a traditional closed air-cooled bipolar plate structure;

[0029] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the bipolar plate structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the support column provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the combination of bipolar plates and support columns provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] Among them, 100 is a metal plate, 101 is a hydrogen flow channel, 102 is a heat sink, 103 is an air cooling chamber, and 104 is an air flow channel;

[0033] 10 is the cathode plate, 11 is the air flow channel, 20 is the anode plate, 21 is the hydrogen flow channel, 30 is the support column, 31 is the heat dissipation channel, 40 is the membrane electrode, 50 is the protrusion, and 60 is the depression. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The core of this application is to provide a bipolar plate structure to improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the closed air-cooled bipolar plate while reducing the weight of the closed air-cooled bipolar plate.

[0035] Another core of the present application is to provide a fuel cell having the above-mentioned bipolar plate structure.

[0036] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0037] In the fuel cell field, two cooling structures are commonly used. One is an open cathode structure, where the air-cooling chamber and the cathode chamber share a common cavity. When the cooling air provided by the cooling fan enters the fuel cell stack, it not only cools the stack but also provides oxidant for the cathode. The other is a closed cathode structure, where the air-cooling chamber is isolated from the cathode chamber. In this structure, the cathode chamber is completely enclosed. In this structure, the cooling air provided by the cooling fan is blown only into the cooling chamber, while the air required by the cathode chamber is provided to the cathode chamber by a separate blower or air compressor through a separate duct.

[0038] For open cathode structure and closed cathode structure, two types of bipolar plates, open air-cooled bipolar plates and closed air-cooled bipolar plates, can be used respectively. Figure 1 As shown, open air-cooled bipolar plates usually use two metal plates 100, one side of the metal plate 100 is stamped into a hydrogen flow channel 101, and the other side of the metal plate 100 is a heat sink 102, and the air cooling cavity 103 and the air flow channel 104 use the same cavity. Figure 2 As shown, closed air-cooled bipolar plates often use three metal plates 100. The metal plates 100 on the upper and lower sides are stamped to form hydrogen flow channels 101 and air flow channels 104, while the metal plate 100 in the middle position is a heat sink 102, and the air-cooling cavity 103 and the air flow channel 104 are isolated from each other. The three plates are combined to form a closed structure, so that the weight of the closed air-cooled bipolar plate is heavier than that of the open air-cooled bipolar plate, resulting in an increase in the weight of the fuel cell stack and a decrease in the power-to-weight ratio of the fuel cell stack, which will limit the use scenarios of the fuel cell stack.

[0039] For this reason, Figure 3As shown, the embodiment of the present application discloses a bipolar plate structure, including a cathode plate 10, an anode plate 20, and a support column 30. By providing multiple support columns 30 between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 to replace traditional heat sinks, the heat dissipation space can be increased, the heat dissipation efficiency can be improved, and the weight of the bipolar plate structure can be reduced, thereby reducing the weight of the battery stack, thereby reducing the power-to-weight ratio of the battery stack and improving the applicability of the battery stack.

[0040] The following will be combined Figures 3 to 5 The bipolar plate structure disclosed in the embodiments of the present application is specifically explained and illustrated.

[0041] like Figure 5 As shown, the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 can both extend in the first direction. Figure 3 As shown, the cathode plate 10 may include a plurality of air flow channels 11 extending along a first direction, allowing air to flow through the air flow channels 11. Simultaneously, the anode plate 20 may include a plurality of hydrogen flow channels 21 extending along the first direction, allowing hydrogen fuel to flow through the hydrogen flow channels 21, thereby causing an electrochemical reaction between the hydrogen and oxygen in the air to generate electricity. Furthermore, a plurality of support columns 30 may be supported between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20, thereby ensuring a certain distance between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20, thereby forming a heat dissipation channel 31. Cooling air provided by a cooling fan may pass through the heat dissipation channel 31 to dissipate heat for the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20. Compared to traditional heat sinks, the support columns 30 can increase the heat dissipation space between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20, thereby improving heat dissipation efficiency. Furthermore, the weight of the bipolar plate structure can be reduced, thereby reducing the weight of the stack, thereby lowering the power-to-weight ratio of the stack and improving the applicability of the stack.

[0042] In some embodiments, the support column 30 may be in the shape of a cylinder, a square column, a prism, etc., and the support column 30 may be one or more of the shapes of a cylinder, a square column, a prism, etc., that is, the support column 30 may all be in the shape of a cylinder, a square column or a prism, or may be in a variety of shapes such as a cylinder, a square column and a prism, which is not limited in this article.

[0043] In some embodiments, the support column 30 is conductive and can be made of metal materials such as stainless steel and titanium alloy, or engineering plastics or graphite. The cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 can be secured to the support column 30 by bonding or welding. It should be noted that when the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 are secured to the support column 30 by bonding, the adhesive must be conductive.

[0044] In some embodiments, as Figure 3As shown, the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 can have a concave-convex structure, and the materials of the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 can be metal or graphite. In this embodiment, the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 are made of metal, and the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 are formed into a concave-convex structure with protrusions 50 and depressions 60 distributed alternately by a stamping process.

[0045] In some embodiments, as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the bipolar plate structure may further include a membrane electrode 40, and the protrusion 50 of the cathode plate 10 may extend toward a side away from the membrane electrode 40 to form an air flow channel 11 between the protrusion 50 of the cathode plate 10 and the membrane electrode 40, and the protrusion 50 of the anode plate 20 may extend toward the other side away from the membrane electrode 40 to form a hydrogen flow channel 21 between the protrusion 50 of the anode plate 20 and the membrane electrode 40. It should be noted that the protrusion 50 and the depression 60 are relative to the membrane electrode 40, that is, the protrusion 50 of the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 extending toward the side away from the membrane electrode 40 is a protrusion, and the depression 60 of the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 extending toward the side close to the membrane electrode 40 is a depression.

[0046] In some embodiments, as Figure 3 As shown, the air flow channels 11 can be distributed in an array on the cathode plate 10, while the hydrogen flow channels 21 can be distributed in an array on the anode plate 20. The air flow channels 11 and the hydrogen flow channels 21 can be straight or serpentine, and the cross-sections of the air flow channels 11 and the hydrogen flow channels 21 can be rectangular or trapezoidal.

[0047] In some embodiments, as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the protrusion 50 of the cathode plate 10 and the protrusion 50 of the anode plate 20 are arranged opposite to each other, and the support column 30 can be supported between the protrusion 50 of the cathode plate 10 and the protrusion 50 of the anode plate 20, so as to reduce the length of the support column 30, reduce the cost and weight of the bipolar plate structure, and at the same time increase the heat dissipation space and improve the heat dissipation efficiency.

[0048] In some embodiments, in order to improve the heat dissipation efficiency while ensuring the strength and rigidity of the support column 30 and reducing the weight of the support column 30 as much as possible, Figure 5As shown, each support column 30 can be supported between the protrusion 50 of the cathode plate 10 and the protrusion 50 of the anode plate 20 at intervals along the first direction, and the distance between two adjacent support columns 30 along the first direction can be 0.5mm~10mm, and the maximum distance of the cross section of the support column 30 can be 0.05mm~2mm, that is, when the support column 30 is a cylinder, the maximum distance of the cross section is the diameter of the cylinder; when the support column 30 is a square column, the maximum distance of the cross section is the distance between the diagonals, so that a larger heat dissipation space can be achieved while ensuring the strength and rigidity of the support column 30, and at the same time reducing the weight of the support column 30, thereby reducing the weight of the bipolar plate structure, so as to reduce the weight of the battery stack, thereby reducing the power-to-weight ratio of the battery stack and improving the applicability of the battery stack.

[0049] The bipolar plate structure disclosed in the embodiments of the present application comprises a plurality of air flow channels 11 extending along a first direction on the cathode plate 10, and a plurality of hydrogen flow channels 21 extending along a first direction on the anode plate 20, thereby enabling an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air to generate electricity. Furthermore, a plurality of support columns 30 can be provided between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20, thereby maintaining a certain distance between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20, thereby forming a heat dissipation channel 31. Cooling air provided by a cooling fan can pass through the heat dissipation channel 31 to dissipate heat from the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20.

[0050] The bipolar plate structure disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can increase the heat dissipation space and improve the heat dissipation efficiency by setting multiple support columns 30 between the cathode plate 10 and the anode plate 20 to replace the traditional heat sink. At the same time, it can reduce the weight of the bipolar plate structure to reduce the weight of the battery stack, thereby reducing the power-to-weight ratio of the battery stack and improving the applicability of the battery stack.

[0051] The embodiments of the present application also disclose a fuel cell, including the bipolar plate structure disclosed in the above embodiments, and therefore has all the technical effects of the above bipolar plate structure, which will not be described in detail herein.

[0052] The terms "first," "second," and so on in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different items, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "including," "having," and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements and may include steps or elements that are not listed.

[0053] The above description of the disclosed embodiments is intended to enable one skilled in the art to implement or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is intended to conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A bipolar plate structure, characterized in that: include: A cathode plate (10), the cathode plate (10) extending in a first direction, and the cathode plate (10) comprising a plurality of air flow channels (11) extending along the first direction; an anode plate (20), the anode plate (20) extending in the first direction, and the anode plate (20) comprising a plurality of hydrogen flow channels (21) extending along the first direction; A plurality of support columns (30) are provided, and each of the support columns (30) is supported between the cathode plate (10) and the anode plate (20) at intervals to form a heat dissipation channel (31) between the cathode plate (10) and the anode plate (20).

2. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cathode plate (10) and the anode plate (20) both have a concave-convex structure.

3. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The protrusion (50) of the cathode plate (10) and the protrusion (50) of the anode plate (20) are arranged opposite to each other, and the support column (30) is supported between the protrusion (50) of the cathode plate (10) and the protrusion (50) of the anode plate (20).

4. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: Each of the support columns (30) is supported at intervals along the first direction between the protrusion (50) of the cathode plate (10) and the protrusion (50) of the anode plate (20).

5. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The invention also includes a membrane electrode (40), wherein the protrusion (50) of the cathode plate (10) extends away from one side of the membrane electrode (40) to form the air flow channel (11) between the protrusion (50) of the cathode plate (10) and the membrane electrode (40), and the protrusion (50) of the anode plate (20) extends away from the other side of the membrane electrode (40) to form the hydrogen flow channel (21) between the protrusion (50) of the anode plate (20) and the membrane electrode (40).

6. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distance between two adjacent support columns (30) is 0.5 mm to 10 mm; and / or, The maximum distance of the cross section of the support column (30) is 0.05 mm to 2 mm.

7. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support column (30) is at least one of a cylinder, a prism and a square column.

8. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cathode plate (10) and the anode plate (20) are respectively fixed to the support column (30) by bonding or welding; and / or, The material of the support column (30) is one of metal material, engineering plastic and graphite material; and / or, The materials of the cathode plate (10) and the anode plate (20) both include metal or graphite.

9. The bipolar plate structure according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The air flow channels (11) are arrayed and distributed on the cathode plate (10); and / or, The hydrogen flow channels (21) are arrayed and distributed on the anode plate (20).

10. A fuel cell, characterized in that: The invention comprises a bipolar plate structure according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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