Fuel Cell Stack Alignment Pin Prevention Dam
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Solution Overview
Problem
In fuel cell stacks, the sealing material with viscosity and fluidity at sealing temperature often adheres to alignment pins, leading to non-uniform pressure application, increased volume, output deterioration, and potential damage due to external pressure.
Innovation Solution
A prevention dam is formed outside the alignment pin to prevent contact and adhesion with the sealing material, ensuring uniform pressure application by having a larger cross-sectional area than the holes in the end plates and a hollow column shape, potentially made of mica, insulating ceramics, or metal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pressure is applied to the stack at sealing temperature, then the sealing material bonds the constituent elements, but the sealing material adheres to the alignment pin causing non-uniform pressure application
Solution Approach 1:
A prevention dam is introduced as an intermediary component between the sealing material and the alignment pin. The prevention dam has a hollow column shape with cross-sectional area larger than the hole in the end plate, creating a physical barrier that prevents the sealing material from contacting the alignment pin while allowing pressure to be uniformly applied through the prevention dam to the sealing material.
2Ease of manufacture
If the sealing material has fluidity at sealing temperature, then it flows to bond constituent elements, but it is pushed out and adheres to the fastening member
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful adhesion effect is extracted and isolated by introducing the prevention dam. The prevention dam removes the direct contact path between the sealing material and the alignment pin, thereby extracting the adhesion problem from the sealing process while maintaining the beneficial fluidity of the sealing material for bonding.
3Strength
If external pressure is applied to the stack, then the constituent elements are bonded, but the volume increases and output deteriorates due to adhesion
Solution Approach 1:
The prevention dam serves as a mediator that transmits external pressure uniformly to the sealing material and constituent elements while preventing the sealing material from adhering to the alignment pin. This ensures that the full external pressure contributes to bonding strength rather than being wasted on adhesion, thereby maintaining fuel cell output.
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel cell stack has a prevention dam formed outside an alignment pin, such that a sealing material, which has viscosity and fluidity at a sealing temperature of a fuel cell, may be prevented from coming into contact with and adhering to the alignment pin, and pressure applied from the outside may be uniformly applied to the fuel cell stack.