Stacked Fuel Cell Afterburner Flow Paths for Combustion Heat Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fuel cell afterburners face issues with low fuel ratios leading to incomplete combustion and high temperatures that can damage structural safety.
Innovation Solution
The fuel cell afterburner incorporates a flow path control partition unit within stacked chambers, including a lower bypass chamber, a combustion chamber, and an upper bypass chamber, to control oxidant supply, facilitate smooth fuel and oxidant mixing, and absorb excessive heat.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If combustion is performed in a conventional afterburner, then heat is generated for system operation, but the temperature becomes excessively high (1300°C or higher) which may damage structural safety
Solution Approach 1:
The afterburner is divided into multiple combustion chambers (first, second, third combustion chambers) with partition walls between them. This segmentation distributes the combustion process across multiple zones, preventing localized overheating and reducing the maximum temperature in any single chamber, thereby protecting structural safety while maintaining overall heat generation.
Solution Approach 2:
Bypass channels are introduced as intermediary pathways that allow exhaust gas to flow between combustion chambers. These bypass channels act as heat transfer mediators, distributing heat more evenly across the system and preventing excessive temperature concentration in any single chamber, thus maintaining structural integrity.
2Productivity
If fuel utilization rate is increased to improve efficiency, then less fuel remains for combustion, but the fuel ratio becomes too low for natural ignition/combustion to occur
Solution Approach 1:
The combustion process is segmented into multiple chambers where different combustion conditions can be optimized independently. This allows the system to maintain high fuel utilization in the fuel cell while ensuring sufficient fuel reaches the afterburner for complete combustion, resolving the contradiction between efficiency and combustion completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary combustion in the fuel cell stacks before the afterburner. By pre-consumption of fuel in the fuel cell, the afterburner receives a controlled amount of fuel that is optimized for complete combustion, ensuring both high overall efficiency and complete fuel consumption in the afterburner.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively controls the oxidant supply, ensures smooth mixing of fuel and oxidant, prevents excessive heating, and forms and controls the flow resistance of gases within each chamber, enhancing the overall efficiency and safety of the fuel cell system.
Implementation Method 1
the cathode exhaust gas introduced from a first open end and the anode exhaust gas introduced through an internal inlet communicating with the transverse flow path of the lower bypass chamber are mixed and combusted
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a fuel cell afterburner having at least one flow path control partition unit inside stacked chambers. The fuel cell afterburner includes: a lower bypass chamber configured such that the cathode exhaust gas introduced from a first open end flows out and the anode exhaust gas introduced from one side is separated from the cathode exhaust gas and flows out; a combustion chamber configured such that the cathode exhaust gas introduced from a first open end and the anode exhaust gas introduced through an internal inlet are mixed and combusted and then moved to a second open end; and an upper bypass chamber configured such that the cathode exhaust gas introduced from a first open end flows out and the anode exhaust gas moving upward from the internal inlet of the combustion chamber does not enter the internal space of the upper bypass chamber.