Cooler for fuel cell

Abstract

The utility model provides a cooler for a fuel cell, which relates to the field of coolers and comprises a plate-fin heat exchanger body, a heat conducting component and a driving mechanism, the heat conduction assembly comprises two heat conduction units; the heat conduction unit comprises a heat conduction plate, a plurality of contact heat conductors and a cooling pipe; the plate surfaces of the two heat conducting plates are parallel; a plurality of fixing holes are formed in the heat conducting plate; the contact heat conductor is sleeved in the fixing hole; the contact heat conductor slides in the fixing hole; the cooling pipe is fixed on the outer side surface of the heat conducting plate; the driving mechanism drives the heat conducting plate to move towards the inner side; a water inlet and a water outlet are formed in two ends of the cooling pipe; the plate-fin heat exchanger body comprises a water inlet seal head and a water outlet seal head; the two water inlets are communicated with the water outlet sealing head; and the two water outlets are communicated with the water inlet seal head. According to the utility model, the problem that the cooling efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell is influenced due to the fact that the heat-conducting plate cannot be tightly attached to the side walls of the hydrogen fuel cell if the side walls of the two sides of the hydrogen fuel cell are curved surfaces during use in the prior art can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of coolers, and more particularly to a cooler for fuel cells. Background Technology

[0002] A fuel cell is a device that generates electrical energy through a chemical reaction. It converts chemical energy into electrical energy by reacting hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of an electrocatalyst through a redox reaction. Fuel cells typically generate heat during operation, requiring effective thermal management to maintain a suitable operating temperature and thus improve the reaction rate. This often necessitates the use of heat exchangers to control the operating temperature of the fuel cell.

[0003] For example, Chinese Patent No. 202323058293.2 discloses a water cooler for hydrogen fuel cells, including an adjustment mechanism and a cooling mechanism. The adjustment mechanism includes a fastening plate, a fixing block fixed to one outer wall of the fastening plate, and a bidirectional lead screw rotatably connected to the fixing block. The water cooler for hydrogen fuel cells provided by the above patent can effectively cool the fuel cell to maintain it at an appropriate operating temperature.

[0004] However, when using the aforementioned water cooler for hydrogen fuel cells, if the side walls of the hydrogen fuel cell are curved, the heat-conducting plate cannot fit tightly against the side walls of the hydrogen fuel cell, thus affecting the cooling efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell. Utility Model Content

[0005] To address the aforementioned problems, this utility model provides a cooler for fuel cells that solves the problem that, in the prior art, if the two side walls of a hydrogen fuel cell are curved, the heat-conducting plate cannot be tightly attached to the side walls of the hydrogen fuel cell, thus affecting the cooling efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell; thereby improving the cooling efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells with curved side walls.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by this utility model is as follows:

[0007] This utility model provides a cooler for a fuel cell, including a plate-fin heat exchanger body, a heat conduction component, and a drive mechanism;

[0008] The heat-conducting assembly includes two heat-conducting units; each heat-conducting unit includes a heat-conducting plate, several contact heat conductors, and a cooling pipe; the heat-conducting plate is vertically arranged; the surfaces of the two heat-conducting plates are parallel; several fixing holes are formed on the heat-conducting plate; the contact heat conductors are fitted into the fixing holes; one contact heat conductor corresponds to one fixing hole; the contact heat conductors slide within the fixing holes; the side of the two heat-conducting plates that are close together is used as the inner side of the heat-conducting plate; the cooling pipe is fixed to the outer side of the heat-conducting plate.

[0009] The driving mechanism drives the heat-conducting plate to move inward;

[0010] The cooling pipe is provided with an inlet and an outlet at both ends; the plate-fin heat exchanger body includes an inlet end cap and an outlet end cap; the two inlets are connected to the outlet end cap through a T-pipe; the two outlets are connected to the inlet end cap through a T-pipe.

[0011] The cooler for fuel cells provided by this utility model preferably includes a limiting member and a spring on the contact heat conductor; the spring is sleeved on the contact heat conductor; the limiting member and the spring are located inside the heat-conducting plate; the spring is located between the limiting member and the heat-conducting plate.

[0012] The cooler for fuel cells provided by this utility model preferably includes a drive mechanism comprising a motor, a forward and reverse threaded screw, and two connecting plates.

[0013] The positive and negative threaded screws are horizontally arranged; the output shaft of the motor is connected to the screw of the positive and negative threaded screws through a coupling; the two connecting plates are respectively fixed to the positive thread end nut and the negative thread end nut of the positive and negative threaded screws; the two connecting plates are respectively fixed to the two heat-conducting plates.

[0014] The cooler for fuel cells provided by this utility model preferably has an elastic heat-conducting part at the end of the contact heat conductor; the elastic heat-conducting part is located inside the heat-conducting plate; the cross-section of the elastic heat-conducting part is rectangular.

[0015] The above technical solution has the following advantages or beneficial effects:

[0016] The fuel cell cooler provided by this utility model includes a plate-fin heat exchanger body and a heat-conducting assembly. The plate-fin heat exchanger body is an air-cooled heat exchanger, and its structure and working principle can be referenced from the plate-fin heat exchanger without a long seal structure provided in Chinese Patent Application No. 202321157014.5. The inlet and outlet water seals are respectively located on both sides of the heat exchanger provided in the aforementioned patent, where short seals are provided. The heat generated by the fuel cell during operation is transferred to the coolant via the heat-conducting assembly. The coolant is cooled by heat exchange through the plate-fin heat exchanger body, thereby achieving temperature control of the fuel cell. Specifically, the heat-conducting assembly includes two heat-conducting units, each of which includes a heat-conducting plate, several contact heat conductors, and cooling pipes. Openings are made on the heat-conducting plate... Several fixing holes are provided, and the contact heat conductors are fitted into the fixing holes. The surfaces of the two heat-conducting plates are arranged parallel to each other, allowing the contact heat conductors to slide within the fixing holes. When the driving mechanism drives the heat-conducting plates to move inward, if the contact heat conductors contact the fuel cell, the contact heat conductors contacting the fuel cell will slide outward relative to the heat-conducting plates until all contact heat conductors are in effective contact with the sidewall of the fuel cell. If the sidewall of the fuel cell is curved, the above method can ensure that all contact heat conductors are in close contact with the fuel cell, thereby improving heat exchange efficiency. Since there are multiple contact heat conduction points between the contact heat conductors and the fuel cell, and the contact area of ​​these contact heat conduction points is small, they can better fit with the curved surface of the fuel cell.

[0017] Existing technologies have a problem where, if the sidewalls of a hydrogen fuel cell are curved, the heat-conducting plate cannot fit tightly against the sidewalls, thus affecting the cooling efficiency of the fuel cell. The fuel cell cooler provided by this invention addresses this issue by creating several fixing holes on the heat-conducting plate. The heat-conducting contact element is fitted into these holes and slid within them, creating several contact points with a smaller area than the heat-conducting plate. Compared to directly attaching a single heat-conducting plate to the fuel cell surface, these smaller contact points allow for better adhesion of the heat-conducting component to the curved surface of the fuel cell, improving the heat exchange efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The present invention, its features, shape, and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals denote like parts throughout the drawings. The drawings are not intentionally drawn to scale; the focus is on illustrating the gist of the invention.

[0019] Fig. 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the cooler for a fuel cell provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0020] Fig. 2This is a top view of the cooler for a fuel cell provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0021] Fig. 3 This is a bottom view structural diagram of the cooler for a fuel cell provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but this is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0023] Example 1:

[0024] like Figs. 1-3 As shown, the cooler for a fuel cell provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model includes a plate-fin heat exchanger body 1, a heat conduction component 2, and a drive mechanism 3.

[0025] The heat-conducting assembly 2 includes two heat-conducting units 21; each heat-conducting unit 21 includes a heat-conducting plate 211, several contact heat-conducting elements 212, and a cooling pipe 213; the heat-conducting plate 211 is vertically arranged; the surfaces of the two heat-conducting plates 211 are parallel; several fixing holes 2111 are provided on the heat-conducting plate 211; the contact heat-conducting elements 212 are fitted into the fixing holes 2111; one contact heat-conducting element 212 corresponds to one fixing hole 2111; the contact heat-conducting elements 212 slide within the fixing holes 2111; the side of the two heat-conducting plates 211 that is close together is used as the inner side of the heat-conducting plate 211; the cooling pipe 213 is fixed to the outer side of the heat-conducting plate 211.

[0026] Drive mechanism 3 drives heat conduction plate 211 to move inward;

[0027] The cooling pipe 213 has an inlet 2131 and an outlet 2132 at both ends; the plate-fin heat exchanger body 1 includes an inlet end cap 11 and an outlet end cap 12; the two inlets 2131 are connected to the outlet end cap 12 through a three-way pipe; the two outlets 2132 are connected to the inlet end cap 11 through a three-way pipe.

[0028] When using the fuel cell cooler provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model, the fuel cell is placed between two heat-conducting plates 211; the heat-conducting plates 211 are driven to move inward by the driving mechanism 3, so that the contact heat-conducting bodies 212 sleeved in the fixing holes 2111 contact the fuel cell. The contact heat-conducting bodies 212 that contact the fuel cell move outward relative to the heat-conducting plates 211 until all contact heat-conducting bodies 212 are in contact with the sidewall of the fuel cell; the heat generated by the fuel cell is transferred to the heat-conducting plates 211 through the contact heat-conducting bodies 212, and the heat on the heat-conducting plates 211 is transferred to the coolant in the cooling pipe 213. The coolant leaves the cooling pipe 213 from the water outlet 2132 and enters the water inlet head 11. The coolant undergoes air cooling heat exchange through the plate-fin heat exchanger body 1, and the cooled coolant is transported back to the water inlet 2131 from the water outlet head 12. The above-mentioned coolant circulation can be achieved by adding a water pump.

[0029] The fuel cell cooler provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model includes a plate-fin heat exchanger body 1 and a heat-conducting component 2. The plate-fin heat exchanger body 1 is an air-cooled heat exchanger, and its structure and working principle can be referenced from the plate-fin heat exchanger without a long seal structure provided in Chinese Patent Application No. 202321157014.5. The inlet seal 11 and outlet seal 12 are respectively disposed on both sides of the heat exchanger provided in the aforementioned patent where a short seal is provided. The heat generated by the fuel cell during operation is transferred to the coolant via the heat-conducting component 2. The coolant is cooled by heat exchange through the plate-fin heat exchanger body 1, thereby achieving temperature control of the fuel cell. Specifically, the heat-conducting component 2 includes two heat-conducting units 21, each of which includes a heat-conducting plate 211, several contact heat conductors 212, and cooling pipes 213. Several fixed... The contact heat conductor 212 is fitted into the hole 2111, and the surfaces of the two heat-conducting plates 211 are arranged parallel to each other, so that the contact heat conductor 212 can slide within the fixed hole 2111. When the driving mechanism 3 drives the heat-conducting plate 211 to move inward, if the contact heat conductor 212 contacts the fuel cell, the contact heat conductor 212 in contact with the fuel cell will slide outward relative to the heat-conducting plate 211 until all contact heat conductors 212 are in effective contact with the sidewall of the fuel cell. If the sidewall of the fuel cell is curved, the above method can ensure that all contact heat conductors 212 are in close contact with the fuel cell, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency. Since there are multiple contact heat conductors 212 and multiple contact heat conduction points with the fuel cell, and the contact area of ​​these contact heat conduction points is small, they can better fit with the curved surface of the fuel cell.

[0030] In existing technologies, if the sidewalls of a hydrogen fuel cell are curved, the heat-conducting plate cannot be tightly attached to the sidewalls, thus affecting the cooling efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell. The fuel cell cooler provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model addresses this issue by creating several fixing holes 2111 on the heat-conducting plate 211, fitting the heat-conducting contact element 212 within these holes, and allowing the heat-conducting contact element 212 to slide within the fixing holes 2111. This creates several contact points between the fuel cell and the heat-conducting contact element 212 with areas smaller than the heat-conducting plate 211. Compared to directly attaching the entire heat-conducting plate 211 to the fuel cell surface, these smaller contact points allow for better adhesion of the heat-conducting element to the curved surface of the fuel cell, improving the heat exchange efficiency of the fuel cell.

[0031] like Fig. 2 As shown, the fuel cell cooler provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model preferably addresses the issue that, due to the different curved sidewalls of different fuel cells, if the fuel cell between the two heat-conducting plates 211 is replaced, the position of the contact heat-conducting body 212 needs to be readjusted. However, manually adjusting the position of the contact heat-conducting body 212 is time-consuming and costly. Therefore, specifically, a limiting member 2121 and a spring 2122 are also provided on the contact heat-conducting body 212. The limiting member 2121 is located on the side of the contact heat-conducting body 212 closest to the fuel cell, and the spring 2122 is sleeved on the contact heat-conducting body 212. The limiting member 2121 and the spring 2122 are located inside the heat-conducting plate 211, and the spring 2122 is located between the limiting member 2121 and the heat-conducting plate 211. When the driving mechanism 3 drives the heat-conducting plate 211... When moving inward, the heat-conducting plate 211 squeezes the spring 2122, which is pressed against the limiting member 2121. The spring 2121 rebounds under force and pushes the limiting member 2121 to make the contact heat conductor 212 slide towards the fuel cell. If only part of the contact heat conductor 212 contacts the fuel cell, the heat-conducting plate 211 continues to move inward. At this time, the spring 2121 on the contact heat conductor 212 that has contacted the fuel cell is compressed until all contact heat conductors 212 are in contact with the fuel cell. When the drive mechanism 3 drives the heat-conducting plate 211 to move outward, the compressed spring 2121 rebounds, causing the contact heat conductor 212 to reset, saving the time required for manual reset of the contact heat conductor 212 and improving the efficiency of installing the cooler on the fuel cell.

[0032] like Fig. 1 As shown, the fuel cell cooler provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model is preferably configured such that, in order to drive the heat-conducting plate 211 to move inward by the drive mechanism 3, the drive mechanism 3 specifically includes a motor 31, a positive and negative threaded rod 32, and two connecting plates 33.

[0033] Since the heat-conducting plate 211 is vertically positioned, the positive and negative threaded rods 32 are horizontally positioned to allow the heat-conducting plate 211 to move inward. Furthermore, to drive the heat-conducting plate 211 to move, the output shaft of the motor 31 is connected to the threaded rod of the positive and negative threaded rods 32 via a coupling. The motor 31 drives the nuts at both ends of the positive and negative threaded rods 32 to move. The two connecting plates 33 are fixed to the positive threaded nut and the negative threaded nut of the positive and negative threaded rods 32, respectively. When the positive threaded nut and the negative threaded nut move towards each other, the two connecting plates 33 move towards each other, fixing the two connecting plates 33 to the two heat-conducting plates 211, thereby causing the heat-conducting plate 211 to move with the connecting plates 33. When the connecting plates 33 move towards each other, the heat-conducting plate 211 moves inward; when the connecting plates 33 move in the opposite direction, the heat-conducting plate 211 moves outward.

[0034] like Fig. 2 As shown, in the fuel cell cooler provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model, preferably, since the heat-conducting plate 211 continues to move inward after the partial contact heat conductor 212 contacts the fuel cell, the contact heat conductor 212 that has already contacted the fuel cell will still squeeze the fuel cell. In order to protect the fuel cell and extend the service life of the contact heat conductor 212, specifically, an elastic heat-conducting part 2123 is provided at the end of the contact heat conductor 212. The elastic heat-conducting part 2123 is located inside the heat-conducting plate 211. When the end of the contact heat conductor 212 contacts the fuel cell, the elastic heat-conducting part 2123 is in contact with the fuel cell, which can buffer the collision between the fuel cell and the contact heat conductor 212 caused by external force. Furthermore, the cross-section of the elastic heat-conducting part 2123 is rectangular, which can increase the contact area between the elastic heat conductor 2123 and the fuel cell and improve the cooling efficiency of the cooler.

[0035] In summary, the cooler for fuel cells provided by this utility model can solve the problem that, in the prior art, if the two side walls of the hydrogen fuel cell are curved, the heat-conducting plate cannot be tightly attached to the side walls of the hydrogen fuel cell, thus affecting the cooling efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell; and achieves improved cooling efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells with curved side walls.

[0036] Those skilled in the art should understand that variations can be implemented by combining existing technology and the above embodiments, and will not be elaborated here. Such variations do not affect the substantive content of this utility model, and will not be elaborated here.

[0037] The preferred embodiments of this utility model have been described above. It should be understood that this utility model is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the devices and structures not described in detail should be understood as being implemented in a conventional manner in the art; any possible variations and modifications made by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical solution of this utility model, or equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes, do not affect the essential content of this utility model. Therefore, any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of this utility model without departing from the content of the technical solution of this utility model, shall still fall within the protection scope of the technical solution of this utility model.

Claims

1. A cooler for a fuel cell, characterized in that, Includes the plate-fin heat exchanger body, heat conduction components, and drive mechanism; The heat-conducting assembly includes two heat-conducting units; each heat-conducting unit includes a heat-conducting plate, several contact heat conductors, and a cooling pipe; the heat-conducting plate is vertically arranged; the surfaces of the two heat-conducting plates are parallel; several fixing holes are formed on the heat-conducting plate; the contact heat conductors are fitted into the fixing holes; one contact heat conductor corresponds to one fixing hole; the contact heat conductors slide within the fixing holes; the side of the two heat-conducting plates that are close together is used as the inner side of the heat-conducting plate; the cooling pipe is fixed to the outer side of the heat-conducting plate. The driving mechanism drives the heat-conducting plate to move inward; The cooling pipe is provided with an inlet and an outlet at both ends; the plate-fin heat exchanger body includes an inlet end cap and an outlet end cap; the two inlets are connected to the outlet end cap through a T-pipe; the two outlets are connected to the inlet end cap through a T-pipe.

2. The cooler for a fuel cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The contact heat conductor is provided with a limiting member and a spring; the spring is sleeved on the contact heat conductor; the limiting member and the spring are located inside the heat-conducting plate; the spring is located between the limiting member and the heat-conducting plate.

3. The cooler for a fuel cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism includes a motor, a forward and reverse threaded screw, and two connecting plates; The positive and negative threaded screws are horizontally arranged; the output shaft of the motor is connected to the screw of the positive and negative threaded screws through a coupling; the two connecting plates are respectively fixed to the positive thread end nut and the negative thread end nut of the positive and negative threaded screws; the two connecting plates are respectively fixed to the two heat-conducting plates.

4. The cooler for a fuel cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The end of the contact heat conductor is provided with an elastic heat-conducting part; the elastic heat-conducting part is located on the inner side of the heat-conducting plate; the cross-section of the elastic heat-conducting part is rectangular.

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