Fuel Cell Humidifier Partition Layout for Uniform Gas Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing humidifiers for fuel cells suffer from uneven distribution of high-humidity unreacted gas, leading to inefficient humidification and reduced replacement periods of hollow fiber membranes due to channeling phenomena and pressure differences.
Innovation Solution
A humidifier design featuring a membrane housing with partition plates that divide the inner space into unit spaces, equipped with distribution holes and a cover with protrusions to ensure uniform gas distribution across all hollow fiber membranes, preventing channeling and pressure-related inefficiencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If high-humidity unreacted gas is introduced into the membrane housing, then moisture supply to hollow fiber membranes is enhanced, but the gas flows concentratedly toward the lowest-pressure region causing unequal distribution and channeling
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane housing is divided into multiple compartments by partition plates, with each compartment containing a subset of hollow fiber membranes. Distribution holes are provided in each partition plate to introduce high-humidity unreacted gas into respective compartments. This segmentation prevents concentrated flow toward a single lowest-pressure region and ensures uniform gas distribution across all hollow fiber membranes.
Solution Approach 2:
Partition plates act as intermediary structures that control and distribute the high-humidity unreacted gas flow. The partition plates with distribution holes serve as mediators between the gas inlet and the hollow fiber membranes, ensuring that gas is distributed uniformly to all membranes rather than flowing concentratedly to one region.
2Productivity
If hollow fiber membranes are highly integrated to increase permeation area, then humidifying performance is improved, but contamination level differences among membranes increase and replacement period shortens
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the membrane housing into multiple compartments, each hollow fiber membrane or group of membranes receives relatively uniform gas flow. This prevents certain membranes from being overloaded with contamination while others are underutilized, thereby extending the overall replacement period while maintaining high humidifying performance through integrated membranes.
3Reliability
If partition plates are added to divide the membrane housing into unit spaces, then gas distribution uniformity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The membrane housing is divided into multiple compartments by partition plates, with each compartment containing a subset of hollow fiber membranes. Distribution holes are provided in each partition plate to introduce high-humidity unreacted gas into respective compartments. This segmentation prevents concentrated flow toward a single lowest-pressure region and ensures uniform gas distribution across all hollow fiber membranes.
Solution Approach 2:
The partition plates serve multiple functions: they divide the housing into compartments, provide distribution holes for gas introduction, and act as structural support for the hollow fiber membranes. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
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 ensures uniform humidification of all reaction gas and extends the replacement period of hollow fiber membranes by maintaining consistent moisture supply and reducing contamination differences among them.
Implementation Method 1
The membrane humidifying method uses a membrane which selectively permeates only vapor contained in unreacted gas, to thereby supply the vapor contained in the unreacted gas to the polymer electrolyte membrane.
Data Source
Figure 1~3(b)
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AI summary
Disclosed is a humidifier for fuel cell, which facilitates to maximize humidifying performance and reducing the maintenance cost through the uniform humidification among all the hollow fiber membranes by preventing high-humidity unreacted gas introduced to the inside of membrane housing from flowing concentratedly toward a specific region in the membrane housing, wherein the humidifier comprises a membrane housing; a partition plate for dividing an inner space of the membrane housing into plural unit spaces; plural hollow fiber membranes in each of the unit spaces; and a cover mounted on an end of the membrane housing, the cover including an inlet for introducing unreacted gas of high-humidity discharged from a stack into the membrane housing, wherein plural distribution holes are provided in the membrane housing, the distribution holes corresponding to the unit spaces respectively.