Fuel Cell Air Exhaust Shield for Cold Start Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel cell systems face challenges in maintaining starting performance at low temperatures due to supercooling, leading to increased complexity and size when using heat exchangers and air conduits for warming reaction air, which complicates mounting on vehicles.
Innovation Solution
An air supply and exhaust structure with a movable vane system that temporarily blocks and re-introduces reaction air to the fuel cell, utilizing temperature detection to optimize airflow and enhance heating, preventing the need for additional piping and structure complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a heat exchanger and air conduit are arranged in the fuel cell system to warm reaction air, then the starting performance at low temperature is improved, but the system size increases and structure becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential function of warming reaction air from the complex heat exchanger system and implements it through a simplified air circulation path using a blower and shield units. The core warming function is retained while removing unnecessary piping and heat exchanger components, achieving structure simplification without sacrificing starting performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The reaction air serves multiple functions: it reacts with hydrogen in the fuel cell, cools the fuel cell during operation, and warms the fuel cell during cold start through circulation. The shield units and blower enable the same reaction air to perform heating function during cold start without requiring separate heating systems, achieving multi-functionality and reducing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If a heat exchanger and air conduit are arranged in the fuel cell system to warm reaction air, then the starting performance at low temperature is improved, but the system size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the heating function with the existing air circulation system. The same reaction air that naturally circulates through the fuel cell for cooling purposes is redirected to also perform heating during cold start, eliminating the need for separate heating pipes and conduits, thus reducing system size while maintaining starting performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuel cell system uses its own reaction air to warm itself during cold start, eliminating the need for external heating systems or separate thermal management components. The blower and shield units facilitate self-circulation of reaction air, allowing the system to service its own heating needs without adding external components.
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 effectively heats the fuel cell to operating temperature without upsizing the system, improving starting performance at low temperatures while maintaining a compact structure, ensuring stable operation in varying conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the reaction air is introduced to the fuel cell a plurality of times to have reactions, so that temperature increase is promoted
Data Source
AI summary
An air supply and exhaust structure for supplying a reaction air to a fuel cell and exhausting the reaction air passing through the fuel cell includes: an intake duct configured to guide reaction air to the fuel cell; an exhaust duct configured to discharge the reaction air passing through the fuel cell to an outside of the fuel cell; a blower provided in the exhaust duct and configured to suck the reaction air passing through the fuel cell to promote discharge of the reaction air; and an exhaust side shield unit which is disposed inside the exhaust duct and between the fuel cell and the blower and configured to temporarily block the reaction air discharged from the fuel cell and to retain the reaction air in a periphery of the fuel cell so as to introduce the reaction air to the fuel cell.