Fuel Cell Stack Manifold Sensor Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel cell systems face challenges in accurately measuring water content due to laborious and time-consuming sensor attachment and replacement processes, particularly when dealing with non-circular fluid passages and cylindrical external pipes, which complicates sensing and reduces measurement accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A fuel cell stack design featuring a manifold member with differently shaped openings for fluid passages and external pipes, where a sensor member with a rod-shaped temperature sensor is positioned at an angle, attached to a sensor bracket, and securely fastened to the manifold, allowing for accurate fluid state monitoring within the overlapping area of these openings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the temperature sensor is attached to the power generation cell in the fuel cell stack, then the internal temperature of the fuel cell can be detected, but the operation of attaching and replacing the sensor becomes laborious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature sensor is extracted from the internal power generation cell structure and relocated to the external end plate. The sensor is now attached to the end plate rather than being integrated within the power generation cell, allowing easy removal and replacement without disassembling the fuel cell stack. This maintains the ability to detect internal temperature through the end plate while eliminating the time-consuming attachment and replacement operations.
2Ease of operation
If sensors are attached to fluid manifolds exposed to the outside of the end plate, then sensor replacement becomes easier, but the non-circular fluid passage shapes complicate the flow field and reduce sensing accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The end plate serves as an intermediary structure between the internal non-circular fluid passages and the external cylindrical sensor. The sensor is attached to the end plate at a position corresponding to the fluid passage, detecting temperature through the end plate material. This intermediary approach allows easy external sensor attachment while maintaining accurate measurement of the fluid state by detecting temperature at the end plate location that corresponds to the internal fluid passage.
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 enables simple, economical, and accurate sensor measurements by stabilizing the sensor within the fluid flow area, improving measurement precision and reducing operational complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature sensor for detecting temperature of an area where the decrease in the temperature over time is comparatively small due to the influence of the heat of condensation
Data Source
AI summary
An oxygen-containing gas discharge manifold member is provided for a first end plate of a fuel cell stack. The oxygen-containing gas discharge manifold member has a first opening connected to a non-circular oxygen-containing gas discharge passage and a second opening connected to a circular external pipe. In a front view of the first end plate, in an area where the opening shape of the first opening and the opening shape of the second opening are overlapped with each other a sensing part is provided.