Fuel Cell Stack Vent Tube Support for Air Bubble Discharge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fuel cell designs face challenges in stably supporting an air vent passage within a cooling medium discharge manifold without interfering with other components, particularly due to the flow of cooling medium.
Innovation Solution
A fuel cell stack design incorporating a cylindrical communication tube with tapered and grooved support structures at both ends, ensuring stable positioning and effective discharge of air bubbles within the cooling medium discharge flow path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a resin-made air vent passage is placed inside the cooling medium discharge manifold, then air bubbles can be discharged from the cooling medium, but the air vent passage cannot be stably supported without interfering with other components
Solution Approach 1:
The air vent passage is divided into a separate tube component rather than being integrated into the manifold, allowing independent positioning and support. The tube is supported by multiple discrete support portions at different locations, providing stable positioning without interfering with other components like the end unit.
Solution Approach 2:
Support portions are introduced as intermediary elements between the air vent tube and the manifold. These support portions provide stable positioning for the tube while preventing interference with other components, effectively mediating the spatial relationship between the tube and surrounding structures.
2Measurement precision
If the air vent passage is fixed to the inner surface of the cooling medium discharge manifold, then the tube can be positioned, but it interferes with components such as the end unit
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of fixing the tube to the inner surface (two-dimensional surface mounting), the tube is positioned using support portions that extend into the three-dimensional space of the manifold. This allows the tube to be accurately positioned while maintaining clearance from the end unit and other components by utilizing the available vertical space.
Solution Approach 2:
The support portions are designed with predetermined shapes and positions to automatically guide and position the tube correctly during assembly. The support portions are formed in advance with specific geometries that ensure accurate tube positioning without requiring complex assembly operations or causing interference with other components.
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel cell stack including a cell stacked body, first and second end units, a cooling medium discharge flow path, and a tube arranged in the cooling medium discharge flow path. The second end unit includes a first end surface facing the cooling medium discharge flow path and a second end surface opposite to the first end surface, a through-hole is formed penetrating the second end unit to communicate with a second opening of the tube on downstream side of the cooling medium discharge flow path, the first and second end units include first and second support portions supporting peripheral portions of the first and second ends of the tube, the second support portion includes a tapered portion formed on an inner peripheral surface of the through-hole, and the tapered portion is formed to gradually narrow toward the second end surface of the second end unit.