Fuel Cell Cooling Device With Impervious Linear Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling devices for membrane fuel cell stacks suffer from poor heat extraction homogeneity, leading to localized temperature rises and membrane dehydration, which affects proton conductivity and overall performance.
Innovation Solution
The cooling device incorporates linear sections of impervious material, strategically placed and spaced to guide coolant flow in predetermined paths, ensuring uniform heat distribution across the fuel cell surface, with options including resilient and stiff materials applied through polymerization or embedding, to manage coolant flow and prevent stagnation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If coolant flows freely through the porous element without guidance, then the cooling device structure is simple, but heat extraction homogeneity is poor causing localized temperature rises
Solution Approach 1:
The porous element is segmented into multiple flow channels by impervious linear sections, dividing the coolant flow into predetermined paths. This segmentation ensures uniform distribution of coolant across the fuel cell stack surface, preventing localized temperature rises while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Impervious linear sections are strategically positioned at specific locations within the porous element to guide coolant flow where needed. These localized impervious regions create predetermined flow paths that ensure homogeneous heat extraction without requiring complete structural redesign of the entire cooling device.
2Temperature
If impervious linear sections are added to guide coolant flow, then cooling homogeneity is improved, but the porous element manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base element is made of porous material that allows coolant permeation, while impervious linear sections are integrated within it to guide flow. This combination leverages the natural properties of porous materials for manufacturing simplicity while adding flow guidance functionality through strategically placed impervious sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous element combines porous permeable material with impervious linear sections to create a composite structure. This composite approach allows the element to simultaneously provide coolant distribution through porous regions and flow guidance through impervious sections, achieving improved cooling homogeneity with manageable manufacturing complexity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If resilient impervious material is used for linear sections, then the element can compensate for thermal dilatations, but the material selection and application process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The impervious linear sections are made from resilient material whose physical parameters (elasticity, compliance) allow it to deform and compensate for thermal expansions and contractions of the fuel cell stack. This parameter selection enables the cooling device to maintain effective contact and homogeneous cooling under varying thermal conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient nature of the impervious linear sections provides beforehand cushioning against thermal stresses. The material's elasticity anticipates and absorbs thermal dilatations and contractions, preventing damage to the cooling device structure and maintaining stable operation throughout the fuel cell stack's thermal cycles.
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 solution enhances cooling homogeneity, maintaining optimal membrane hydration and preventing dehydration, thereby improving fuel cell performance and reliability by maintaining a stable internal temperature within operational limits.
Implementation Method 1
The porous element is provided with linear sections of material impervious to the fluid passage disposed so as to guide the coolant along predetermined paths
Implementation Method 2
the cooling is normally effected by making the coolant flow along at least one of the bipolar plates
Implementation Method 3
The conversion efficiency of the chemical energy of reaction into electrical energy... is largely below 100%: the portion of chemical energy not converted to electrical energy is dissipated as thermal energy which must be extracted by a suitable cooling device
Data Source
AI summary
The cooling device of the present invention is intercalated to the fuel cells assembled in a stack and comprises a planar, elastically deformable, conductive and porous element capable of ensuring both the passage of a suitable coolant and the electrical continuity between the walls delimiting the same. The planar conductive deformable and porous element is characterized by being provided with linear sections capable of guiding the coolant flow so as to reliably achieve a uniform heat withdrawal. The linear sections may have a straight shape and consist of inert impervious and preferably elastic material.