Fuel cell membrane humidifier

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a hollow fiber membrane cartridge that includes a main housing; a seal mount protruding from an end of the cartridge housing and a fixing layer for potting a number of membranes on both side ends of the main body, the hollow fiber membrane cartridge being installed inside the main housing; an inlet housing that includes a coupling part installed in an inlet connection part of the main housing, a seal ground part formed inside the coupling part, and a main chamber into which dry air is supplied via a cooler; a coupling part installed in an outlet connection part of the main housing, a gas inlet through which gas is supplied from a hydrogen fuel cell stack, and a sealing part formed on the inner side of the sealing part; the back pressure passage communicating between the main chamber and the seal contact portion; and a variable seal comprising a body elastically grounded to the outer peripheral surface of the seal mount and a rib that elastically deforms relative to the body portion and is in close contact with the seal contact portion, and a back pressure passage communicating between the main chamber and the seal contact portion, wherein the back pressure passage is configured so that the ground pressure of the rib against the seal contact portion increases in response to the dry air pressure of the main chamber introduced through the back pressure passage when the dry air is supplied.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a fuel cell membrane humidifier that has been improved so that airtightness between an inlet housing and a cartridge can be maintained during the manufacture of the membrane humidifier, and that airtightness and sealing pressure increase when dry air is supplied, thereby stably maintaining the supply of dry air and the power generation efficiency of the fuel cell. [Background technology]

[0002] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the material described in this section is not prior art to the claims of this application and is not admitted to be prior art by virtue of being described in this section.

[0003] Generally, hydrogen fuel cells utilize the electricity generated when hydrogen fuel reacts with oxygen. , high Various types of fuel cells have been developed, including polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC), and double exchange membrane fuel cells.

[0004] In particular, the selectively permeable membrane used in the membrane humidification method is preferably a hollow fiber membrane, which has a large permeation area per unit volume when forming a module. When a humidifier is manufactured using hollow fiber membranes, it is possible to highly integrate hollow fiber membranes with a large contact surface area, so that sufficient humidification of the fuel cell can be achieved even with a small capacity, and it is possible to use low-cost materials. In addition, it is possible to recover moisture and heat contained in the high-temperature gas (or off-gas) discharged from the fuel cell and reuse it through the humidifier.

[0005] As one of the prior arts, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2265021 discloses a fuel cell membrane humidifier in which an assembly member is provided between the ends of a cap case and a middle case.

[0006] More specifically, the conventional fuel cell membrane humidifier disclosed above includes a middle case that houses multiple hollow fiber membranes, a cap case that is connected to the middle case, a potting portion that is formed at the ends of the multiple hollow fiber membranes and is positioned so as to be spaced apart from the inner surface of the middle case, an assembly member that is positioned between the ends of the cap case and the middle case and airtightly connects them, and a protrusion that extends from the inside of the cap case toward the edge of the potting portion and airtightly connects the cap case and the potting portion, and the edge of the potting portion is contracted by a predetermined depth by the protrusion.

[0007] The fuel cell membrane humidifier is presented as a design structure in which the packing members are configured so that the ends of the cap case and the middle case are in direct contact with each other, thereby maintaining airtightness of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge during the process of supplying dry air for humidification into the hollow fiber membrane.

[0008] However, although the conventional membrane humidifiers described above provide packing for the ends of the humidification module, the airtightness between the cap case, middle case, and hollow fiber membrane cartridge, to which high-pressure dry air is supplied, decreases over long-term use, causing dry air leakage. This not only reduces the efficiency of humidified air supply, but also has a negative impact on the power generation efficiency of the connected batteries.

[0009] In order to solve these problems, various research and development efforts have been made in the fields of assembly structure and packing design of cartridges and main housings for membrane humidifiers. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2265021 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] The disclosed invention aims to provide a fuel cell membrane humidifier in which the air pressure introduced into the main chamber of the inlet housing when dry air is supplied acts on a variable seal through a back pressure passage, thereby increasing the airtightness between the cartridge housing and the inlet housing and maintaining a stable humidified flow of dry air against the membrane.

[0012] Another object of the disclosed invention is to provide a fuel cell membrane humidifier that can stably maintain the power generation efficiency of a fuel cell by forming a circulating flow or vortex flow of gas without dead zones inside a hollow fiber membrane cartridge and stably maintaining a humidifying flow of dry air against the membrane. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] One feature of the invention according to the disclosed contents is a main housing having an inlet connection part formed at one end of the main body, an outlet connection part formed at the other end of the main body, and a gas outlet port formed on one side of the main body; a hollow fiber membrane cartridge installed inside the main housing, the cartridge housing having a seal mount protruding from an end of the cartridge housing and a fixing layer for potting a plurality of membranes on both side ends of the main body; an inlet housing having a coupling part attached to the inlet connection part of the main housing, a seal ground part formed inside the coupling part, and a main chamber into which dry air is supplied via a cooler; an outlet housing having a coupling part attached to the outlet connection part of the main housing, a gas inlet through which gas is supplied from a hydrogen fuel cell stack, a second chamber formed via the membrane, and a cartridge insertion part to which one side end of the cartridge housing is coupled; a body elastically grounded on the outer circumferential surface of the seal mount. Departmentand a variable seal having a rib that elastically deforms relative to the body portion and is in close contact with the seal contact portion; and a back pressure passage that communicates between the main chamber and the seal contact portion, wherein the contact pressure of the rib against the seal contact portion increases in accordance with the dry air pressure of the main chamber introduced through the back pressure passage when the dry air is supplied.

[0014] Another feature of the invention, according to one embodiment, is that the variable seal is Department The present invention provides a fuel cell membrane humidifier having a first groove recessed on one side thereof and a second groove formed apart from the first groove and configured to accommodate the dry air pressure.

[0015] Another feature of the invention, according to one embodiment, is to provide a fuel cell membrane humidifier, wherein the ribs extend outwardly from the second groove at a variable predetermined angle.

[0016] Another feature of the invention, according to one embodiment, is to provide a fuel cell membrane humidifier, wherein the variable seal is configured in a cartridge insert of the outlet housing.

[0017] Another feature of the invention, according to one embodiment, is to provide a fuel cell membrane humidifier, wherein the variable seal is comprised of an elastic member including a rubber material.

[0018] Another feature of the invention according to one embodiment is to provide a fuel cell membrane humidifier, wherein the hollow fiber membrane cartridge comprises an arrangement of upstream distribution ports, midstream distribution ports, and downstream distribution ports formed on one side wall of the cartridge housing, and an arrangement of upstream outlet ports, midstream outlet ports, and downstream outlet ports formed on the other side wall of the cartridge housing, the distribution ports being formed in a multi-layer arrangement so that the opening area gradually increases from upstream to downstream, and the outlet ports being formed in a multi-layer arrangement so that the opening area gradually increases from downstream to upstream. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to one embodiment disclosed in the present specification, the variable seal for a membrane humidifier has an advantage that the ground pressure or seal pressure increases due to the back pressure generated by the air pressure formed in the main chamber of the inlet housing together with its own elastic force, thereby firmly maintaining the airtightness and sealing performance between the inlet housing and the hollow fiber membrane cartridge, as well as maintaining a stable flow of dry air.

[0020] Furthermore, according to one embodiment disclosed in the present specification, the arrangement of the distribution ports and discharge ports, each having a different opening area on the upstream, midstream, and downstream sides of the cartridge housing, allows the humidified gas to circulate within the hollow fiber membrane module, thereby providing the advantage of maximizing humidification efficiency without dead zones for the dry compressed air passing through the interior of the cartridge and the hollow fiber membranes.

[0021] Furthermore, the effects of the present invention described in this way are naturally exhibited by the configuration of the described content, regardless of whether the inventor is aware of them or not, and therefore the effects described above are merely some of the effects resulting from the described content and should not be recognized as describing all of the effects that the inventor is aware of or that actually exist.

[0022] Furthermore, the effects of the present invention should be further understood from the overall description of the specification, and even if not explicitly stated, if a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the described content belongs can recognize such an effect through this specification, it should be considered to be an effect described in this specification. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the invention disclosed herein. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the fuel cell membrane humidifier shown in FIG. [Figure 3]1 is a schematic perspective view of a variable seal according to one embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the initial state of a variable seal for a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operating state of the variable seal when supplying dry air in a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] The structure, operation, and effects of a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to a preferred embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, components are omitted or shown schematically for convenience and clarity, and the size of each component does not reflect its actual size. Furthermore, the same reference numerals refer to the same components throughout the specification, and the same reference numerals are omitted for the same components in individual drawings.

[0025] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification, Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the main parts of the fuel cell membrane humidifier shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a schematic oblique view of a variable seal according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a schematic view showing the initial state of a variable seal for a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is a schematic view showing the operating state of the variable seal when dry air is supplied to a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 6 is a schematic exploded oblique view of a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a main housing 10, a hollow fiber membrane cartridge 20 installed inside the main housing 10, and an inlet housing 30 and an outlet housing 40 mounted on both sides of the main housing 10, respectively.

[0027] The main housing 10 includes an inlet connector 11 formed at one end of the body, an outlet connector 12 formed at the other end of the body, and a gas outlet 16 formed on one side of the body.

[0028] The hollow fiber membrane cartridge 20 comprises a seal mount 22 protruding from the end of the cartridge housing 21 and a fixing layer 23 for potting a number of membranes M on both side ends of the main body, and is installed inside the main housing 10.

[0029] More specifically, the main housing 10 includes a flow-in section 13 that forms an inlet for gas discharged from the fuel cell, a flow-out section 15 that forms an outlet for the gas, and at least one cartridge support section 14 (14a, 14b) formed on the inner wall of the main body between the flow-in section 13 and the flow-out section 15.

[0030] The hollow fiber membrane cartridge 20 includes at least one support portion 24 (24a, 24b) for being attached to the cartridge support portion 14 (14a, 14b) inside the main housing 10.

[0031] The inlet housing 30 includes a coupling part 31 attached to the inlet connection part 11 of the main housing 10, a seal ground part 32 formed inside the coupling part 31, and a main chamber 33 into which dry air is supplied via a cooler 36. The inlet housing 30 is not limited to a specific shape, and as one example, as shown in the drawing, the coupling part 31 may have a square box structure with an open outside, and an air inlet 37 is formed on the other side of the coupling part 31 of the inlet housing 30.

[0032] The outlet housing 40 includes a coupling part 41 attached to the outlet connection part 12 of the main housing 10, a gas inlet part 42 to which gas is supplied from the hydrogen fuel cell stack, a second chamber 43 through which humid air formed via the membrane M flows, and a cartridge insertion part 44 to which one end of the cartridge housing 21 is coupled. The outlet housing 40 may include a gas inlet 45 and an air outlet 46 as in the conventional art.

[0033] During assembly, the flow-in section 13 of the main housing 10 forms a flow space into which high-pressure, high-humidity gas or water vapor generated by the hydrogen fuel cell flows in through the gas inlet 42 of the outlet housing 40, and the flow-out section 15 forms a flow space through which the gas circulates inside the cartridge housing 21, comes into sufficient contact with the membrane M or hollow fiber membrane without any dead zones, and then is discharged to the outside of the cartridge housing 21.

[0034] The inlet housing 30 and the outlet housing 40 may be fixed to the inlet connection part 11 and the outlet connection part 12 of the main housing 10 through a bolting or guide pin assembly process, respectively, during the cartridge assembly and membrane humidifier manufacturing process.

[0035] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the membrane humidifier according to the present invention includes the seal mount. 22 Body elastically grounded on the outer surface of Department a variable seal (50) having a body portion (51) and a rib (52) that elastically deforms relative to the body portion (51) and is in close contact with the seal contact portion (32); and a back pressure passage (34) that communicates between the main chamber (33) and the seal contact portion (32), and is configured so that the contact pressure of the rib (52) against the seal contact portion (32) increases in accordance with the dry air pressure of the main chamber (33) introduced through the back pressure passage (34) when the dry air is supplied.

[0036] The variable seal 50 is Department The dry air supply pipe 51 has a first groove 53 recessed on one side thereof, and a second groove 54 formed apart from the first groove 53 and configured to receive the dry air pressure. The rib 52 has a predetermined variable angle and extends outward from the second groove 54.

[0037] Preferably, the variable seal 50 is made of an elastic material including a rubber material, and the rib 52 is attached to the body so as to bend in response to the air pressure applied through the back pressure passage 34. Department 51 is formed integrally with the

[0038] Referring to FIG. 5, when dry air is supplied to the main chamber 33 in the inlet housing 30 at a predetermined pressure, for example, when dry air is supplied to the main chamber 33 at a high pressure relative to the internal pressure of the cartridge housing 21, a portion of the dry air flows along the back pressure passage 34 and creates back pressure on the second groove 54.

[0039] The back pressure impinges on the surface of the second groove 54 and acts as a force pushing the rib 52 toward the seal contact portion 32 of the inlet housing 30. As a result, the rib 52 has its own elastic force and the contact pressure increased by the back pressure, thereby firmly maintaining airtightness and sealing performance.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 6, according to another embodiment of the present invention, an adapter 60 may be further included that guides airflow between the hollow fiber membrane cartridge 20 mounted in the main housing 10 and the inlet housing 30 and guides the airflow onto the inlet of the membrane M of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge. In this case, the variable seal 50 as described above may be configured at the end of the hollow fiber membrane cartridge 20.

[0041] Meanwhile, the hollow fiber membrane cartridge 20 according to the present invention comprises a distribution port array 25 including an upstream distribution port 25a, a midstream distribution port 25b, and a downstream distribution port 25c formed on one side wall of a cartridge housing 21; 21 and an outlet array 26 including an upstream outlet 26a, a midstream outlet 26b, and a downstream outlet 26c formed in the other side wall of the nozzle.

[0042] The distribution holes 25 (25a, 25b, 25c) are arranged in a multi-layered arrangement so that the opening area gradually increases from upstream to downstream. For example, as shown in the figure, the number of through-holes may gradually increase from the upstream distribution hole 25a toward the downstream distribution hole 25c.

[0043] The distribution port array 25 includes through-holes whose opening areas increase as they move away from the flow-in section 13 .

[0044] Although not shown, in other modified embodiments, the upstream distribution port 25a, midstream distribution port 25b, and downstream distribution port 25c may each have a through-hole structure with a different opening area, and may have various geometric variations, including circular holes, triangular holes, rectangular holes, etc.

[0045] Meanwhile, the outlets 26 (26a, 26b, 26c) are formed in a multi-layer arrangement so that the opening area gradually increases from the upstream to the downstream. For example, as shown in the figure, the number of through-holes may gradually increase from the upstream outlet 26a toward the downstream outlet 26c.

[0046] The outlet array 26 (26a, 26b, 26c) is configured to include through-holes whose opening areas become smaller as they are further away from the flow-out section 15.

[0047] Although not shown, in other variant embodiments, the upstream outlet 26a, midstream outlet 26b and downstream outlet 26c may each have a through-hole structure with a different opening area, and may have various geometric variations including a circular hole, a triangular hole, a rectangular hole, etc. [Example]

[0048] In the humidification operation for dry air, gas generated in a hydrogen fuel cell stack (not shown) is usually provided in the form of water vapor at a predetermined high pressure, which is supplied through the gas inlet 42 of the outlet housing 40 and is temporarily filled into the flow-in section 13 of the main housing 10.

[0049] Next, the gas filled in the flow-in section 13 flows into the inside of the cartridge housing 21 through an upstream distribution port 25a, a midstream distribution port 25b, and a downstream distribution port 25c provided in that order on one side wall of the cartridge housing 21.

[0050] During this process, the gas is pumped through the cartridge housing. 21 The air circulates through the membrane M and the hollow fiber membrane module without any dead zones, forming a predetermined circulating airflow and vortex flow (see the spiral arrows in Figure 1) between the upper, middle, and lower regions of the hollow fiber membrane module inside, and then flows into the flow-out section 15 of the main housing 10 through the discharge ports 26a, 26b, and 26c.

[0051] On the other hand, external dry air that needs to be humidified is filled into the main chamber 33 of the inlet housing 30 at a predetermined pressure and introduced onto the second groove 54 of the variable seal 50 along the back pressure passage 34.

[0052] The back pressure introduced onto the second groove 54 of the variable seal 50 is applied to the rib 52 the outside or the grounding part of the inlet housing 30 32 For example, the back pressure applied to the variable seal 50 acts as a pushing force to the body side. Department The horizontal and vertical forces F acting on the surface of the membrane module M through the ribs 51 and 52 firmly maintain the airtight seal, thereby stably maintaining the flow of dry air passing through the inlet housing 30 and the membrane module M.

[0053] As described above, the dry air flowing from the main chamber 33 of the inlet housing 30 through the inside of the membrane or hollow fiber membrane M is sufficiently humidified in a stable flow, and then supplied to the hydrogen fuel cell stack through the second chamber 43 and the air outlet 46 of the outlet housing 40.

[0054] As described above, the fuel cell membrane humidifier according to the present invention improves humidification efficiency by forming uniform contact with the gas supplied from the hydrogen fuel cell stack throughout the entire upper, middle, and lower arrangement of the membrane module M or hollow fiber membrane module, and also improves the performance of the membrane humidifier by maintaining a tight airtight seal in the main chamber 33 of the inlet housing 30, thereby increasing the efficiency of supplying dry air.

[0055] In the description of the present invention, the water filtering function of the membrane area during the flow of the gas and dry air is well known, so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0056] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not fully encompass the technical concepts of the present invention, and that various equivalents and modifications may exist at the time of filing this application. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood to be illustrative in all respects and not limiting, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims set forth below rather than the detailed description, and all modifications and variations derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0057] The fuel cell membrane humidifier according to the present invention can maintain airtightness between the inlet housing and the cartridge, and the airtightness and sealing pressure increase when dry air is supplied, which is useful for stably maintaining the supply of dry air and the power generation efficiency of the fuel cell.

Claims

1. a main housing having an inlet connector formed at one end of the body, an outlet connector formed at the other end of the body, and a gas outlet formed on one side of the body; a hollow fiber membrane cartridge installed inside the main housing, the hollow fiber membrane cartridge comprising a seal mount protruding from an end of the cartridge housing and a fixing layer for potting a number of membranes on both side ends of the main body; an inlet housing including a coupling part attached to an inlet connection part of the main housing, a seal ground part formed inside the coupling part, and a main chamber into which dry air is supplied via a cooler; an outlet housing including: a coupling part mounted to the outlet connection part of the main housing; a gas inlet through which gas is supplied from the hydrogen fuel cell stack; a second chamber formed through the membrane and through which humid air flows; and a cartridge insertion part to which one end of the cartridge housing is coupled; a variable seal including a body portion elastically grounded on the outer peripheral surface of the seal mount, and a rib elastically deformed relative to the body portion and tightly contacted with the seal ground portion; and a back pressure passage communicating between the main chamber and the seal ground contact portion; When the dry air is supplied, the contact pressure of the rib against the seal contact portion increases in response to the dry air pressure of the main chamber introduced through the back pressure passage, The variable seal is a first groove recessed into one side of the body portion; and a second groove spaced apart from the first groove and configured to receive the dry air pressure, The rib is A fuel cell membrane humidifier, characterized in that the second groove extends outward at a predetermined variable angle.

2. 2. The fuel cell membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein the variable seal is made of an elastic member including a rubber material.

3. The hollow fiber membrane cartridge comprises: an arrangement of upstream distribution ports, midstream distribution ports, and downstream distribution ports formed in one side wall of the cartridge housing; an arrangement of an upstream outlet, a midstream outlet, and a downstream outlet formed in the other side wall of the cartridge housing; The distribution holes are formed in a multi-layer arrangement so that the opening area gradually increases from the upstream to the downstream, 2. The fuel cell membrane humidifier according to claim 1, wherein the outlet ports are arranged in a multi-layered arrangement such that the opening area gradually increases from downstream to upstream.

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