Prestressed fuel cell end plate and fuel cell with improved uniformity of sealing pressure
By setting pre-tightening screws and adjusting nuts on the fuel cell endplate, bending deformation of the endplate is achieved, solving the warping problem during the encapsulation process, improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure and power generation performance, and making it suitable for various fuel cell stack structures.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHANGHAI SHENLI TECH CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-25
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-23
AI Technical Summary
During the packaging process of existing fuel cell stacks, the edge warping of the end plate leads to uneven distribution of contact stress in internal components, affecting power generation performance. Furthermore, existing technologies increase production costs and processing difficulty.
A preload screw and a preload adjustment nut are installed on the fuel cell end plate. By applying preload, the end plate is bent and deformed to ensure uniform contact between the end plate and the inside of the fuel cell stack. Different torques are used to lock the preload adjustment nut to adapt to different encapsulation loads and structures.
While reducing costs and processing difficulty, it improves the uniformity of packaging pressure inside the fuel cell stack, making it suitable for fuel cell stacks with different structures, ensuring uniform contact inside each stack and improving power generation performance.
Smart Images
Figure CN224400381U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of hydrogen fuel cell technology, specifically to a prestressed fuel cell end plate for improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure. Background Technology
[0002] A hydrogen fuel cell stack is a power generation device that directly converts the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen into electrical energy. The structure of a hydrogen fuel cell stack typically includes end plates, bipolar plates, membrane electrode assemblies, seals, and fastening devices. The end plates are the structures at both ends of the fuel cell used to encapsulate and secure the entire fuel cell stack. During encapsulation, multiple screws between the end plates are tightened to ensure a tight connection between the internal components. However, because the screws are located at the edges of the end plates, warping occurs at these edges, leading to uneven distribution of contact stress between the internal components and affecting the power generation performance of the fuel cell stack.
[0003] Chinese patent document CN116154250A discloses a fuel cell endplate with pre-curvature. The endplate has a pre-curvature, which includes a first pre-curvature along the long side of the endplate and a second pre-curvature along the short side of the endplate. Using this endplate structure to encapsulate the fuel cell stack can effectively improve the problem of uneven internal stress after the stack is encapsulated. However, this endplate structure requires curved surface processing, which is difficult to process and significantly increases production costs.
[0004] Chinese patent document CN112201830A discloses a method for deforming fuel cell end plates to improve the uniformity of encapsulation pressure. This method uses a deformation method to process end plates with micro-convex surfaces, so that the micro-convex surfaces of the end plates that contact the fuel cell stack are deformed into planes after encapsulation, achieving uniform contact with the inside of the fuel cell stack. The post-processing makes the fuel cell end plates have a certain curvature, thereby improving the uniformity inside the fuel cell after encapsulation. However, this method significantly increases production costs and is difficult to promote and use. Utility Model Content
[0005] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a prestressed fuel cell end plate that improves the uniformity of encapsulation pressure.
[0006] According to the present invention, a prestressed fuel cell end plate for improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure is provided, comprising: a fuel cell end plate; wherein the fuel cell end plate is provided with a mounting position for a fuel cell encapsulation screw;
[0007] The fuel cell end plate is provided with a pre-tightening screw fixing bracket, and a pre-tightening screw is provided on the pre-tightening screw fixing bracket. The pre-tightening screw is fixed by cooperating with the pre-tightening screw fixing bracket through a pre-tightening force adjusting nut.
[0008] Preferably, the pre-tightening screw fixing brackets are one or more pairs, used to fix one or more pre-tightening screws.
[0009] Preferably, the preload screw causes the fuel cell end plate to bend and deform by locking the preload adjusting nut.
[0010] Preferably, the preload screw is tightened with different torques to adjust the preload force of the preload adjustment nut, causing the fuel cell end plate to bend and deform with different curvatures.
[0011] Preferably, during encapsulation, the bending force exerted by the pre-tightening screw on the fuel cell end plate is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the bending force exerted by the fuel cell encapsulation screw on the fuel cell end plate.
[0012] A fuel cell according to the present invention includes the prestressed fuel cell end plate for improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure.
[0013] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:
[0014] 1. This utility model provides a prestressed fuel cell end plate to improve the uniformity of encapsulation pressure. By locking the prestressing force adjusting nut, a certain prestressing force is applied to the prestressing screw, causing the fuel cell end plate to bend and deform with a certain curvature. Through a simple structure, the problem of uneven force in the plane direction of single cells in the stack is effectively improved with a slight increase in cost and processing difficulty.
[0015] 2. This utility model provides a prestressed fuel cell end plate to improve the uniformity of encapsulation pressure. By using different torques to tighten the preload adjusting nut, the fuel cell end plate can bend and deform with different curvatures. It can be applied to fuel cell stacks with different encapsulation loads, different structural forms, and different core thicknesses, ensuring uniform contact inside each fuel cell stack. Attached Figure Description
[0016] Other features, objects, and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:
[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the fuel cell end plate structure of this utility model;
[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fuel cell end plate after the preload adjustment nut is locked.
[0019] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure after assembling a conventional fuel cell endplate;
[0020] Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fuel cell end plate of this utility model before the preload adjustment nut is tightened after assembly;
[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fuel cell end plate of this utility model after assembly and tightening the preload adjustment nut.
[0022] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:
[0023] Detailed Implementation
[0024] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the present invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
[0025] The prestressed fuel cell endplate structure provided by this utility model, such as... Figure 1-2 As shown, the fuel cell end plate is provided with one or more pre-tightening screws 101. The pre-tightening screws 101 are fixed to the pre-tightening screw fixing brackets 103 on the fuel cell end plate 1 by mutual cooperation of the pre-tightening force adjusting nuts 102. Fuel cell encapsulation screw 3 mounting positions are provided at both ends of the fuel cell end plate 1. One fuel cell end plate 1 is provided at each end along the stacking direction of the fuel cell core 4, and is locked by the fuel cell encapsulation screws 3 to complete the fixation of the fuel cell core 4.
[0026] Furthermore, the fuel cell end plate 1 is provided with one or more pairs of pre-tightening screw fixing brackets 103 for fixing one or more pre-tightening screws 101.
[0027] Furthermore, the pre-tightening screw 101 causes the fuel cell end plate 1 to undergo a certain curvature bending deformation by locking the pre-tightening force adjusting nut 102.
[0028] Furthermore, the preload screw uses different torques to lock the preload adjusting nut, causing the fuel cell end plate to bend and deform with different curvatures.
[0029] In this embodiment, the preload adjusting nut 102 is tightened before the fuel cell is packaged. Tightening the preload adjusting nut 102 causes the fuel cell end plate to undergo a certain curvature bending deformation, such as... Figure 2 As shown. In fuel cells encapsulated using standard end plates 2, significant warping occurs on both sides of the end plates after encapsulation, such as... Figure 3As shown in the figure. The fuel cell end plate 1 of this invention is used for encapsulation. Due to the reverse curvature of the end plate, the warping of the end plates on both sides after encapsulation can be significantly reduced. A schematic diagram of the assembled end plate is shown below. Figure 5 As shown, this effectively improves the problem of uneven force distribution in the planar direction of a single cell within the fuel cell stack.
[0030] The following section provides a more detailed explanation of the installation method for the prestressed fuel cell endplate structure.
[0031] Benru Figure 4-5 As shown, the fuel cell is first encapsulated, and the preload adjusting nut 102 is tightened after the fuel cell is encapsulated. A fuel cell encapsulated with the fuel cell end plate 1 not tightened with the preload adjusting nut 102 will exhibit significant warping on both end plates after encapsulation, as shown... Figure 4 As shown. At this point, tighten the preload adjusting nut 102 and adjust the locking torque. After adjusting to the appropriate locking torque, the warping of the end plates on both sides after encapsulation can be significantly reduced, such as... Figure 5 As shown, this effectively improves the problem of uneven force distribution in the planar direction of a single cell within the fuel cell stack.
[0032] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and 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 this application.
[0033] The specific 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 those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the substantive content of this utility model. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.
Claims
1. A prestressed fuel cell end plate for improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure, characterized in that, include: Fuel cell end plate (1); the fuel cell end plate (1) is provided with a mounting position for fuel cell encapsulation screw (3); The fuel cell end plate (1) is provided with a pre-tightening screw fixing bracket (103), and the pre-tightening screw fixing bracket (103) is provided with a pre-tightening screw (101). The pre-tightening screw (101) is fixed by cooperating with the pre-tightening screw fixing bracket (103) through a pre-tightening force adjusting nut (102).
2. The prestressed fuel cell end plate for improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pre-tightening screw fixing support angle (103) is one or more pairs, used to fix one or more pre-tightening screws (101).
3. The prestressed fuel cell end plate for improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preload screw (101) causes the fuel cell end plate (1) to bend and deform by locking the preload adjusting nut (102).
4. The prestressed fuel cell end plate for improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure according to claim 3, characterized in that, The pre-tightening screw (101) locks the pre-tightening force adjusting nut (102) with different torques, causing the fuel cell end plate (1) to bend and deform with different curvatures.
5. The prestressed fuel cell end plate for improving the uniformity of encapsulation pressure according to claim 1, characterized in that, During encapsulation, the bending force exerted by the pre-tightening screw (101) on the fuel cell end plate (1) is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the bending force exerted by the fuel cell encapsulation screw (3) on the fuel cell end plate (1).
6. A fuel cell, characterized in that, Including the prestressed fuel cell end plate that improves the uniformity of encapsulation pressure as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.