Fuel Cell Triple Seal Structure for Leakage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel cell stacks face challenges in reducing overall size and weight, preventing reactant gas leakage, and simplifying the sealing process, particularly when stacking a large number of fuel cells, due to the internal manifold structure and complex seal formation requirements.
Innovation Solution
A fuel cell design featuring a triple seal structure with integrally formed seal members on the second separator, where the first, second, and third seals are offset from each other, and the electrolyte electrode assembly has uneven portions to connect reactant gas flow fields with passages, reducing the need for separate seal members and simplifying the assembly process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate seal members are provided for each fuel cell, then leakage prevention is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple seal members (first seal, second seal, third seal) are integrally formed as a single piece on the second separator, combining multiple sealing functions into one component. This reduces the number of separate parts while maintaining comprehensive leakage prevention across different locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrally formed seal member performs multiple sealing functions simultaneously - the first seal prevents fuel gas leakage, the second seal prevents oxygen-containing gas leakage, and the third seal prevents coolant leakage, all through a single universal component structure.
2Reliability
If seal members are formed beforehand and then supported by separators, then sealing reliability is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The seal members are integrally formed directly on the second separator during the separator manufacturing process, merging the seal formation step with the separator manufacturing step. This eliminates the need for separate seal attachment operations and reduces assembly complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The seals are formed in advance as an integral part of the separator during its manufacturing process, rather than being added as separate components during fuel cell assembly. This preliminary integration simplifies the overall manufacturing workflow.
3Reliability
If multiple seal members are provided, then leakage prevention is improved, but weight and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple seal members are merged into a single integrally formed component, reducing the total material required compared to multiple separate seal members. This integration maintains comprehensive sealing coverage while minimizing weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal member is formed from elastomeric material integrated with the separator structure, using composite construction to achieve multiple sealing functions with minimal material usage and optimal weight characteristics.
4Ease of manufacture
If seal members are integrally formed on separators, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The seal formation process is merged with the separator manufacturing process, allowing precision control to be achieved within a single manufacturing operation rather than through multiple separate steps, thereby managing precision requirements more effectively.
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel cell stack comprising a second metal separator set to have an external dimension larger than a first metal separator, wherein the second metal separator comprises, formed integrally, a first seal member in contact with the peripheral edge of a first electrolyte membrane/electrode structure, a second seal member in contact with the peripheral edge of the first metal separator, and a third seal member in contact with the peripheral edge of an adjoining fourth metal separator. Since the first seal member, the second seal member and the third seal member are integrally formed on one surface of the second separator or one surface of the first separator, a seal-forming step can be carried out at one effort, simply and economically. In addition, use of a triple seal structure containing the first through the third seal members can favorably improve the sealing feature of reaction gas and minimize reaction gas leakage.