Water-vapor separator and hydrogen fuel cell system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a water-vapor separator and a hydrogen fuel cell system, the water-vapor separator comprises a main body pipe, the main body pipe is provided with a cylindrical inner cavity extending along the vertical direction, the upper end face of the main body pipe is provided with an exhaust port communicated with the cylindrical inner cavity, and the lower end of the main body pipe is provided with a water outlet communicated with the cylindrical inner cavity; the air inlet pipe is connected to the peripheral face of the main body pipe, an air inlet is formed in the end, away from the main body pipe, of the air inlet pipe and communicates with the cylindrical inner cavity through an air inlet channel in the air inlet pipe, the cross section of the air inlet channel is of a rectangular structure, and the air inlet channel is tangent to the cylindrical inner cavity; the exhaust pipe is arranged in the middle of the cylindrical inner cavity, the upper end of the exhaust pipe is connected to the top of the main body pipe, the lower end of the exhaust pipe is suspended, an exhaust channel extending in the vertical direction is arranged in the exhaust pipe, the upper end of the exhaust channel is communicated with the exhaust port, and the lower end of the exhaust channel is lower than the air inlet. Through the structure, gas-liquid separation is realized, the gas resistance is reduced, and the efficiency of a fuel cell system is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a water vapor separator and a hydrogen fuel cell system. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of fuel cell systems, the requirements for these systems are becoming increasingly stringent. To meet the increasing efficiency of fuel cell systems, energy recovery compressors have emerged, significantly reducing component power consumption and improving fuel cell system efficiency. The use of energy recovery compressors requires a water vapor separator upstream of the compressor to filter out liquid water from the exhaust to protect the compressor. However, existing water vapor separators have high air resistance, significantly reducing the efficiency of fuel cell systems. Utility Model Content

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the utility model is to provide a water vapor separator in order to overcome the defect of large air resistance of the water vapor separator in the prior art.

[0004] The utility model solves the above technical problems through the following technical solutions:

[0005] A water vapor separator comprising:

[0006] A main body tube having a cylindrical inner cavity extending in a vertical direction, an upper end surface of the main body tube having an exhaust port communicating with the cylindrical inner cavity, and a lower end of the main body tube having a drain port communicating with the cylindrical inner cavity;

[0007] an air intake pipe connected to the outer circumferential surface of the main pipe, an air intake port being provided at one end of the air intake pipe away from the main pipe, the air intake port being in communication with the cylindrical inner cavity via an air intake passage in the air intake pipe, the air intake passage having a rectangular cross-section, and extending in a direction tangent to the cylindrical inner cavity;

[0008] An exhaust pipe is arranged in the middle of the cylindrical inner cavity, the upper end of the exhaust pipe is connected to the top of the main tube, the lower end of the exhaust pipe is suspended, and the interior of the exhaust pipe has an exhaust channel extending in a vertical direction. The upper end of the exhaust channel is connected to the exhaust port, and the lower end of the exhaust channel is arranged below the air inlet.

[0009] In this solution, the water vapor separator is provided with an exhaust port at the upper end of the main tube, a drain port at the lower end of the main tube, and an air inlet pipe is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the main tube. The cross section of the air inlet is set to a rectangular structure and the air inlet channel is set in a direction tangent to the cylindrical inner cavity of the main tube, so that all water vapor entering from the air inlet enters the cylindrical inner cavity of the main tube from the tangential direction, and then the water vapor rotates around the middle exhaust pipe in the cylindrical inner cavity, and the light gas is discharged from the exhaust port through the exhaust channel of the exhaust pipe, and the heavy liquid is discharged from the drain port at the lower end under the dual action of gravity and centrifugal force. The above simplified structure can achieve gas-liquid separation, and at the same time greatly reduces the gas resistance and improves the efficiency of the fuel cell system. At the same time, the lower end of the exhaust channel is set lower than the air inlet to improve the water vapor separation effect and avoid the water vapor entering from the air inlet being directly discharged from the exhaust port without having time to rotate, resulting in poor gas-liquid separation effect.

[0010] Preferably, the diameter of the cylindrical inner cavity is D, the inner diameter height of the air inlet is in the range of 0.4D to 0.75D, the inner diameter width of the air inlet is in the range of 0.2D to 0.25D, and the inner diameter of the exhaust port is in the range of 0.3D to 0.5D.

[0011] In this solution, the above-mentioned structural setting is adopted to reduce air resistance and improve the water vapor separation effect.

[0012] Preferably, the inner diameter height of the air inlet is A, and the length of the exhaust pipe in the vertical direction ranges from 1.1A to 1.2A.

[0013] In this solution, the above-mentioned structural setting is adopted to reduce air resistance and improve the water vapor separation effect.

[0014] Preferably, the water vapor separator also includes a cone portion, the large end of the cone portion is connected to the lower end of the main body tube, the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion is connected to the cylindrical inner cavity, and the drain outlet is arranged at the tip of the cone portion and is connected to the funnel-shaped inner cavity.

[0015] In this solution, by providing the cone portion, water is easily gathered to the tip of the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion and discharged from the drainage port at the tip, thereby improving the drainage effect.

[0016] Preferably, the height of the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion ranges from 2.0D to 2.5D.

[0017] In this solution, the above-mentioned structural arrangement is adopted to take into account the volume of the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion and the volume of the entire water vapor separator, so as to achieve a more economical effect.

[0018] Preferably, the sum of the heights of the cylindrical inner cavity of the main body tube and the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion is in the range of 3.5D to 4.5D.

[0019] In this solution, the above-mentioned structural arrangement is adopted to reduce air resistance and improve the water vapor separation effect. At the same time, the volume of the water vapor separator is controlled within a reasonable range to achieve a more economical effect.

[0020] Preferably, the height of the cylindrical inner cavity ranges from 1.5D to 2.0D.

[0021] In this solution, the above-mentioned structural setting is adopted to reduce air resistance and improve the water vapor separation effect.

[0022] Preferably, the water vapor separator further includes a drain valve, which is installed at the drain port.

[0023] In this solution, a drain valve is provided to facilitate opening the drain port at irregular intervals. Water can be stored in the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion, and the water can be discharged all at once by opening the drain valve after a period of time, thus avoiding long-term water flow and improving user experience.

[0024] Preferably, the water vapor separator further includes a control unit, which is connected to the drain valve and is used to control the opening and closing of the drain valve.

[0025] In this solution, a control unit is provided to control the opening and closing of the drain valve, thereby facilitating control of the time and duration of drainage.

[0026] A hydrogen fuel cell system includes an energy recovery air compressor and the water vapor separator as described above, wherein the water vapor separator is installed upstream of the energy recovery air compressor.

[0027] In this solution, the water vapor separator is used to separate the liquid water discharged from the tail of the hydrogen fuel cell system, reduce the liquid water entering the energy recovery air compressor, and protect the energy recovery air compressor.

[0028] On the basis of conforming to the common sense in this field, the above-mentioned preferred conditions can be arbitrarily combined to obtain the preferred embodiments of the present utility model.

[0029] The positive progressive effect of the present invention is that the water vapor separator is provided with an exhaust port at the upper end of the main tube, a drain port at the lower end of the main tube, and an air intake pipe is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the main tube, the cross section of the air intake port is set to a rectangular structure, and the air intake channel is set in a direction tangent to the cylindrical inner cavity of the main tube, so that all water vapor entering from the air intake port enters the cylindrical inner cavity of the main tube from the tangential direction, and then the water vapor rotates around the exhaust pipe in the middle in the cylindrical inner cavity, the light gas is discharged from the exhaust port through the exhaust channel of the exhaust pipe, and the heavy liquid is discharged from the drain port at the lower end under the dual action of gravity and centrifugal force. The simplified structure can realize gas-liquid separation, and at the same time greatly reduces the gas resistance and improves the efficiency of the fuel cell system. At the same time, the lower end of the exhaust channel is set lower than the air intake port to improve the water vapor separation effect, and avoid the water vapor entering from the air intake port being directly discharged from the exhaust port without time to rotate, resulting in poor gas-liquid separation effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a water vapor separator in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 .

[0031] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a water vapor separator in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 .

[0032] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a water vapor separator in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 .

[0033] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Cross-section along line EE.

[0034] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a water vapor separator in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 .

[0035] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Cross-section along line FF.

[0036] Figure 7 for Figure 5 Cross-section along line GG.

[0037] Description of reference numerals:

[0038] Main tube 1

[0039] Cylindrical inner cavity 11

[0040] Exhaust port 12

[0041] Drain 13

[0042] Intake pipe 2

[0043] Air Inlet 21

[0044] Intake channel 22

[0045] Adapter 23

[0046] Exhaust pipe 3

[0047] Exhaust duct 31

[0048] Cone 4

[0049] Funnel-shaped inner cavity 41

[0050] Inner diameter height A of the air inlet

[0051] Inner diameter width B of the air inlet

[0052] Inner diameter of exhaust port C

[0053] Diameter D of the cylindrical cavity

[0054] The vertical length of the exhaust pipe is L

[0055] Height H1 of the cylindrical cavity

[0056] Height H2 of the funnel-shaped cavity DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] The present invention will be described more clearly and completely below by way of embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the scope of the embodiments.

[0058] like Figure 1-Figure 7 As shown, this embodiment discloses a water vapor separator, which includes a main pipe 1, an air inlet pipe 2 and an exhaust pipe 3. The main pipe 1 has a cylindrical inner cavity 11 extending in the vertical direction, the upper end surface of the main pipe 1 has an exhaust port 12 connected to the cylindrical inner cavity 11, and the lower end of the main pipe 1 has a drain port 13 connected to the cylindrical inner cavity 11. The air inlet pipe 2 is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe 1, and the end of the air inlet pipe 2 away from the main pipe 1 is provided with an air inlet 21, and the air inlet 21 is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the main pipe 1. The air intake channel 22 inside is connected to the cylindrical inner cavity 11. The cross-section of the air intake channel 22 is a rectangular structure. The extension direction of the air intake channel 22 is tangent to the cylindrical inner cavity 11. The exhaust pipe 3 is arranged in the middle of the cylindrical inner cavity 11. The upper end of the exhaust pipe 3 is connected to the top of the main tube 1, and the lower end of the exhaust pipe 3 is suspended. The interior of the exhaust pipe 3 has an exhaust channel 31 extending in a vertical direction. The upper end of the exhaust channel 31 is connected to the exhaust port 12, and the lower end of the exhaust channel 31 is arranged lower than the air intake port 21.

[0059] like Figure 1-Figure 7As shown, the water vapor separator is provided with an exhaust port 12 at the upper end of the main tube 1, a drain port 13 at the lower end of the main tube 1, and an air inlet pipe 2 is connected to the outer circumference of the main tube 1. The cross section of the air inlet 21 is set to a rectangular structure, and the air inlet channel 22 is set in a direction tangential to the cylindrical inner cavity 11 of the main tube 1, so that all water vapor entering from the air inlet 21 enters the cylindrical inner cavity 11 of the main tube 1 from the tangential direction, and then the water vapor rotates in the cylindrical inner cavity 11 around the exhaust pipe 3 in the middle. The light gas is discharged from the exhaust port 12 through the exhaust channel 31 of the exhaust pipe 3, and the heavy liquid is discharged from the drain port 13 at the lower end under the dual action of gravity and centrifugal force. The above simplified structure can achieve gas-liquid separation, and at the same time greatly reduces the gas resistance and improves the efficiency of the fuel cell system. At the same time, the lower end of the exhaust channel 31 is set lower than the air inlet 21 to improve the water vapor separation effect, thereby avoiding the water vapor entering from the air inlet 21 from being discharged directly from the exhaust port 12 without time to rotate, resulting in poor gas-liquid separation effect.

[0060] To facilitate connection with upstream equipment, an adapter 23 is connected to the air inlet, converting the rectangular air inlet into a circular one. Adapter 23 is located away from the main tube and includes a large end and a small end. The inner diameter of the small end of adapter 23 is smaller than that of the air inlet passage, forming an ejector structure. This ejector structure has the effect of drawing gas, thereby further reducing air resistance. Of course, in other embodiments, the adapter may be omitted or its inner diameter may be set to the same size as the air inlet.

[0061] When the air flow rate is 250g / s, the air resistance of the existing water vapor separator is greater than 10kPa. The water vapor separator of this embodiment has an air resistance of 7.5kPa obtained through testing, which is much smaller than the air resistance of the existing water vapor separator, and can also obtain a water separation efficiency of 90%, meeting the use requirements of the hydrogen fuel cell system.

[0062] like Figure 4 As shown, in order to reduce air resistance and improve the water vapor separation effect, the diameter of the cylindrical inner cavity 11 is D, the inner diameter height A of the air inlet 21 ranges from 0.4D to 0.75D, the inner diameter width B of the air inlet 21 ranges from 0.2D to 0.25D, and the inner diameter C of the exhaust port 12 ranges from 0.3D to 0.5D.

[0063] In this embodiment, the inner diameter height A of the air inlet 21 is 0.5D, the inner diameter width B of the air inlet 21 is 0.25D, and the inner diameter C of the exhaust port 12 is 0.5D.

[0064] like Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the inner diameter height of the air inlet 21 is A, and the length L of the exhaust pipe 3 in the vertical direction ranges from 1.1A to 1.2A, which reduces air resistance and improves the water vapor separation effect.

[0065] In this embodiment, the vertical length L of the exhaust pipe 3 is 1.2A.

[0066] like Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 and Figure 7 As shown, the water vapor separator further includes a cone portion 4, the larger end of which is connected to the lower end of the main tube 1, the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41 of the cone portion 4 being in communication with the cylindrical inner cavity 11, and the drain port 13 being provided at the tip of the cone portion 4 and in communication with the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41. The provision of the cone portion 4 facilitates water to gather at the tip of the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41 of the cone portion 4 and to be discharged from the drain port 13 at the tip, thereby improving the drainage effect.

[0067] like Figure 4 As shown, the height H2 of the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41 of the cone portion 4 ranges from 2.0D to 2.5D, which is used to take into account the volume of the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41 of the cone portion 4 and the volume of the entire water vapor separator to achieve a more economical effect.

[0068] In this embodiment, the height H2 of the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41 of the cone portion 4 is 2.0D.

[0069] like Figure 4 As shown, in order to reduce air resistance and improve the water vapor separation effect, the height H2 of the cylindrical inner cavity 11 of the main tube 1 and the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41 of the cone portion 4 is in the range of 3.5D to 4.5D, so as to control the volume of the water vapor separator within a reasonable range to achieve a more economical effect.

[0070] In this embodiment, the sum of the heights H2 of the cylindrical inner cavity 11 of the main body tube 1 and the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41 of the cone portion 4 is 3.5D.

[0071] like Figure 4 As shown, in order to reduce air resistance and improve water vapor separation effect, the height H1 of the cylindrical inner cavity ranges from 1.5D to 2.0D.

[0072] In this embodiment, the height H1 of the cylindrical inner cavity is 1.5D.

[0073] The water vapor separator also includes a drain valve (not shown) mounted on drain port 13. The drain valve facilitates occasional opening of drain port 13. Water can be stored within the funnel-shaped inner cavity 41 of the cone 4 and then drained out at once by opening the drain valve over time, avoiding prolonged water flow and improving the user experience.

[0074] The steam separator also includes a control unit (not shown in the figure), which is connected to the drain valve and is used to control the opening and closing of the drain valve. By setting the control unit to control the opening and closing of the drain valve, it is convenient to control the time and duration of drainage.

[0075] This embodiment also discloses a hydrogen fuel cell system, which includes an energy recovery air compressor and the water vapor separator as described above, and the water vapor separator is installed upstream of the energy recovery air compressor. The fuel cell system is referred to as a stack, which is a device that generates electricity by reacting hydrogen and oxygen. The energy recovery air compressor is used in conjunction with the water vapor separator. The energy recovery air compressor includes a compression end and an expansion end. The compression end compresses the gas to provide the compressed gas required for the reaction of the fuel cell system, and the expansion end mainly recycles the kinetic energy and thermal energy of the exhaust gas at the tail of the system. The water vapor separator is used to separate the liquid water at the tail of the hydrogen fuel cell system, reduce the liquid water entering the energy recovery air compressor, and protect the energy recovery air compressor.

[0076] A hydrogen fuel cell system also includes a hydrogen supply system, an oxygen supply system, a cooling system, and electrical and electronic control systems. The oxygen supply system provides the fuel cell stack with compressed air for the reaction, maintaining the compressed air's temperature, pressure, and humidity within the required ranges. The oxygen supply system primarily consists of an air filter, air compressor, intercooler, humidifier, throttle, and other ancillary piping.

[0077] In the description of this article, it should be understood that the terms "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0078] Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that these are merely illustrative and that the scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art may make various changes or modifications to these embodiments without departing from the principles and essence of the present invention, and such changes and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A water vapor separator, characterized in that: It includes: A main body tube having a cylindrical inner cavity extending in a vertical direction, an upper end surface of the main body tube having an exhaust port communicating with the cylindrical inner cavity, and a lower end of the main body tube having a drain port communicating with the cylindrical inner cavity; an air intake pipe connected to the outer circumferential surface of the main pipe, an air intake port being provided at one end of the air intake pipe away from the main pipe, the air intake port being in communication with the cylindrical inner cavity via an air intake passage in the air intake pipe, the air intake passage having a rectangular cross-section, and extending in a direction tangent to the cylindrical inner cavity; An exhaust pipe is arranged in the middle of the cylindrical inner cavity, the upper end of the exhaust pipe is connected to the top of the main tube, the lower end of the exhaust pipe is suspended, and the interior of the exhaust pipe has an exhaust channel extending in a vertical direction. The upper end of the exhaust channel is connected to the exhaust port, and the lower end of the exhaust channel is arranged below the air inlet.

2. The water vapor separator according to claim 1, characterized in that The diameter of the cylindrical inner cavity is D, the inner diameter height of the air inlet is in the range of 0.4D to 0.75D, the inner diameter width of the air inlet is in the range of 0.2D to 0.25D, and the inner diameter of the exhaust port is in the range of 0.3D to 0.5D.

3. The water vapor separator according to claim 1, characterized in that The inner diameter height of the air inlet is A, and the length of the exhaust pipe in the vertical direction ranges from 1.1A to 1.2A.

4. The water vapor separator according to claim 1, characterized in that The water vapor separator also includes a cone portion, the large end of the cone portion is connected to the lower end of the main body tube, the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion is connected to the cylindrical inner cavity, and the drain port is arranged at the tip of the cone portion and is connected to the funnel-shaped inner cavity.

5. The water vapor separator according to claim 4, characterized in that The height of the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion ranges from 2.0D to 2.5D.

6. The water vapor separator according to claim 5, characterized in that The sum of the heights of the cylindrical inner cavity of the main body tube and the funnel-shaped inner cavity of the cone portion is in the range of 3.5D to 4.5D.

7. The water vapor separator according to claim 1, characterized in that The height of the cylindrical inner cavity ranges from 1.5D to 2.0D.

8. The water vapor separator according to claim 1, characterized in that The water vapor separator further includes a drain valve, which is installed at the drain port.

9. The water vapor separator according to claim 8, characterized in that The water vapor separator further includes a control unit connected to the drain valve, and the control unit is used to control the opening and closing of the drain valve.

10. A hydrogen fuel cell system, characterized in that: The hydrogen fuel cell system includes an energy recovery air compressor and a water vapor separator according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the water vapor separator is installed upstream of the energy recovery air compressor.

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