Fuel Cell Current-Collecting Plate Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel cells face challenges in achieving sufficient electrical conductivity and airtightness due to incomplete surface contact between the current-collecting plate and the cell stack, leading to inefficient power transmission and uneven pressure distribution.
Innovation Solution
A fuel cell design featuring a current-collecting plate with distinct conductive and airtight areas, where the conductive surface is in contact with the reaction surface and the airtight surface surrounds it, allowing for separate protrusions to ensure both electrical conductivity and airtightness, with the airtight surface often protruding further than the conductive surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the current-collecting plate is pressed against the cell stack, then electrical contact is improved, but pressure distribution becomes uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The plate structure is divided into conductive and airtight areas with different contact characteristics. The airtight area, which surrounds the conductive area, provides distributed sealing contact that helps evenly distribute pressure across the cell stack while the conductive area maintains electrical contact
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 enhances power transmission efficiency and ensures uniform pressure distribution across the cell stack, improving both electrical conductivity and airtightness while reducing manufacturing costs and weight.
Implementation Method 1
a conductive area having a conductive surface formed to be in electrically conductive surface contact with a reaction surface of the end of the cell stack
Implementation Method 2
an airtight area having an airtight surface formed to be in surface contact with a non-reaction surface of the end of the cell stack
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel cell is provided to include a cell stack in which unit cells are stacked in a first direction, an end plate disposed at the end of the cell stack, and a current-collecting plate disposed between the end plate and the end of the cell stack. The current-collecting plate includes a conductive area having a conductive surface, which is in electrically conductive surface contact with a reaction surface of the end of the cell stack, and configured to collect power generated by the cell stack, and an airtight area having an airtight surface, which is in airtight surface contact with a non-reaction surface of the end of the cell stack, and surrounding the conductive area. The degree to which the conductive surface protrudes toward the end of the cell stack is different from the degree to which the airtight surface protrudes toward the end of the cell stack.