Fuel Cell Power Pack Modular Insertion Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel cell units for electric vehicles, particularly those used in circuit racing, face challenges in achieving a balance between being lightweight, resistant to mechanical stresses, and allowing for rapid replacement, while also maintaining structural rigidity and avoiding deformation of polymer electrolyte membrane-based fuel cells during bending or torsion.
Innovation Solution
The fuel cell unit design features a shell with a housing that allows easy insertion and removal of fuel cells, with inlets and outlets on a large end plate that protrudes outside, and a peripheral bearing for external access, along with a guide mechanism to secure the small end plate, enhancing rigidity and simplifying installation and replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the fuel cell unit is designed to be lightweight for racing applications, then the structural rigidity and resistance to mechanical stresses deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel cell unit is divided into modular components: the stack assembly with end plates, the shell housing, and the connecting structure. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for weight and strength, enabling rapid replacement of the entire stack as a single module during pit stops while maintaining overall structural integrity through the shell and end plate design.
2Productivity
If the fuel cell unit allows rapid replacement during pit stops, then the structural rigidity and resistance to bending/torsion deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting structure is pre-installed and firmly anchored to the end plates before the stack needs replacement. This preliminary preparation allows the entire stack to be quickly removed and replaced as a single unit during pit stops, while the pre-positioned connecting structure ensures immediate structural stability upon installation of the new stack.
Solution Approach 2:
The end plates serve as intermediary components that interface between the removable stack and the fixed connecting structure. The large end plate with peripheral bearing provides a stable mounting interface that maintains structural rigidity during rapid stack replacement, acting as a mediator between the transient stack and the permanent chassis integration points.
3Ease of operation
If the inlets and outlets are arranged on the large end plate for external access, then the ease of installation and removal is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inlets and outlets for reactant gases and cooling fluid are extracted from the stack interior and relocated to the large end plate. This extraction provides external access to all fluid connections, allowing technicians to quickly disconnect and reconnect hoses during stack replacement without disassembling internal components, thereby simplifying the replacement operation despite the modified end plate design.
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 a lightweight, rigid fuel cell unit that can be quickly replaced, reducing the risk of deformation and improving operational efficiency by providing external access for connections and facilitating easy handling during pit stops.
Implementation Method 1
a connecting structure firmly anchored on the two end plates and prestressed so as to pull the latter, one in the direction on the other, for compressing the stack of fuel cells
Implementation Method 2
When fed by a flow of fuel and a flow of oxidizer, the electrochemical cells of a fuel cell are the scene of a controlled electrochemical reaction which produces electrical energy
Implementation Method 3
inlets and outlets for an anode reactant gas, a cathode reactant gas and a cooling fluid
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The fuel cell unit for an electric vehicle comprises at least one fuel cell (13) and a casing (1) containing the fuel cell (13). The casing (1) has at least one opening providing access to a housing, and the fuel cell (13) is inserted into the opening by one of its ends, such that one (17) of the two end plates of the fuel cell is located inside the housing, while the other end of the fuel cell protrudes from the opening. The end plate (15) located outside the casing (1) has a peripheral bearing surface (29) designed to be held against the periphery of the opening. Finally, the inlets and outlets for the anode reactive gas, the cathode reactive gas, and the coolant are arranged on the end plate (15) located outside the casing.