An all-vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure

Abstract

The utility model belongs to all vanadium liquid flow battery technical field, concretely relates to a kind of all vanadium liquid flow battery stack mounting structure, including stack body, end plate, positioning assembly, sealing assembly, heat dissipation component and fixed component;The stack body is made of several single cells superposition, and the single cell edge is provided with the hole and sealing groove of through guide column;The positioning assembly includes guide column, the hole of all single cells is penetrated by the guide column, and both ends are fixedly connected with end plate;The sealing assembly is elastic sealing pad, and the elastic sealing pad is embedded in the sealing groove of single cell, realizes single cell accurate positioning, sealing and flow integration, efficient heat dissipation, quick disassembly and reassembly and stable fixation, improves the overall performance and service life of all vanadium liquid flow battery.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of vanadium redox flow battery technology, specifically relating to a vanadium redox flow battery stack installation structure. Background Technology

[0002] Vanadium redox flow batteries, as a highly efficient and environmentally friendly energy storage device, have broad application prospects in new energy power generation and grid energy storage. The fuel cell stack, as the core component of the vanadium redox flow battery, directly affects the battery's sealing performance, heat dissipation, assembly efficiency, and service life due to the rationality of its installation structure.

[0003] The existing vanadium redox flow battery stack installation structure has several defects: First, the positioning accuracy is insufficient when stacking individual cells, which can easily lead to misalignment, resulting in sealing gaps and electrolyte leakage. Even small misalignments can increase internal resistance, causing uneven current distribution and localized overheating, thereby reducing battery efficiency and lifespan. Second, the sealing structure design is simplistic, only achieving basic sealing functions and failing to consider electrolyte conduction. Third, the heat dissipation methods mostly rely on natural cooling or simple air cooling, resulting in low heat dissipation efficiency. The heat generated during stack operation cannot be dissipated in time, affecting battery performance stability. Fourth, the fixing structure mostly uses ordinary bolts and nuts, requiring specialized tools for installation and disassembly, making the process cumbersome, maintenance inefficient, and prone to loosening due to vibration during long-term operation, shortening the stack's lifespan.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a precise positioning, reliable sealing, efficient heat dissipation, convenient assembly and disassembly, and stable vanadium redox flow battery stack installation structure to solve the problems existing in the current technology. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a vanadium redox flow battery stack installation structure that addresses the problems existing in the prior art, achieving precise positioning of single cells, integrated sealing and flow guidance, efficient heat dissipation, quick assembly and disassembly, and stable fixation, thereby improving the overall performance and service life of the vanadium redox flow battery.

[0006] The technical solution of this utility model is: A vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure includes a stack body, end plates, positioning components, sealing components, heat dissipation components, and fixing components. The stack body is composed of several stacked individual cells, each individual cell having a hole through a guide post and a sealing groove at its edge. The positioning component includes guide posts that pass through the holes of all individual cells and are fixedly connected to the end plates at both ends. The sealing component is an elastic sealing gasket that is embedded in the sealing groove of each individual cell.

[0007] The heat dissipation assembly includes a heat dissipation channel formed on the inner side of the end plate. The heat dissipation channel is attached to the side of the fuel cell stack body and is used to dissipate the heat generated by the fuel cell stack during operation. Preferably, the end plate is made of aluminum alloy. The heat dissipation channel has a serpentine structure with a channel width of 15mm, a depth of 8mm, a bending radius of 20mm, and a total length of 2m. The coolant flowing in the heat dissipation channel is deionized water.

[0008] The fixing assembly includes quick-release bolts and wing nuts. The quick-release bolts pass through both end plates and are locked in place by the wing nuts, thus achieving detachable fixing of the entire fuel cell stack.

[0009] Preferably, the guide post surface is provided with scale markings with a scale accuracy of ±0.1mm, which can achieve precise alignment of individual batteries and ensure that the overall coaxiality error after stacking is ≤0.2mm. Preferably, the quick-release bolt is M16×150mm in size and made of high-strength carbon steel; the wing nut adopts a nylon-wrapped carbon steel structure with an outer diameter of 40mm, and the tightening torque of the quick-release bolt is controlled at 20N·m.

[0010] Preferably, the sealing component is an elastic sealing gasket, which is embedded in the sealing groove of the single cell to achieve a seal between the single cells. Preferably, the elastic sealing gasket is made of fluororubber, which has good corrosion resistance and elasticity, a Shore hardness of 70°, and a thickness 0.5 mm greater than the depth of the sealing groove to provide pre-compression. Its surface is provided with V-shaped guide grooves with an opening angle of 60°. The guide grooves are 2 mm wide and 1 mm deep, with a spacing of 5 mm between adjacent guide grooves. This is used to evenly distribute compressive stress and accommodate minor deformation, serving both sealing and electrolyte guiding functions to prevent electrolyte accumulation at the seal.

[0011] Preferably, the heat dissipation channel has a serpentine structure and is located on the inner side of the aluminum alloy end plate. The aluminum alloy has excellent thermal conductivity, and the serpentine structure can increase the heat dissipation area. The coolant flowing inside the heat dissipation channel is deionized water, which quickly removes the heat generated by the fuel cell stack through circulation.

[0012] Preferably, the outer side of the end plate is provided with a silicone buffer pad, which can absorb the vibration generated during the operation of the fuel cell stack, enhance the stability of the fixation, and at the same time avoid rigid collision between the end plate and the fixing components.

[0013] Preferably, there are four positioning holes, evenly distributed at the four corners of the single battery, to ensure balanced force during positioning of the single battery and further improve positioning accuracy.

[0014] Preferably, the end plate has coolant inlets and outlets on both sides that communicate with the heat dissipation channel. The inlet and outlet pipes have a diameter of 20mm and are equipped with quick connectors for connecting to the coolant circulation system.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this utility model are: 1. Precise positioning: By using a guide post with scale markings to penetrate the positioning hole of a single cell, each single cell is guided into precise position, achieving precise alignment of the single cells. This ensures the alignment accuracy of the internal flow channels and electrodes of the entire stack, effectively reducing contact resistance and the risk of internal short circuits, improving the consistency and performance of the batteries. The overall coaxiality error after stacking is ≤0.2mm, effectively avoiding the generation of sealing gaps and solving the problem of electrolyte leakage.

[0016] 2. Integrated Sealing and Flow Guiding: The fluororubber elastic sealing gasket is embedded in the sealing groove, and the V-shaped flow guiding groove on the surface ensures sealing performance while guiding electrolyte flow, improving battery reaction efficiency; at the same time, it ensures excellent resistance to electrolyte corrosion, making the stress distribution of the sealing gasket more uniform and its resilience better during compression. The pre-compression design ensures that effective sealing force is maintained during long-term operation, significantly reducing the leakage rate.

[0017] 3. Highly Efficient Heat Dissipation: The serpentine heat dissipation channel is directly integrated into the inner side of the aluminum alloy end plate. This channel fits tightly against the fuel cell stack body, ensuring direct contact with the stack's largest surface area and forming a highly efficient heat conduction path. This integrated design significantly improves heat dissipation efficiency. Combined with deionized water coolant circulation, heat dissipation efficiency is increased by 40%, eliminating the need for additional heat dissipation components and ensuring the fuel cell stack's operating temperature is controlled within the 25-35℃ range, guaranteeing stable battery performance.

[0018] 4. Easy assembly and disassembly: The fastening method using quick-release bolts and wing nuts allows for quick clamping and disassembly of the fuel cell stack without the need for professional tools. This greatly facilitates on-site maintenance, repair, and single-cell replacement, reducing maintenance time by 60%, lowering maintenance costs and time, and improving maintenance efficiency.

[0019] 5. Stable Fixation: The silicone buffer pad absorbs vibration, effectively absorbing and isolating the mechanical vibration and impact generated during fuel cell operation, protecting the internal structure of the fuel cell, avoiding loosening of the fixation due to long-term operation, and extending the service life of the fuel cell to more than 8 years. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the vanadium redox flow battery stack installation structure provided by the present invention; Figure 2 This is a magnified view of a section of the guide post; Figure 3 This is a partial cross-sectional view of the elastic sealing gasket and a partial enlarged view of the V-shaped guide groove; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the heat dissipation channel structure inside the end plate.

[0021] 1-Stack body, 2-End plate, 3-Quick-release bolt, 4-Wing nut, 5-Guide post, 6-Buffer pad; 7-Single cell, 8-Positioning hole, 9-Sealing groove, 10-Elastic sealing gasket, 11-V-shaped flow channel; 12-Serpentine heat dissipation channel 13-Coolant inlet, 14-Coolant outlet. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The technical solution of this utility model will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0023] like Figure 1 The vanadium redox flow battery stack installation structure provided by this utility model mainly includes a stack body 1, two end plates 2, a positioning component, a sealing component, a heat dissipation component, and a fixing component.

[0024] The fuel cell stack 1 is composed of hundreds of individual cells 7 stacked together. Each individual cell 7 has holes with a diameter of 10 mm and a wall roughness of Ra0.8 μm machined at its four corners for through guide posts. The specific configuration of the individual cell is as follows: rectangular structure, 400 mm in length, 300 mm in width, and 5 mm in thickness.

[0025] The positioning assembly includes four guide posts 5. For example... Figure 2 As shown, the surface of guide post 5 is laser-etched. It has a scale marking with an accuracy of ±0.1mm. During assembly, the operator can insert the individual batteries 7 into the guide posts 5 one by one according to the scale to ensure that the overall coaxiality error after stacking does not exceed 0.2mm. The guide posts are made of 304 stainless steel, φ9.8mm×500mm, with laser-etched scale markings on the surface, with an accuracy of ±0.1mm, marked every 10mm.

[0026] The sealing component is a fluororubber elastic gasket 10 with a Shore hardness of 70°. The thickness of the elastic gasket 10 is designed to be 0.5 mm greater than the depth of the sealing groove 9, thus creating pre-compression after assembly. Its surface is machined with V-shaped guide grooves 11, each with an opening angle of 60°, a groove width of 2 mm, a groove depth of 1 mm, and a spacing of 5 mm. Figure 3 As shown in the figure. This structure enables the gasket to distribute stress evenly under pressure and provides a micro-deformation space, enhancing the reliability of the seal.

[0027] End plate: made of aluminum alloy, 400mm×300mm×20mm, with a serpentine heat dissipation channel 15mm wide and 8mm deep on the inside, a bending radius of 20mm, a total length of 2m, and φ20mm coolant inlet and outlet on both sides, equipped with quick connectors.

[0028] The heat dissipation components are integrated onto end plate 2. End plate 2 is made of 6061 aluminum alloy. Figure 4As shown, a serpentine heat dissipation channel 12 is machined on its inner side. The channel cross-section is 15mm wide and 8mm deep, with a bending radius of 20mm and a total length of approximately 2 meters. The end plate 2 has coolant inlets 13 and outlets 14 with a diameter of 20mm on both sides, and is equipped with quick connectors for easy connection to an external cooling circulation system. Deionized water is used as the coolant. When the fuel cell stack is operating, heat is rapidly conducted through the end plate 2 to the flowing coolant and carried away.

[0029] On the outside of end plate 2, a silicone buffer pad 6 with a thickness of 8mm and a Shore hardness of 50° is also fixed by adhesive for shock absorption.

[0030] The fixing assembly uses two M16×150mm high-strength carbon steel quick-release bolts 3 and matching nylon-coated carbon steel wing nuts 4. The wing nuts 4 have a nylon-coated carbon steel structure with an outer diameter of 40mm; the silicone buffer pad is 8mm thick, with a Shore hardness of 50°, and dimensions of 400mm×300mm. After assembly, use a torque wrench to uniformly control the tightening torque of the wing nuts to 20N·m to provide a uniform and stable clamping force. When maintenance is required, the wing nuts can be quickly removed by hand.

[0031] Assembly process 1. Insert the four guide posts into the four corner positioning holes 8 of the end plate, ensuring that the guide posts are fixed perpendicularly to the end plate.

[0032] 2. Insert the individual cells into the guide posts one by one, and adjust the position of the individual cells according to the scale markings on the surface of the guide posts to ensure that all individual cells are accurately aligned. After stacking, the overall coaxiality error should be ≤0.2mm.

[0033] 3. Embed the elastic sealing gasket into the sealing groove of the single battery, ensuring that the sealing gasket fits tightly against the groove wall, and control the compression amount to 0.5mm.

[0034] 4. Install the other end plate, ensuring the guide post passes through the positioning hole of the end plate and that the end plate is in close contact with the side of the fuel cell stack body.

[0035] 5. Insert the quick-release bolts through both end plates and tighten the wing nuts. Control the tightening torque to 20 N·m to avoid overtightening and damaging the single battery.

[0036] 6. Connect the coolant circulation system to the coolant inlet and outlet of the end plate using quick connectors, set the coolant flow rate to 1000L / h, and complete the installation.

[0037] Work process: During operation, the heat generated by each cell is transferred through the side to the serpentine heat dissipation channels inside the endplate. Coolant circulates within these channels, carrying the heat away from the stack. Elastic sealing gaskets ensure a seal between cells, while V-shaped flow channels on the surface guide the electrolyte to flow evenly, improving reaction efficiency. Guide posts ensure precise cell positioning, and buffer pads absorb vibrations during stack operation, ensuring structural stability. Maintenance is simple: just loosen the wing nuts and pull out the quick-release bolts to remove the endplate and individual cells – a convenient and efficient process.

[0038] A 60kW vanadium redox flow battery stack assembled using this mounting structure was tested and found to have an internal temperature difference controlled within ±2℃ after 1000 hours of operation at rated power. The electrolyte leakage rate was zero, and the disassembly and maintenance time was reduced by more than 70% compared to traditional structures, fully demonstrating the effectiveness and superiority of this utility model.

[0039] This utility model solves many defects in the existing vanadium redox flow battery stack installation structure through an integrated design of "positioning-sealing-heat dissipation-fixation", improves the overall performance and service life of the battery, and has broad application prospects.

[0040] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of this utility model and not to limit it; although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the specific implementation of this utility model or equivalent substitutions can be made to some technical features without departing from the spirit of the technical solution of this utility model, and all such modifications and substitutions should be covered within the scope of the technical solution claimed by this utility model.

Claims

1. A vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure, characterized in that, It includes the fuel cell stack body, end plates, positioning components, sealing components, heat dissipation components, and fixing components; The stack body is composed of several individual cells stacked together, and the edges of the individual cells are provided with holes and sealing grooves. The positioning component includes a guide post that passes through all the holes of the individual cells and is fixedly connected to the end plate at both ends, for the purpose of achieving precise alignment of the individual cells. The sealing component is an elastic sealing gasket, which is embedded in the sealing groove of a single cell to achieve sealing between the single cells; The heat dissipation assembly includes a heat dissipation channel formed on the inner side of the end plate. The heat dissipation channel is in close contact with the side of the fuel cell stack body to dissipate the heat generated by the fuel cell stack during operation. The fixing assembly includes quick-release bolts and wing nuts. The quick-release bolts pass through both end plates and are locked in place by the wing nuts, thus achieving detachable fixing of the entire fuel cell stack.

2. The vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The guide post surface is provided with laser-etched scale markings with a scale accuracy of ±0.1mm, ensuring that the overall coaxiality error after stacking single cells is ≤0.2mm.

3. The vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastic sealing gasket is made of fluororubber with a Shore hardness of 70°. Its thickness is 0.5 mm greater than the depth of the sealing groove. The surface is provided with a V-shaped guide groove with an opening angle of 60°. The guide groove is 2 mm wide and 1 mm deep, and the distance between adjacent guide grooves is 5 mm.

4. The vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The end plate is made of aluminum alloy. The heat dissipation channel has a serpentine structure with a channel width of 15mm, a depth of 8mm, a bending radius of 20mm, and a total length of 2m. The coolant flowing in the heat dissipation channel is deionized water.

5. The vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, A silicone buffer pad is attached to the outer side of the end plate. The buffer pad has a Shore hardness of 50° and a thickness of 5-10 mm and is used to absorb vibrations generated during the operation of the fuel cell stack.

6. The vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The single cell has four holes on its edge, which are evenly distributed at the four corners of the cell. The diameter of each hole is 10 mm and the roughness of the hole wall is ≤ Ra0.8 μm.

7. The vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The quick-release bolt is M16×150mm and made of high-strength carbon steel; the wing nut is made of nylon-wrapped carbon steel with an outer diameter of 40mm, and the tightening torque of the quick-release bolt is controlled at 20N·m.

8. The vanadium redox flow battery stack mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The end plate has coolant inlets and outlets on both sides that communicate with the heat dissipation channel. The inlet and outlet pipes at the coolant inlets and outlets have a diameter of 20mm and are equipped with quick connectors for connecting to the coolant circulation system.

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