Fuel Cell Stack Mount Structure with Sacrificial Side Brackets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel cell vehicle mount structures face challenges in reliably absorbing collision shocks and protecting fuel cell stacks without damaging them, as they are economically inefficient and lack effective energy absorption mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A mount structure for fuel cell stacks in fuel cell vehicles, featuring side mounts with lower strength than rear mounts, allowing side mounts to break prior to rear mounts when an external load is applied, enabling the fuel cell stack to move horizontally and absorb energy, while maintaining stability and reducing component count.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the fuel cell stack is rigidly fixed to the vehicle frame, then the stability of the fuel cell stack is improved, but the fuel cell stack cannot absorb collision energy and may be damaged during collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The mount structure is divided into multiple independent mounting positions (front, rear, left, right) with separate mounting means. Each mounting position can independently absorb collision energy through deformation, allowing the fuel cell stack to be protected without requiring a single complex rigid structure. The segmentation enables localized energy absorption while maintaining overall stack stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting means are designed with controlled deformation characteristics that change under external loads. During normal operation, the mounts maintain rigid fixation for stability. During collision, the mounts undergo controlled deformation to absorb energy, changing their mechanical parameters from rigid to flexible state, thereby protecting the fuel cell stack.
2Reliability
If multiple mounting positions are provided around the fuel cell stack, then the stability and protection of the fuel cell stack are improved, but the number of components and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting means used at each mounting position are designed to be substantially the same, serving multiple functions: providing rigid fixation during normal operation and absorbing collision energy during accidents. This universality allows the same component design to be replicated at multiple positions, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining stability and protection capabilities.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the mounting means are made strong to maintain stable fixation, then the reliability of the fixed state is improved, but the mounting means cannot break during collision to protect the fuel cell stack
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting means are pre-designed with controlled weakness or predetermined failure points that allow them to break at specific locations during collision. This preliminary design ensures that the mounts maintain strong fixation during normal operation but can sacrificially fail to protect the fuel cell stack during severe collisions, resolving the contradiction between stability and protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A mount structure includes side mounts for holding a fuel cell stack to thereby fix the fuel cell stack to first vehicle frames, and rear mounts for fixing the fuel cell stack to a second vehicle frame. The strength of the side mounts is lower than the strength of the rear mounts. In the structure, when an external load is applied to a fuel cell electric vehicle, the side mounts are broken prior to breakage of the rear mounts.