CN109509891B

CN109509891B - Fuel cell separator, unit fuel cell, and fuel cell stack

Info

Publication number: CN109509891B
Application number: CN201811478535.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 耿珺; 柴茂荣; 李鹏飞; 宋耀颖; 陆维
Original assignee: Spic Hydrogen Energy Technology Development Co Ltd
Current assignee: Spic Hydrogen Energy Technology Development Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-05
Filing date: 2018-12-05
Publication date: 2024-03-12
Anticipated expiration: 2038-12-05
Also published as: CN109509891A

Abstract

The invention discloses a fuel cell separator, a unit fuel cell and a fuel cell stack, wherein the fuel cell separator comprises: an anode plate, wherein an anode runner is arranged on a first side surface of the anode plate, and at least part of the anode runner extends along a first direction; a cathode plate, wherein a first side surface of the cathode plate is provided with a cathode flow channel, and at least part of the cathode flow channel extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; the anode plate and the cathode plate are stacked, and the second side surface of the anode plate is opposite to the second side surface of the cathode plate. The fuel cell separator disclosed by the invention is beneficial to balancing the hydrothermal distribution of a fuel cell and quickly discharging production water, and is beneficial to wetting a membrane, so that the performance and the service life of the fuel cell are improved, and the fuel cell separator is simple in structure, low in processing cost and beneficial to industrial production, and special high processing precision is not needed.

Description

Fuel cell separator, unit fuel cell, and fuel cell stack

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of fuel cell manufacturing, and particularly relates to a fuel cell separator, a fuel cell stack with the fuel cell separator and a single fuel cell.

Background

The fuel cell, especially the hydrogen fuel cell, is mainly used in the fields of fuel cell power automobiles, buses, trucks, new energy fuel cell power locomotives, aircrafts, household scattered power supplies and the like of new energy automobile series.

The fuel cell has a stack structure, and is generally configured by stacking a plurality of unit fuel cells. The unit fuel cell generally includes a power generation body including an electrolyte membrane and electrode catalyst layers disposed on both sides of the electrolyte membrane, and a separator. In the fuel cell stack, a collector plate, an insulating plate, and end plates are stacked in this order on both ends of a stack, and a pair of end plates on both sides of the stack are connected by a connecting device so as to be maintained in a stacked state.

The separator surface has a flow path for supplying the reactant gas to flow, and the flow path is arranged in such a manner that the effect on the efficiency of the fuel cell is great. In the related art, the structures of the reducing agent gas flow path and the oxidizing agent gas flow path provided by the separator are relatively simple, and the actual trend of the gas is not considered.

The characteristics of the fuel cell require different reaction spaces on the oxyhydrogen side, and this problem is generally solved by adopting a method of designing different widths of flow channels on both sides. However, the side with the increased flow channel width results in an increase in the side flow aspect ratio, which results in a decrease in reaction efficiency or an increase in cell volume. In addition, it is also possible to increase the complexity of the press working.

During power generation, the fuel cell generates heat. In the related art, in order to remove heat, a cooling flow channel is generally arranged at the edge area of the separator, so that the cooling effect is poor, and the temperature of the fuel cell is seriously increased after long-term use, thereby influencing the efficiency of the electrochemical reaction.

When stacking the stacks of fuel cells, the press-fitting effect of the stacks directly affects the reaction efficiency of the fuel cells. In the related art, an independent press-fit frame is required to be arranged to realize press-fit of the laminated body, so that more parts and complex processes are required.

The stack structure of the fuel cell is formed by applying a fastening force to end plates disposed on both ends of each cell stack. In the related art, it is necessary to provide an independent press-fit frame through which the rod for applying the fastening force passes. This press-fit method causes non-uniform internal pressure of the battery, thereby affecting battery performance.

In order to realize the positioning and fixing of the membrane electrode power generator, the membrane electrode power generator is realized by arranging insulating frames which are integrated with the membrane electrode around the membrane electrode. When the high pressure of battery operation is born, the difference of the material properties of the insulating frame and the membrane electrode easily causes the deformation and displacement of the insulating frame, thereby affecting the battery performance.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art.

A fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an anode plate, wherein an anode runner is arranged on a first side surface of the anode plate, and at least part of the anode runner extends along a first direction; a cathode plate, wherein a first side surface of the cathode plate is provided with a cathode flow channel, and at least part of the cathode flow channel extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; the anode plate and the cathode plate are stacked, and the second side surface of the anode plate is opposite to the second side surface of the cathode plate.

According to the fuel cell separator disclosed by the embodiment of the invention, the hydrothermal distribution of the fuel cell and the rapid discharge of production water are favorably balanced, and the wetting of a membrane is favorably realized, so that the performance and the service life of the fuel cell are improved.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the anode plate comprises an anode reaction zone and an anode edge zone surrounding the anode reaction zone, and the anode runner is arranged on a first side surface of the anode reaction zone; the cathode plate comprises a cathode reaction zone and a cathode edge zone surrounding the cathode reaction zone, and the cathode runner is arranged on the first side surface of the cathode reaction zone.

According to a fuel cell separator of one embodiment of the present invention, the anode edge region and the cathode edge region each include: two first edge regions oppositely arranged along the first direction, two second edge regions oppositely arranged along the second direction, one of the two first edge regions is provided with a fuel gas inlet, and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a fuel gas outlet.

According to the fuel cell separator according to one embodiment of the present invention, the two first edge regions of the anode edge region are respectively provided with an inlet flow guiding region and an outlet flow guiding region, the inlet flow guiding region is provided between the fuel gas inlet and the anode flow channel, the outlet flow guiding region is provided between the fuel gas outlet and the anode flow channel, and the inlet flow guiding region and the outlet flow guiding region both extend along the second direction.

According to the fuel cell separator of one embodiment of the present invention, one of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant outlet and a fuel gas inlet, and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant inlet and a fuel gas outlet; one of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant inlet and the other of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant outlet.

According to the fuel cell separator of one embodiment of the present invention, the coolant outlet and the fuel gas inlet are spaced apart in the second direction, and the fuel gas inlet is provided at an end near the oxidant outlet, and the coolant outlet is provided at an end near the oxidant inlet; the coolant inlet and the fuel gas outlet are spaced apart along the second direction, and the fuel gas outlet is disposed at one end adjacent to the oxidant inlet, and the coolant inlet is disposed at one end adjacent to the oxidant outlet.

According to the fuel cell separator of one embodiment of the present invention, the anode flow channel includes a plurality of anode sub-flow channels extending in the first direction, and the plurality of anode sub-flow channels are arranged at intervals in the second direction; the cathode flow channel comprises a plurality of cathode sub-flow channels extending along the second direction, and the plurality of cathode sub-flow channels are arranged at intervals along the first direction.

According to the fuel cell separator of one embodiment of the present invention, the first end of the anode sub-flow channel is connected to the first end of an adjacent one of the anode sub-flow channels, and the second end of the anode sub-flow channel is connected to the second end of an adjacent other of the anode sub-flow channels.

The fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes: and the grid plate is clamped between the second side surface of the anode edge area and the second side surface of the cathode edge area, and the grid plate is hermetically connected with the anode edge area and the cathode edge area.

The fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes: a cooling side assembly sandwiched between the second side of the anode reaction zone and the second side of the cathode reaction zone to space the anode plate from the cathode plate, the grid surrounding the cooling side assembly.

According to the fuel cell separator of one embodiment of the present invention, the cooling side assembly is provided with a coolant flow passage through which coolant flows, the anode edge region and the cathode edge region are provided with a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet which are partitioned by the anode reaction region and the cathode reaction region, the louver is provided with louver flow passages, the coolant inlet is communicated with the coolant flow passage through the corresponding louver flow passage, and the coolant outlet is communicated with the coolant flow passage through the corresponding louver flow passage.

According to the fuel cell separator of one embodiment of the present invention, the anode plate and the cathode plate are each in the shape of a flat plate including grooves, and the anode flow channel includes grooves provided on the first side surface of the anode plate, and the cathode flow channel includes grooves provided on the first side surface of the cathode plate.

According to the fuel cell separator of the embodiment of the invention, the anode plate and the cathode plate are plate bodies which are concave-convex on the first side surface and the second side surface.

The invention also proposes a fuel cell stack comprising: the plurality of fuel cell separators and the membrane electrode assemblies according to any one of the above, wherein the plurality of fuel cell separators are stacked, and the membrane electrode assemblies are interposed between the anode plates of the fuel cell separators and the cathode plates of the adjacent one of the fuel cell separators.

A fuel cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes: the gas circuit assembly is clamped between the first side face of the cathode reaction zone and the membrane electrode assembly, and is provided with a plurality of through holes for air supply and water to pass through.

The invention also proposes a single fuel cell comprising: an anode plate, wherein an anode runner is arranged on a first side surface of the anode plate, and at least part of the anode runner extends along a first direction; a cathode plate, wherein a first side surface of the cathode plate is provided with a cathode flow channel, and at least part of the cathode flow channel extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and the membrane electrode assembly is clamped between the first side surface of the anode plate and the first side surface of the cathode plate.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the anode plate comprises an anode reaction zone and an anode edge zone surrounding the anode reaction zone, wherein a first side surface of the anode edge zone is provided with an anode sealing groove; the cathode plate comprises a cathode reaction zone and a cathode edge zone surrounding the cathode reaction zone, and a cathode sealing groove is arranged on the first side surface of the cathode edge zone; the membrane electrode assembly comprises an anode gas path diffusion layer, a membrane electrode and a cathode gas path diffusion layer which are arranged in a stacked mode, wherein the membrane electrode extends out of the anode gas path diffusion layer and at least part of the cathode gas path diffusion layer is provided with an insulating frame, and the insulating frame is clamped between sealing pieces arranged on the anode sealing groove and the cathode sealing groove.

The fuel cell stack, the unit fuel cells and the fuel cell separator described above have the same advantages over the prior art and are not described in detail herein.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The foregoing and/or additional aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and may be better understood from the following description of embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an external structure of a fuel cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is an exploded view of the layer structure of a unit fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a front view of a fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 4 is a front view of a fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4 at A;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view at M-M in the drawing;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken at N-N in the drawing;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a grid plate according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a unit fuel cell in the stacking direction according to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cathode plate according to a first embodiment of the invention;

fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a unit fuel cell in the stacking direction according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cathode plate according to a second embodiment of the invention;

fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a unit fuel cell in the stacking direction according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cathode plate according to a third embodiment of the invention;

fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a unit fuel cell in the stacking direction according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cathode plate according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a unit fuel cell in the stacking direction according to a fifth embodiment of the invention;

fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a unit fuel cell in the stacking direction according to a sixth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cathode plate according to a sixth embodiment of the invention;

figure 20 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an anode plate according to a sixth embodiment of the invention;

figure 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an anode plate according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cathode plate according to an embodiment of the invention.

Reference numerals:

anode plate 10, anode reaction zone 11, anode flow channel 111, anode edge zone 12, anode seal groove 121, inlet guide zone 123, outlet guide zone 124, anode seal boss 125, anode clamping portion 126, anode flow channel bottom surface A1, anode flow channel top surface A2, edge convex surface A3,

cathode plate 20, cathode reaction zone 21, cathode flow channels 211, cathode edge zone 22, cathode seal groove 221, cathode seal boss 225, cathode flow channel bottom surface C1, cathode flow channel top surface C2, cathode clamping portion raised surface C3, cathode edge zone plane C4, seal 222, step surface 223, cathode clamping portion 126,

A membrane electrode assembly 30, an anode gas path diffusion layer 31, a cathode gas path diffusion layer 32, a membrane electrode 33, an insulating frame 34,

the air circuit assembly 40, the cooling side assembly 50,

a louver 60, louver flow channels 61,

a fuel gas inlet 71, a fuel gas outlet 72, an oxidant inlet 73, an oxidant outlet 74, a coolant inlet 75, a coolant outlet 76, a bypass groove 77,

first direction X, second direction Y.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to like or similar elements or elements having like or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative only and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.

The fuel cell stack according to the embodiment of the invention may be a hydrogen fuel cell, and the fuel cell stack may include a plurality of unit fuel cells stacked together, where each unit fuel cell includes an anode plate 10, a membrane electrode assembly 30, and a cathode plate 20 stacked together, fuel gas enters a gas path at the anode plate 10, oxidant gas enters a gas path at the cathode plate 20, and the fuel gas and the oxidant gas undergo an electrochemical reaction through the membrane electrode assembly 30 to convert chemical energy into electrical energy, for example, the fuel gas of the hydrogen fuel cell is hydrogen, the oxidant gas is oxygen, and of course, air is supplied to the cathode.

Or the fuel cell stack may include a fuel cell separator including at least the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 stacked, and a membrane electrode assembly 30 interposed between the anode plate 10 of one fuel cell separator and the cathode plate 20 of the adjacent other fuel cell separator.

The two descriptions are not substantially different, but only different periodic modules are selected when dividing the fuel cell stack, and in the following embodiments, if the fuel cell separator is described in detail, only a simple description will be made when the corresponding unit fuel cell is referred to.

Example 1

A fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 22.

As shown in fig. 1-22, a fuel cell separator according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an anode plate 10 and a cathode plate 20.

Wherein, as shown in fig. 21, the first side of the anode plate 10 is provided with an anode runner 111, at least part of the anode runner 111 extends along a first direction, preferably, a main body part of the anode runner 111 extends along the first direction.

As shown in fig. 22, the cathode plate 20 is provided at a first side thereof with a cathode flow channel 211, at least a portion of the cathode flow channel 211 extending in a second direction, and at least a portion of the cathode flow channel 211 extending in the second direction, preferably a main body portion of the cathode flow channel 211 extending in the second direction.

The first direction may be the length direction of the anode plate 10 and the second direction may be the width direction of the cathode plate 20, as shown in fig. 6, the fuel cell separator is cut along the width direction of the fuel cell separator, and it can be seen from the sectional view that the extending direction of the cathode flow channels 211 is perpendicular to the extending direction of the anode flow channels 111.

The anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 are stacked, and a second side of the anode plate 10 is disposed opposite to a second side of the cathode plate 20. The first side of the anode plate 10 and the first side of the cathode plate 20 are used to sandwich the membrane electrode assembly 30, and substantially comprise the anode plate 10 of one unit fuel cell and the cathode plate 20 of an adjacent other unit fuel cell within one fuel cell separator.

The second side of the anode plate 10 and the second side of the cathode plate 20 are opposite to each other, and the second side of the anode plate 10 and the second side of the cathode plate 20 can be directly pressed against each other, or other spacers can be further interposed between the second side of the anode plate 10 and the second side of the cathode plate 20.

It can be appreciated that by the above-mentioned design of the mutually perpendicular flow channels, the fuel gas and the oxidant gas can basically keep mutually perpendicular flow during operation, and the distribution of water and heat generated during the reaction is more uniform, thereby contributing to the improvement of the performance and the service life of the fuel cell.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 21, the anode plate 10 includes an anode reaction region 11 and an anode edge region 12 surrounding the anode reaction region 11, and the anode runner 111 is disposed on a first side of the anode reaction region 11, for example, the anode reaction region 11 may be rectangular, and the anode edge region 12 may be a rectangular frame; the cathode plate 20 includes a cathode reaction region 21 and a cathode edge region 22 surrounding the cathode reaction region 21, and the cathode runner 211 is disposed on a first side of the cathode reaction region 21, for example, the cathode reaction region 21 may be rectangular, and the cathode edge region 22 may be a rectangular frame, where the rectangular frame and the rectangular frame are not limited to standard rectangular frames and standard rectangular frames, such as the anode plate 10 shown in fig. 21, and the four outer corners of the anode edge region 12 may be provided with notches.

It should be noted that, the first side of the anode plate 10, the first side of the anode reaction zone 11, and the first side of the anode edge zone 12 are all located on the same side of the anode plate 10, and the second side of the anode plate 10, the second side of the anode reaction zone 11, and the second side of the anode edge zone 12 are all located on the same side of the anode plate 10; the first side of the cathode plate 20, the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 are all positioned on the same side of the cathode plate 20, and the second side of the cathode plate 20, the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the second side of the cathode edge zone 22 are all positioned on the same side of the cathode plate 20; the sides of the cathode plate 20 and the anode plate 10 disposed opposite to the membrane electrode assembly 30 are first sides, which are disposed opposite to the second sides.

The anode edge zone 12 includes: the two first edge areas are oppositely arranged along the first direction, the two second edge areas are oppositely arranged along the second direction, two ends of one first edge area are respectively connected with one ends of the two second edge areas which are oppositely arranged, and two ends of the other first edge area are respectively connected with the other ends of the two second edge areas which are oppositely arranged. One of the two first edge regions is provided with a fuel gas inlet 71 and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a fuel gas outlet 72.

The cathode edge zone 22 includes: the two first edge areas are oppositely arranged along the first direction, the two second edge areas are oppositely arranged along the second direction, two ends of one first edge area are respectively connected with one ends of the two second edge areas which are oppositely arranged, and two ends of the other first edge area are respectively connected with the other ends of the two second edge areas which are oppositely arranged.

One of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant outlet 76 and a fuel gas inlet 71, and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant inlet 75 and a fuel gas outlet 72; one of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant inlet 73 and the other of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant outlet 74. The fuel gas inlet 71 is arranged below, the fuel gas outlet 72 is arranged above, and the hydrogen is from bottom to top, so that the membrane is wetted.

The fuel gas inlet 71 on the anode plate 10 is opposite to the fuel gas inlet 71 on the cathode plate 20, and the fuel gas outlet 72 on the anode plate 10 is opposite to the fuel gas outlet 72 on the cathode plate 20; the coolant inlet 75 on the anode plate 10 is arranged opposite to the coolant inlet 75 on the cathode plate 20, and the coolant outlet 76 on the anode plate 10 is arranged opposite to the coolant outlet 76 on the cathode plate 20; the oxidant inlet 73 on the anode plate 10 is disposed directly opposite the oxidant inlet 73 on the cathode plate 20, and the oxidant outlet 74 on the anode plate 10 is disposed directly opposite the oxidant outlet 74 on the cathode plate 20.

As shown in fig. 1, 21, 22, the coolant outlet 76 and the fuel gas inlet 71 are spaced apart in the second direction, and the fuel gas inlet 71 is provided at an end near the oxidant outlet 74, the coolant outlet 76 is provided at an end near the oxidant inlet 73, the coolant inlet 75 and the fuel gas outlet 72 are spaced apart in the second direction, and the fuel gas outlet 72 is provided at an end near the oxidant inlet 73, and the coolant inlet 75 is provided at an end near the oxidant outlet 74. In other words, the fuel gas inlet 71 and the fuel gas outlet 72 are staggered in the second direction, so that the stroke of the fuel gas is long, the sufficient reaction of the fuel gas is facilitated, and the reaction rate of the fuel gas can be improved.

The design mode of the manifold port can ensure that the fuel gas inlet 71 of the oxidant inlet 73 is far away, and the fuel gas inlet 71 is close to the oxidant outlet 74, so that the humidity of the fuel gas inlet 71 is relatively high, and a full-filling mode is formed by the coolant flow path of the fuel cell from bottom to top.

The coolant outlet 76 and the coolant inlet 75 are plural, the plural coolant outlets 76 are spaced apart in the second direction, the plural coolant inlets 75 are spaced apart in the second direction, the plural oxidant outlets 74 and the oxidant inlet 73 are plural, the plural oxidant outlets 74 are spaced apart in the first direction, and the plural oxidant inlets 73 are spaced apart in the first direction.

It can be appreciated that, by the arrangement mode of the ports and the arrangement mode of the anode flow channel 111 and the cathode flow channel 211, the flowing directions of the oxidant and the fuel gas are vertically crossed, so that the hydrothermal distribution of the fuel cell is further balanced, the stroke of the fuel gas is longer, the full reaction of the fuel gas is facilitated, and the reaction rate of the fuel gas can be improved.

As shown in fig. 21, the anode flow channel 111 includes a plurality of anode sub-flow channels extending in the first direction, the plurality of anode sub-flow channels being arranged at intervals in the second direction; as shown in fig. 22, the cathode flow channel 211 includes a plurality of cathode sub-flow channels extending in the second direction, and the plurality of cathode sub-flow channels are arranged at intervals in the first direction.

It should be noted that, the above-mentioned anode sub-flow passage extends along the first direction, which does not necessarily limit the anode sub-flow passage to be linear, in fact, the anode sub-flow passage may be substantially extending along the first direction, for example, the anode sub-flow passage may also be curved, and the anode sub-flow passage may include a plurality of curved arc segments or straight segments, and the cathode sub-flow passage is similar.

The two first edge regions of the anode edge region 12 are respectively provided with an inlet air guiding region 123 and an outlet air guiding region 124, the inlet air guiding region 123 is arranged between the fuel gas inlet 71 and the anode flow channel 111, the outlet air guiding region 124 is arranged between the fuel gas outlet 72 and the anode flow channel 111, and the inlet air guiding region 123 and the outlet air guiding region 124 both extend along the second direction.

It will be appreciated that in this structure, the number of anode sub-channels is relatively large, and the inlet and outlet of each anode sub-channel are uniformly and correspondingly, each anode sub-channel can be communicated with the fuel gas inlet 71 through the inlet guide area 123, and each anode sub-channel can be communicated with the fuel gas outlet 72 through the outlet guide area 124, i.e. the fuel gas flows through the inlet guide area 123 after entering the fuel gas inlet 71, flows into the anode sub-channels for reaction, then is collected into the outlet guide area 124, and is then led out from the fuel gas outlet 72.

Of course, the structure of the anode flow channel 111 and the cathode flow channel 211 may be other forms, for example, the anode flow channel 111 includes a plurality of anode sub-flow channels extending along a first direction, the plurality of anode sub-flow channels are arranged at intervals along a second direction, a first end of the anode sub-flow channel is connected to a first end of an adjacent anode sub-flow channel, and a second end of the anode sub-flow channel is connected to a second end of an adjacent anode sub-flow channel. In other words, the anode flow channel 111 may have a serpentine shape, so that the fuel gas may flow a long enough distance in the limited anode reaction zone 11 to react more completely.

For each anode reaction zone 11, all anode sub-channels may be connected as an entire anode channel 111, or a plurality of anode sub-channels may be formed as a group, all anode sub-channels are divided into a plurality of groups, and a plurality of anode sub-channels of each group are connected as an entire serpentine anode channel 111, and each anode reaction zone 11 includes a plurality of anode channels 111.

As shown in fig. 9 to 20, the present invention also discloses a unit fuel cell comprising: anode plate 10, cathode plate 20, membrane electrode assembly 30.

Wherein, the first side of the anode plate 10 is provided with an anode runner 111, at least part of the anode runner 111 extends along a first direction, the first side of the cathode plate 20 is provided with a cathode runner 211, at least part of the cathode runner 211 extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the membrane electrode assembly 30 is sandwiched between the first side of the anode plate 10 and the first side of the cathode plate 20.

Wherein the cathode plate 20 and the structure of the cathode plate 20 may be referred to the description in the fuel cell separator, and will not be described herein.

The single fuel cell provided by the embodiment of the invention is favorable for balancing the hydrothermal distribution, and has the advantages of excellent performance, long service life, low processing cost and favorable industrial production.

In some embodiments, the sealing of the unit fuel cell may take the form of: the anode plate 10 comprises an anode reaction zone 11 and an anode edge zone 12 surrounding the anode reaction zone 11, wherein an anode sealing groove 121 is arranged on a first side surface of the anode edge zone 12; the cathode plate 20 comprises a cathode reaction zone 21 and a cathode edge zone 22 surrounding the cathode reaction zone 21, wherein a cathode sealing groove 221 is arranged on a first side surface of the cathode edge zone 22; the membrane electrode assembly 30 comprises an anode gas path diffusion layer 31, a membrane electrode 33 and a cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 which are stacked, at least part of the membrane electrode 33 extending out of the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 and the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is externally provided with an insulating frame 34, and the insulating frame 34 is clamped between sealing pieces 222 arranged on the anode sealing groove 121 and the cathode sealing groove 221, so that the sealing of the unit fuel cell is realized. Of course, the seal of the unit fuel cell may be of other structures, and these sealing means will be described in detail later.

The invention also discloses a fuel cell stack, which comprises: a plurality of the fuel cell separators and the membrane electrode assemblies 30 of any of the embodiments described above are stacked, and the anode plate 10 of a fuel cell separator and the cathode plate 20 of an adjacent one of the fuel cell separators sandwich the membrane electrode assemblies 30. Or the fuel cell stack includes a plurality of unit fuel cells arranged in a stacked manner.

The fuel cell stack is favorable for balancing the hydrothermal distribution, and has the advantages of excellent performance, long service life and low processing cost of the fuel cell, and is favorable for industrial production.

Example two

A fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 2, 4 to 20.

As shown in fig. 2, 4-20, a fuel cell separator according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an anode plate 10, a cathode plate 20, and a grid 60.

Wherein the first side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 are used for connecting the membrane electrode assembly 30 of the fuel cell stack.

Grid 60 is sandwiched between the second side of anode edge zone 12 and the second side of cathode edge zone 22, and grid 60 is connected to both anode edge zone 12 and cathode edge zone 22.

For example, anode reaction zone 11 may be rectangular, anode edge zone 12 may be rectangular, cathode reaction zone 21 may be rectangular, cathode edge zone 22 may be rectangular, and grid 60 may be rectangular. It should be noted that the rectangular and rectangular frames are not limited to standard rectangular and standard rectangular frames, and for example, in the anode plate 10 shown in fig. 21, notches may be provided at four outer corners of the anode edge region 12.

It will be appreciated that the anode reaction zone 11 is disposed opposite to the cathode reaction zone 21, and the electrochemical reaction mainly occurs between the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21, so that the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21 have more heat, and the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 can be separated by disposing the grid plate 60, so that the second side of the anode plate 10 and the second side of the cathode plate 20 are not bonded, and a cavity is formed between the second side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21, so that the heat dissipation between the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21 can be provided.

The two sides of the grid 60 respectively press against the second side of the anode edge area 12 and the second side of the cathode edge area 22, and the two sides of the grid 60 are respectively connected with the second side of the anode edge area 12 and the second side of the cathode edge area 22 in a sealing way, for example, the grid 60 is connected with the anode edge area 12 and the cathode edge area 22 in a sealing way through bonding, pressing or welding, the connection mode of the grid 60 can be selected according to materials, for example, when the grid 60 is a metal plate, the grid 60 is connected with the anode edge area 12 and the cathode edge area 22 in a sealing way through bonding or welding; or when the grid plate 60 is a plastic plate, the grid plate 60 is in sealing connection with the anode edge area 12 and the cathode edge area 22 in an adhesive or pressing mode; alternatively, where grid 60 is a rubber sheet, grid 60 is sealingly attached to anode edge region 12 and cathode edge region 22 by bonding or lamination.

According to the fuel cell separator of the embodiment of the invention, the grid plate 60 is arranged between the anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22, so that the heat dissipation performance of the fuel cell separator can be effectively improved, the cooling effect of the fuel cell can be improved, and the working state of the fuel cell is more stable.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, 4-8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, the fuel cell separator may further include: and a cooling side assembly 50 interposed between the second side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21 such that the anode plate 10 is spaced apart from the cathode plate 20, the two sides of the cooling side assembly 50 respectively pressing against the second side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21. The cooling side assembly 50 is provided with a coolant flow passage through which a coolant flows, and the coolant flows through the cooling side assembly 50, thereby taking away heat of the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21.

Grid 60 may surround cooling side assembly 50, grid 60 seals cooling side assembly 50 against leakage of coolant, anode edge region 12 and cathode edge region 22 are provided with coolant inlet 75 and coolant outlet 76 separated by anode reaction region 11 and cathode reaction region 21, grid 60 is provided with grid channels 61, coolant inlet 75 communicates with the coolant channels through corresponding grid channels 61, and coolant outlet 76 communicates with the coolant channels through corresponding grid channels 61, as shown in fig. 4-7.

The louver flow channels 61 are part of the gas and liquid flow paths, the louver flow channels 61 may be grooves formed on the louver 60 by machining or stamping, etc., the anode edge area 12, the louver 60 and the cathode edge area 22 form a close contact surface, which can block the passage of gas, and the louver flow channels 61 are punched at the corresponding positions of the louver 60, so that the coolant can be led in and out.

The louver 60 may be a metal plate, and the louver runner 61 is formed by machining or punching; alternatively, the louver 60 may be a plastic plate, and the louver runner 61 is formed by injection molding or die cutting; alternatively, the louver 60 may be a rubber plate, and the louver runner 61 is molded or injection molded. The cooling side assembly 50 is made of a fibrous material or a metallic material or a rubber material.

The inner peripheral wall of the louver 60 is connected to the outer peripheral wall of the cooling side assembly 50, and the outer contour of the cooling side assembly 50 may be rectangular, and the louver 60 may be a rectangular frame.

As shown in fig. 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 18, the thickness of the louver 60 may be equal to or greater than the thickness of the cooling side module 50, and specifically, it is required to confirm the shape of the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20.

Of course, the thickness of the grid 60 may be smaller than the thickness of the cooling side assembly 50, for example, the sealing groove 221 of the cathode plate 20 in fig. 17 is recessed downward, so that the thickness of the grid 60 is smaller than the thickness of the cooling side assembly 50, and only the two sides of the grid 60 need to press against the cathode edge region 22 and the anode edge region 10 to realize sealing.

As shown in fig. 4 to 20, the present invention also discloses a unit fuel cell comprising: anode plate 10, cathode plate 20, membrane electrode assembly 30, and grid 60.

The anode plate 10 includes an anode reaction region 11 and an anode edge region 12 surrounding the anode reaction region 11, the cathode plate 20 includes a cathode reaction region 21 and a cathode edge region 22 surrounding the cathode reaction region 21, the membrane electrode assembly 30 is sandwiched between a first side of the anode plate 10 and a first side of the cathode plate 20, the grid 60 is sandwiched between a second side of the anode edge region 12 and a second side of the cathode edge region 22, and the grid 60 is hermetically connected to both the anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22.

The structures of the cathode plate 20, and the grid 60 may be referred to as a fuel cell separator, and will not be described herein.

According to the unit fuel cell of the embodiment of the invention, the grid plate 60 is arranged between the anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22, so that the heat dissipation performance of the unit fuel cell is good, and the working state is more stable.

In some embodiments, the sealing of the unit fuel cell may take the form of: the anode plate 10 comprises an anode reaction zone 11 and an anode edge zone 12 surrounding the anode reaction zone 11, wherein an anode sealing groove 121 is arranged on a first side surface of the anode edge zone 12; the cathode plate 20 comprises a cathode reaction zone 21 and a cathode edge zone 22 surrounding the cathode reaction zone 21, wherein a cathode sealing groove 221 is arranged on a first side surface of the cathode edge zone 22; the membrane electrode assembly 30 includes an anode gas path diffusion layer 31 (Gas diffusion layer, abbreviated as GDL), a membrane electrode 33 (Membrane Electrode Assembly, abbreviated as MEA), and a cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 (Gas diffusion layer, abbreviated as GDL) which are stacked, at least part of the membrane electrode 33 extending out of the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 and the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is externally provided with an insulating frame 34, and the insulating frame 34 is sandwiched between sealing members 222 provided in the anode seal groove 121 and the cathode seal groove 221, thereby realizing sealing of the unit fuel cell. Of course, the seal of the unit fuel cell may be of other structures, and these sealing means will be described in detail later.

According to the fuel cell stack of the embodiment of the invention, the grid plate 60 is arranged between the anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22, so that the heat dissipation performance of the fuel cell stack is good, and the working state is more stable.

Example III

A fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 2, 9 to 20.

As shown in fig. 2, 9-18, a fuel cell separator according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an anode plate 10, a cathode plate 20, and a gas path assembly 40.

Wherein, the first side of the anode plate 10 is provided with an anode runner 111, the first side of the cathode plate 20 is provided with a cathode runner 211, the second side of the cathode plate 20 is opposite to the second side of the anode plate 10, the air path assembly 40 is arranged on the first side of the cathode plate 20, and the air path assembly 40 covers at least a part of the cathode runner 211, and the air path assembly 40 may completely cover the cathode runner 211 or only cover a part of the cathode runner 211.

The gas circuit assembly 40 can meet the gas and water passing requirements, and the gas reaction space of the cathode side can be greatly enhanced through the combination of the gas circuit assembly 40 and the cathode flow channel 211, so that the gas flowing space of the cathode side is larger than that of the anode side, and the problem that the reaction spaces required by the oxyhydrogen side are different is solved, and the structures of the cathode flow channel 211 and the anode flow channel 111 can be basically the same in design, thereby ensuring that the volume of the fuel cell separator can be maintained in a smaller range, and the production process of the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 is simpler.

According to the fuel cell separator provided by the embodiment of the invention, the gas reaction space on the cathode side can be effectively enhanced by combining the gas circuit assembly 40 with the cathode flow channel 211, so that the processing cost of the fuel cell separator is reduced, and the fuel cell separator is beneficial to industrial production.

As shown in fig. 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 18, the anode plate 10 includes an anode reaction zone 11 and an anode edge zone 12 surrounding the anode reaction zone 11, and an anode runner 111 is provided on a first side of the anode reaction zone 11; the cathode plate 20 includes a cathode reaction zone 21 and a cathode edge zone 22 surrounding the cathode reaction zone 21, the cathode runner 211 is disposed on a first side of the cathode reaction zone 21, and the gas path assembly 40 is opposite to and overlapped with the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21.

The cathode flow channel 211 includes a groove formed on the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21, and the air path assembly 40 is supported on the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 in a region where the cathode flow channel 211 is not formed. The gas circuit assembly 40 may be disposed in contact with the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 in a region where the cathode flow channel 211 is not disposed.

As shown in fig. 2, the air path assembly 40 may have a plate shape, and the air path assembly 40 includes a plurality of through holes for air supply and water passage. The air circuit assembly 40 is made of an acid corrosion resistant composite fiber material or a metal material or a rubber material.

As shown in fig. 9-18, the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 is recessed relative to the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 toward the second side of the cathode plate 20 to form a sink in which the gas circuit assembly 40 is mounted. This can compress the thickness of the entire fuel cell separator. The junction of the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 is formed in a stepped shape, the gas path assembly 40 is positioned by a stepped surface 223 between the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22, and the stepped surface 223 between the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 surrounds the peripheral wall of the gas path assembly 40 to position the gas path assembly 40.

It can be understood that, when the gas circuit assembly 40 and the cathode plate 20 are processed, the shape of the gas circuit assembly 40 is the same as that of the cathode reaction zone 21 of the cathode plate 20, and the processing precision of the sink groove is controlled, so that the gas circuit assembly 40 can be just embedded into the sink groove, and the positioning of the gas circuit assembly 40 is directly realized through the sink groove of the cathode plate 20. In order to simplify the processing, the sinking groove and the air channel assembly 40 can be processed into a long square shape, and the positioning of the air channel assembly 40 can be effectively realized through the cooperation of the peripheral wall of the air channel assembly 40 and the peripheral wall of the sinking groove.

As shown in fig. 9 to 20, the present invention also discloses a unit fuel cell comprising: anode plate 10, cathode plate 20, membrane electrode assembly 30, and gas circuit assembly 40.

Wherein, the first side of the anode plate 10 is provided with an anode runner 111, the first side of the cathode plate 20 is provided with a cathode runner 211, the membrane electrode assembly 30 and the gas path assembly 40 are clamped between the first side of the anode plate 10 and the first side of the cathode plate 20, and the gas path assembly 40 is located at one side close to the cathode plate 20, and the gas path assembly 40 at least covers the cathode runner 211.

The structures of the cathode plate 20, and the gas circuit assembly 40 may be described with reference to the fuel cell separator, and will not be described herein.

According to the single fuel cell provided by the embodiment of the invention, the gas reaction space on the cathode side can be effectively enhanced by combining the gas circuit assembly 40 with the cathode flow channel 211, so that the processing cost of the single fuel cell is reduced, and the industrial production is facilitated.

The membrane electrode assembly 30 and the gas circuit assembly 40 may be formed as one body. Thus, the membrane electrode assembly 30 can be positioned simultaneously by positioning the gas circuit assembly 40 through the sink of the cathode plate 20, thereby simplifying the assembly process of the unit fuel cell.

Of course, the membrane electrode assembly 30 and the air path assembly 40 may be processed into two separate components, and the air path assembly 40 is assembled with the cathode plate 20 as a whole during assembly, and then the membrane electrode assembly 30 and the air path assembly 40 are matched to position the membrane electrode assembly 30.

The invention also discloses a fuel cell stack, which comprises: a plurality of the fuel cell separators and the membrane electrode assemblies 30 of any of the embodiments described above are stacked, and the membrane electrode assemblies 30 are interposed between the anode plates 10 of the fuel cell separators and the gas circuit assemblies 40 of the adjacent one of the fuel cell separators. Or the fuel cell stack includes a plurality of unit fuel cells arranged in a stacked manner. Or the fuel cell stack includes a plurality of unit fuel cells arranged in a stacked manner.

According to the fuel cell stack provided by the embodiment of the invention, the gas reaction space on the cathode side can be effectively enhanced by combining the gas circuit assembly 40 with the cathode flow channel 211, so that the processing cost of the fuel cell stack is reduced, and the fuel cell stack is beneficial to industrial production.

Example IV

As shown in fig. 2, 9-20, a fuel cell separator according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an anode plate 10, a cathode plate 20, and a gas path assembly 40.

Wherein, the first side of the anode plate 10 is provided with an anode runner 111, the anode plate 10 comprises an anode reaction zone 11 and an anode edge zone 12 surrounding the anode reaction zone 11, and the anode runner 111 is arranged on the first side of the anode reaction zone 11; the cathode plate 20 includes a cathode reaction zone 21 and a cathode edge zone 22 surrounding the cathode reaction zone 21, with a second side of the cathode plate 20 disposed opposite a second side of the anode plate 10.

Anode reaction zone 11 may be rectangular, anode edge zone 12 may be rectangular, cathode reaction zone 21 may be rectangular, cathode edge zone 22 may be rectangular, and grid 60 may be rectangular. It should be noted that the rectangular and rectangular frames are not limited to standard rectangular and standard rectangular frames, and for example, in the anode plate 10 shown in fig. 21, notches may be provided at four outer corners of the anode edge region 12.

As shown in fig. 9 to 18, the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 is concavely disposed toward the second side of the cathode plate 20 with respect to the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 to form a sink, the gas circuit assembly 40 is disposed in the sink, and the gas circuit assembly 40 is positioned through the peripheral wall of the sink.

It can be understood that, when the gas circuit assembly 40 and the cathode plate 20 are processed, the shape of the gas circuit assembly 40 is the same as that of the cathode reaction zone 21 of the cathode plate 20, and the processing precision of the sink is controlled, so that the gas circuit assembly 40 can be just embedded into the sink, the positioning of the gas circuit assembly 40 can be directly realized through the sink of the cathode plate 20, and the gas circuit assembly 40 can completely cover the cathode runner 211.

In some embodiments, the junction of the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 is formed in a stepped shape, and the gas path assembly 40 is perpendicular to the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 by a stepped surface 223 between the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22, the stepped surface 223 surrounding the peripheral wall of the gas path assembly 40 to position the gas path assembly 40.

In order to simplify the processing, the sinking groove and the air channel assembly 40 can be processed into a long square shape, and the positioning of the air channel assembly 40 can be effectively realized through the cooperation of the peripheral wall of the air channel assembly 40 and the peripheral wall of the sinking groove.

According to the fuel cell separator provided by the embodiment of the invention, the positioning of the air path assembly 40 can be effectively realized by arranging the air path assembly 40 and the cathode plate 20 in a matching mode, so that the assembly process of the fuel cell separator can be simplified.

In some embodiments, the thickness of the air path assembly 40 is a, the depth of the sink is h, and h may also be the height of the stepped surface 223, satisfying: a/h is more than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 1.5. Here, the thickness and depth are the stacking direction of the fuel cell separator. The inventor finds through a great deal of experiments that when the thickness of the air path assembly 40 and the depth of the sinking groove are limited to the ranges, the positioning accuracy of the air path assembly 40 can be ensured, and the processing performance of the air path assembly 40 and the cathode plate 20 is not affected. Of course, the sink depth is more effective when the depth of the sink is equal to or close to the thickness of the gas circuit assembly 40, such as 0.9 a/h 1.1 or a=h.

In some embodiments, the air circuit assembly 40 is plate-shaped and includes a plurality of through holes for air supply, water passage. The air circuit assembly 40 is made of an acid corrosion resistant composite fiber material or a metal material or a rubber material.

Wherein, the first side of the anode plate 10 is provided with an anode runner 111, the cathode plate 20 comprises a cathode reaction zone 21 and a cathode edge zone 22 surrounding the cathode reaction zone 21, the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 is concavely arranged towards the second side of the cathode plate 20 relative to the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 to form a sink, the membrane electrode assembly 30 and the gas circuit assembly 40 are clamped between the first side of the anode plate 10 and the first side of the cathode plate 20, the gas circuit assembly 40 is arranged in the sink, and the gas circuit assembly 40 is positioned through the peripheral wall of the sink.

According to the unit fuel cell of the embodiment of the invention, the positioning of the air path assembly 40 can be effectively realized by arranging the air path assembly 40 and the cathode plate 20 in a matching manner, so that the assembly process of the unit fuel cell can be simplified.

Referring to fig. 9, the membrane electrode assembly 30 includes an anode gas path diffusion layer 31, a membrane electrode 33, and a cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 that are stacked, the membrane electrode 33 is sandwiched between the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 and the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32, the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 is sandwiched between the membrane electrode 33 and the anode reaction region 11, the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is attached to the gas path assembly 40, the sum of thicknesses of the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 and the gas path assembly 40 is b, and the depth of the sink is h, so that: b/h is not less than 1. That is, the sum of the thicknesses of the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 and the gas path assembly 40 cannot be smaller than the depth of the sink, so that the cathode edge region 22 can be prevented from being pushed up to the membrane electrode 33.

In some embodiments, the membrane electrode assembly 30 is integrally formed with the gas circuit assembly 40. Thus, the membrane electrode assembly 30 can be positioned simultaneously by positioning the gas circuit assembly 40 through the sink of the cathode plate 20, thereby simplifying the assembly process of the unit fuel cell.

According to the fuel cell stack of the embodiment of the invention, the positioning of the air path assembly 40 can be effectively realized by arranging the air path assembly 40 and the cathode plate 20 in a matching manner, so that the assembly process of the fuel cell stack can be simplified.

Example five

A fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1, 3, 21, and 22.

As shown in fig. 1, 3, 21, 22, the fuel cell separator includes: the reaction region and the edge region may be rectangular, for example, the reaction region may be a rectangular frame, and it should be noted that the rectangular and rectangular frames are not limited to standard rectangular and standard rectangular frames, and, for example, in the fuel cell separator shown in fig. 3, notches may be provided at four outer corners of the edge region.

The edge area is equipped with dodges the groove 77, dodges the groove 77 and is used for the pressure equipment fuel cell separator, dodges the groove 77 and runs through the edge area along the thickness direction of fuel cell separator, dodges the edge that the groove 77 is close to the reaction zone and is the distance to the reaction zone and be c, satisfies: c is more than or equal to 20mm.

It will be appreciated that the fuel cell stack is a stacked structure and the fuel cell separators are also a stacked structure, and that when stacking the fuel cell separators into a fuel cell stack, it is necessary to press the fuel cell separators using fasteners that penetrate through the relief grooves 77 to penetrate through the fuel cell stack in the stacking direction of the fuel cell stack so that the individual fuel cell separators can be closely fitted.

Through directly setting up at the marginal zone and dodging the groove 77, just so need not to set up the pressure equipment frame in addition, can greatly simplify the pressure equipment structure, and because the fastening force can directly act on the fuel cell separator, exert the pressure equipment that can realize satisfying the seal with less fastening force like this, and the pressure in each region of fuel cell stack after the pressure equipment is more balanced, and the performance of fuel cell stack is better.

The distance c from the edge of the avoidance groove 77 near the reaction region to the reaction region is the shortest distance from the edge of the avoidance groove 77 to the edge of the reaction region, and the distance affects the sealing effect of the reaction region. The inventors found through a large number of experiments that, after the distance c from the edge of the avoidance groove 77, which is close to the reaction region, to the reaction region is defined in the above range, the effect of thinning the edge region due to the provision of the avoidance groove 77 does not affect the sealing of the reaction region. Such as c=25 mm, or c=30 mm, or c=40 mm.

According to the fuel cell separator provided by the embodiment of the invention, the avoidance groove 77 with the structural form is directly arranged in the reaction zone, so that the press-fitting process of the fuel cell stack is simplified, the sealing effect of the reaction zone is not affected, and the pressure of each area of the fuel cell stack is more balanced.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, 3, 21 and 22, the avoidance groove 77 is open at one side of the edge area away from the reaction area, that is, the avoidance groove 77 is not closed-loop, the avoidance groove 77 is equivalent to a notch formed at the outer edge of the reaction area, so that under the condition that the width of the reaction area is limited, the avoidance groove 77 meeting the target size can be set, and the distance c from the edge of the avoidance groove 77 close to the reaction area is ensured to be large enough, so that the sealing effect of the reaction area is not affected. When the fuel cell stack is pressed, the avoidance groove 77 with the shape can be a groove that the fastener does not directly pass through the fuel cell separator, so that the insulation and the sealing cannot be influenced, and the position of the avoidance groove 77 is positioned inside the edge of the separator, thereby reducing the required fastening force and ensuring that the pressure applied to the fuel cell stack is more uniform.

As shown in fig. 1, 3, 21 and 22, the interface between the relief groove 77 and the edge region is arcuate, and the fastener is generally cylindrical in cross-section and the arcuate interface is provided to better fit the fastener. The relief groove 77 may be a semicircular shape with one open side as shown, or may be arcuate, crescent-shaped, or polygonal with one open side, such as rectangular, or irregular.

As shown in fig. 3, the edge region includes: two first edge regions oppositely arranged along the first direction, two second edge regions oppositely arranged along the second direction, and each second edge region is provided with an avoidance groove 77. The relief grooves 77 are generally symmetrically distributed to provide more uniform press fit forces. The number of the escape grooves 77 is not limited to two in the drawings, but may be more than two.

As shown in fig. 3, one of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant outlet 76 and a fuel gas inlet 71, and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant inlet 75 and a fuel gas outlet 72; one of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant inlet 73 and the other of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant outlet 74. That is, the escape groove 77 is provided on the side of the oxidant inlet and outlet, and the escape groove 77 is provided between the adjacent two oxidant inlets 73 or oxidant outlets 74.

Because the number of the inlets and the outlets of the oxidant is large, the total area is large, and the influence on the total area of the inlets and the outlets of the oxidant is small due to the design of the avoiding groove 77. When the escape groove 77 is designed, the reduction in the total area of the oxidant outlet 74 and the oxidant inlet 73 due to the escape groove 77 is not more than one tenth of the total area without the escape groove 77.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 21 and 22, the fuel cell separator includes an anode plate 10 and a cathode plate 20. The anode plate 10 includes an anode reaction zone 11 and an anode edge zone 12, the anode edge zone 12 being disposed around the anode reaction zone 11, the cathode plate 20 including a cathode reaction zone 21 and a cathode edge zone 22, the cathode edge zone 22 being disposed around the cathode reaction zone 21, a first side of the anode reaction zone 11 and a first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 for connecting to a membrane electrode assembly 30 of a fuel cell stack. The anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22 are both provided with the avoidance grooves 77, and the avoidance grooves 77 of the anode edge region 12 and the avoidance grooves 77 of the cathode edge region 22 are arranged opposite to each other.

The fuel cell separator further includes a louver 60, the louver 60 is sandwiched between the second side surface of the anode edge region 12 and the second side surface of the cathode edge region 22, and the louver 60 is connected to both the anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22, and the louver 60 is also provided with an escape groove 77, and the escape groove 77 of the louver 60 is disposed opposite to the escape groove 77 of the cathode edge region 22.

The fuel cell separator further includes a cooling side assembly 50, the cooling side assembly 50 being interposed between the second side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21 to space the anode plate 10 from the cathode plate 20, both sides of the cooling side assembly 50 respectively pressing against the second side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21. The cooling side assembly 50 is provided with a coolant flow passage through which a coolant flows, and the coolant flows through the cooling side assembly 50, thereby taking away heat of the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21.

Grid 60 may surround cooling side assembly 50, grid 60 seals cooling side assembly 50 against leakage of coolant, anode edge region 12 and cathode edge region 22 are provided with coolant inlet 75 and coolant outlet 76, grid 60 is provided with grid channels 61, as shown in fig. 4-7, coolant inlet 75 communicates with the coolant channels through corresponding grid channels 61, and coolant outlet 76 communicates with the coolant channels through corresponding grid channels 61.

Due to the arrangement of the cooling side assembly 50, a cooling flow passage is not required to be arranged in the edge area, enough space can be provided for the avoiding groove 77, and the design of the avoiding groove 77 does not influence the cooling flow passage.

As shown in fig. 1, 3, 21 and 22, the present invention also discloses a unit fuel cell, which includes: the reaction zone and the marginal zone of surrounding the reaction zone, marginal zone are equipped with the dodge groove 77 that is used for the pressure equipment fuel cell separator, dodge the groove 77 and run through marginal zone along the thickness direction of monomer fuel cell, dodge the groove 77 and be close to the border of reaction zone and be the distance of reaction zone for c, satisfy: c is more than or equal to 20mm.

The structure of the reaction zone, the edge zone, and the relief groove 77 may be described with reference to the fuel cell separator, and will not be described again.

According to the single fuel cell provided by the embodiment of the invention, the avoidance groove 77 with the structural form is directly arranged in the reaction zone, so that the press-fitting process of the single fuel cell is simplified, the sealing effect of the reaction zone is not affected, and the pressure of each area of the fuel cell stack is more balanced.

In some embodiments, the unit fuel cell includes an anode plate 10 and a cathode plate 20. The anode plate 10 includes an anode reaction zone 11 and an anode edge zone 12, the anode edge zone 12 being disposed around the anode reaction zone 11, the cathode plate 20 including a cathode reaction zone 21 and a cathode edge zone 22, the cathode edge zone 22 being disposed around the cathode reaction zone 21, a first side of the anode reaction zone 11 and a first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 for connecting to a membrane electrode assembly 30 of a fuel cell stack. The anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22 are both provided with the avoidance grooves 77, and the avoidance grooves 77 of the anode edge region 12 and the avoidance grooves 77 of the cathode edge region 22 are arranged opposite to each other.

The invention also discloses a fuel cell stack, which comprises: the fuel cell separators and the membrane electrode assemblies 30 according to any of the embodiments described above are stacked, and the membrane electrode assemblies 30 are interposed between the anode plates 10 of the fuel cell separators and the cathode plates 20 of the adjacent one of the fuel cell separators, and the connection members penetrate through the avoiding grooves 77 to press-fit the fuel cell separators and the membrane electrode assemblies 30.

According to the fuel cell stack provided by the embodiment of the invention, the avoidance groove 77 with the structural form is directly arranged in the reaction zone, so that the press-fitting process of the fuel cell stack is simplified, the sealing effect of the reaction zone is not affected, and the pressure of each area of the fuel cell stack is more balanced.

Example six

A unit fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 2 and fig. 9 to 10.

As shown in fig. 1 to 2 and 9 to 10, a unit fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: anode plate 10, cathode plate 20, membrane electrode assembly 30, and seal 222.

Wherein the anode plate 10 includes an anode reaction zone 11 and an anode edge zone 12, the anode edge zone 12 is disposed around the anode reaction zone 11, the cathode plate 20 includes a cathode reaction zone 21 and a cathode edge zone 22, and the cathode edge zone 22 is disposed around the cathode reaction zone 21.

The membrane electrode assembly 30 comprises an anode gas path diffusion layer 31, a membrane electrode 33 and a cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 which are stacked, the membrane electrode assembly 30 is clamped between the first side surface of the anode plate 10 and the first side surface of the cathode plate 20, the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 is opposite to the anode reaction zone 11, the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is opposite to the cathode reaction zone 21, the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 is clamped between the first side surface of the anode reaction zone 11 and the membrane electrode 33, and the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is clamped between the first side surface of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the membrane electrode 33.

The seal of the unit fuel cell takes the form of: the first side of the anode edge region 12 is provided with an anode seal groove 121, the first side of the cathode edge region 22 is provided with a cathode seal groove 221, and at least part of the membrane electrode 33 extending out of the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 and the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is clamped by a seal 222 provided in the anode seal groove 121 and the cathode seal groove 221.

The anode seal groove 121 and the cathode seal groove 221 may be disposed opposite to each other, and when assembled, the membrane electrode assembly 30 is placed between the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 facing each other, or the membrane electrode assembly 30 is placed between the fuel cell separators facing each other, and the sealing member 222 is pressed by applying a fastening force in the lamination direction to seal. The seal 222 may be made of a soft material with corrosion resistance, such as silicone rubber with hardness less than a80, and the seal 222 is a preformed piece or a seal line formed by dispensing.

It should be noted that, in the related art, the sealing of the unit fuel cell is to add an insulating frame made of a compressible insulating material around the membrane electrode 33, but when the sealing manner is subjected to the high pressure of the battery operation, the insulating frame is easy to deform and shift due to the different material properties of the insulating frame and the membrane electrode 33, so as to affect the battery performance. In addition, the fabrication of the insulating frame itself increases the process complexity of the fuel cell assembly.

According to the single fuel cell provided by the embodiment of the invention, the positioning, sealing and insulation are realized by arranging the sealing body in the sealing groove to directly press the membrane electrode 33, so that the working procedures are greatly simplified.

In some embodiments, anode reaction zone 11 may be rectangular and anode edge zone 12 may be a rectangular frame; the cathode plate 20 includes a cathode reaction region 21 and a cathode edge region 22 surrounding the cathode reaction region 21, and the cathode runner 211 is disposed on a first side of the cathode reaction region 21, for example, the cathode reaction region 21 may be rectangular, and the cathode edge region 22 may be a rectangular frame, where the rectangular frame and the rectangular frame are not limited to standard rectangular frames and standard rectangular frames, such as the anode plate 10 shown in fig. 21, and the four outer corners of the anode edge region 12 may be provided with notches. The anode seal groove 121 is disposed around the anode reaction region 11, the cathode seal groove 221 is disposed around the cathode reaction region 21, and the anode seal groove 121 and the cathode seal groove 221 may have a rectangular cross section or a trapezoidal cross section or an arc-shaped cross section.

In some embodiments, the distance d from the side edge of the anode seal groove 121 near the anode reaction zone 11 to the anode reaction zone 11, and the distance e from the side edge of the cathode seal groove 221 near the cathode reaction zone 21 to the cathode reaction zone 21 satisfy: d is less than or equal to 15mm, and e is less than or equal to 15mm. It should be noted that d and e may be equal. In some embodiments, d=10 mm, e=10 mm.

The inventors found through a large number of experiments that, in the sealing method described above, the membrane electrode 33 itself is fragile, and if the distance from the seal groove to the reaction region is too large, the membrane may be broken. By limiting the distance from the seal groove to the reaction region to the above range, the membrane electrode 33 can be sealed without being broken.

As shown in fig. 2 and 9, the unit fuel cell further includes: and a louver 60 provided on the second side of the cathode edge region, and the louver 60 is provided with louver flow passages 61 for circulating a coolant, the louver flow passages 61 serving as a flow guiding region for the coolant. The two sides of the louver 60 respectively press against the second side of the cathode edge area 22 and the second side of the anode edge area 12 of an adjacent unit fuel cell, and the two sides of the louver 60 are respectively and hermetically connected to the second side of the anode edge area 12 and the second side of the cathode edge area 22, for example, the louver 60 is hermetically connected to both the anode edge area 12 and the cathode edge area 22 by bonding, pressing or welding. The louver flow channels 61 may be grooves formed on the louver 60 by machining or stamping, and the anode edge area 12, the louver 60, and the cathode edge area 22 form a tight contact surface, which can block the passage of gas, and the coolant can be introduced and discharged by punching the louver flow channels 61 at the corresponding positions of the louver 60.

The unit fuel cell further includes: and a cooling side assembly 50, the cooling side assembly 50 being disposed at a second side of the cathode reaction zone, the grid 60 surrounding the cooling side assembly 50, the cooling side assembly 50 being provided with a coolant flow passage through which a coolant flows, and the grid flow passage 61 being in communication with the coolant flow passage. The cooling side assembly 50 is interposed between the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the second side of the anode edge zone 12 of an adjacent one of the unit fuel cells to space the anode plate 10 from the cathode plate 20 of the adjacent one of the unit fuel cells. The coolant flows through the cooling side assembly 50, thereby taking away heat from the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21.

In the related art, the sealing of the unit fuel cell is to add an insulating frame made of compressible insulating material around the membrane electrode 33, but when the sealing manner is under high pressure of the battery operation, the insulating frame is easy to deform and shift due to different material properties of the insulating frame and the membrane electrode 33, so as to affect the battery performance. In addition, the fabrication of the insulating frame itself increases the process complexity of the fuel cell assembly.

In the related art, because the anode plate and the cathode plate are both provided with the flow guiding functional area from the coolant inlet and outlet to the reaction area between the reaction area and the edge area, the width of the sealing groove to the reaction area is larger, and the requirement that the distance is less than 1.5cm cannot be met. That is, in conventional designs, there is a technical obstacle that results in the related designs being necessarily sealed using an insulating frame. In the present application, since the grid plate is provided and the grid plate flow channel 61 is provided on the grid plate 60, the corresponding coolant flow guiding functional areas are not required to be provided on the anode plate and the cathode plate, thus, the design of the insulating frame can be directly canceled, positioning, sealing and insulation can be realized by the method of directly pressing the membrane electrode 33 by arranging the sealing body in the sealing groove, and the working procedure is greatly simplified.

As shown in fig. 1, 21, and 22, the anode edge region 12 includes: the two first edge areas are oppositely arranged along the first direction, the two second edge areas are oppositely arranged along the second direction, two ends of one first edge area are respectively connected with one ends of the two second edge areas which are oppositely arranged, and two ends of the other first edge area are respectively connected with the other ends of the two second edge areas which are oppositely arranged. One of the two first edge regions is provided with a fuel gas inlet 71 and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a fuel gas outlet 72.

One of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant outlet 76 and a fuel gas inlet 71, and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant inlet 75 and a fuel gas outlet 72; one of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant inlet 73 and the other of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant outlet 74.

In the related art, because the anode plate and the cathode plate are arranged between the reaction zone and the edge zone and are respectively provided with a diversion zone from an oxidant inlet and an outlet, a fuel gas inlet and an outlet and a coolant inlet and outlet to the reaction zone, and the three diversion zones are intensively distributed between a sealing line of the same zone and the reaction zone, the width from the sealing groove to the reaction zone is larger, and the requirement that the distance is less than 1.5cm cannot be met. That is, in conventional designs, there is a technical obstacle that results in the related designs being necessarily sealed using an insulating frame. In the application, because the positions of the inlets and the outlets are redesigned, the diversion areas of the fuel gas and the oxidant are positioned on two adjacent sides of the partition board, and most diversion functional areas are positioned between the sealing line and the inlets and the outlets, and only a very small part of diversion functional areas are positioned between the sealing line and the reaction area, so that the design of the insulating frame can be directly canceled, and the positioning, sealing and insulation are realized by a method of directly pressing the membrane electrode 33 by arranging the sealing body in the sealing groove, thereby greatly simplifying the working procedures.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2 and 9, the unit fuel cell further includes: the first side of the cathode reaction area 21 is concavely arranged relative to the first side of the cathode edge area 22 towards the second side of the cathode plate 20 to form a sink, the air channel assembly 40 is arranged in the sink, and the air channel assembly 40 comprises a plurality of through holes for air supply and water passing through.

The first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 is provided with a cathode flow channel 211, and the cathode flow channel 211 comprises a groove arranged in the cathode reaction zone 21. The gas circuit assembly 40 can meet the gas and water passing requirements, and the gas reaction space of the cathode side can be greatly enhanced through the combination of the gas circuit assembly 40 and the cathode flow channel 211, so that the gas flowing space of the cathode side is larger than that of the anode side, and the problem that the reaction spaces required by the oxyhydrogen side are different is solved, and the structures of the cathode flow channel 211 and the anode flow channel 111 can be basically the same in design, thereby ensuring that the volume of the fuel cell separator can be maintained in a smaller range, and the production process of the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 is simpler.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, the bottom wall of the cathode sealing groove 221 is disposed at the same height as the first side surface of the cathode reaction zone 21. This corresponds to a reduction in the reference plane of the cathode plate 20, facilitating the machining of the cathode plate 20. In this embodiment, the cathode plate 20 includes three datum planes: a gas flow channel bottom plane, a gas flow channel top plane, and an edge area plane. The cathode plate 20 of this structure is simple in process.

The junction of the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 is formed in a stepped shape, and the gas path assembly 40 is positioned by the stepped surface 223 between the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22. It can be understood that, when the gas circuit assembly 40 and the cathode plate 20 are processed, the shape of the gas circuit assembly 40 is the same as that of the cathode reaction zone 21 of the cathode plate 20, and the processing precision of the sink groove is controlled, so that the gas circuit assembly 40 can be just embedded into the sink groove, and the positioning of the gas circuit assembly 40 is directly realized through the sink groove of the cathode plate 20. In order to simplify the processing, the sinking groove and the air channel assembly 40 can be processed into a long square shape, and the positioning of the air channel assembly 40 can be effectively realized through the cooperation of the peripheral wall of the air channel assembly 40 and the peripheral wall of the sinking groove.

As shown in fig. 1, the present invention also discloses a fuel cell stack, which includes: a plurality of unit fuel cells according to any of the above embodiments are arranged in a stack, and the second side of the cathode plate 20 of a unit fuel cell is arranged opposite to the second side of the anode plate 10 of an adjacent unit fuel cell.

According to the fuel cell stack provided by the embodiment of the invention, the positioning, sealing and insulation are realized by arranging the sealing body in the sealing groove to directly press the membrane electrode 33, so that the assembly process of the fuel cell stack is greatly simplified.

As shown in fig. 2 and 9, in some embodiments, the fuel cell stack may further include: cooling side assembly 50 and louvers 60.

The cooling side assembly 50 is interposed between the second side of the cathode plate 20 of one unit fuel cell and the second side of the anode plate 10 of an adjacent one unit fuel cell such that the anode plate 10 is spaced apart from the cathode plate 20, and the cooling side assembly 50 is provided with a coolant flow passage through which a coolant flows.

The cooling side assembly 50 is disposed opposite the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21, and a louver 60 is disposed around the cooling side assembly 50, and the louver 60 seals the cooling side assembly 50 from leakage of coolant. The louver 60 is interposed between the second side of the cathode edge region 22 of one unit fuel cell and the second side of the anode edge region 12 of an adjacent unit fuel cell, and the louver 60 is provided with louver flow passages 61 communicating with the coolant flow passages.

The two sides of the louver 60 are pressed against the second side of the anode edge area 12 and the second side of the cathode edge area 22, respectively, and the two sides of the louver 60 are connected with the second side of the anode edge area 12 and the second side of the cathode edge area 22, respectively, in a sealing manner, for example, the louver 60 is connected with the anode edge area 12 and the cathode edge area 22 in a sealing manner by bonding or welding.

The louver 60 is made of a metal plate, and the louver runner 61 is formed by machining or punching. The cooling side assembly 50 is made of a fibrous material or a metallic material or a rubber material.

It will be appreciated that the anode reaction zone 11 is disposed opposite to the cathode reaction zone 21, and the electrochemical reaction mainly occurs between the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21, so that the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21 have more heat, the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 can be separated by disposing the cooling side assembly 50 and the grid plate 60, so that the second side of the anode plate 10 and the second side of the cathode plate 20 are not bonded, and the cooling side assembly 50 is disposed in the cavity formed between the second side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21, so that the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21 can dissipate heat.

Example seven

A unit fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 2 and fig. 13 to 14.

As shown in fig. 1 to 2 and 13 to 14, a unit fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: anode plate 10, cathode plate 20, membrane electrode assembly 30.

The seal of the unit fuel cell takes the form of: the first side of the anode edge region 12 is provided with an anode sealing boss 125, the first side of the cathode edge region 22 is provided with a cathode sealing boss 225, and at least part of the membrane electrode 33 extending out of the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 and the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is externally provided with an insulating frame 34, and the insulating frame 34 is sandwiched between the anode sealing boss 125 and the cathode sealing boss 225.

The insulating frame 34 and the membrane electrode assembly 30 may be preformed in a single body. The insulating frame 34 is made of an insulating elastic material and has a certain hardness. The positioning of the membrane electrode assembly 30 is achieved by the cooperation of the insulating frame 34 with the anode sealing boss 125 and the cathode sealing boss 225 during assembly. In assembly, the pressing deformation of the insulating frame 34 by applying a fastening force to the lamination direction completes the sealing of the unit fuel cell.

In this way, there is no need to provide a separate seal groove and seal 222 when sealing the unit fuel cell, and the number of parts of the unit fuel cell can be reduced.

According to the single fuel cell of the embodiment of the invention, the positioning, sealing and insulation of the membrane electrode assembly 30 can be realized by arranging the sealing bosses for sealing on the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20, and the assembly process is greatly simplified.

In some embodiments, the end surfaces of the anode sealing boss 125 and the cathode sealing boss 225 are planar, and the matching area between the planar end surface of the sealing boss and the insulating frame 34 is large, so that the sealing effect is good, and the processing is convenient. Anode sealing land 125 is disposed around anode reaction zone 11 and cathode sealing land 225 is disposed around cathode reaction zone 21, with both anode sealing land 125 and cathode sealing land 225 having rectangular cross sections.

The distance between the axis of the anode sealing boss 125 in the stacking direction of the unit fuel cell and the axis of the cathode sealing boss 225 in the stacking direction of the unit fuel cell is f, satisfying: f is less than or equal to 10 mu m. That is, the machining precision of the anode sealing boss 125 and the cathode sealing boss 225 needs to meet a certain requirement, so that the anode sealing boss 125 and the cathode sealing boss 225 can be arranged substantially opposite to each other, in actual operation, the dislocation of the anode sealing boss 125 and the cathode sealing boss 225 in the direction parallel to the stacking direction should be between 2 μm and 10 μm, so that the stability of sealing and positioning can be ensured, and the machining difficulty is not great.

According to the fuel cell stack of the embodiment of the invention, the positioning, sealing and insulation of the membrane electrode assembly 30 can be realized by arranging the sealing bosses for sealing on the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20, so that the assembly process of the fuel cell stack is greatly simplified.

As shown in fig. 2 and 13, the fuel cell stack may further include: cooling side assembly 50 and louvers 60.

Example eight

A unit fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 2 and fig. 18 to 20.

As shown in fig. 1 to 2 and fig. 18 to 20, a unit fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: anode plate 10, cathode plate 20, membrane electrode assembly 30.

And a membrane electrode assembly 30, the membrane electrode assembly 30 being interposed between the first side of the anode plate 10 and the first side of the cathode plate 20. It should be noted that, the first side of the anode plate 10, the first side of the anode reaction zone 11, and the first side of the anode edge zone 12 are all located on the same side of the anode plate 10, and the second side of the anode plate 10, the second side of the anode reaction zone 11, and the second side of the anode edge zone 12 are all located on the same side of the anode plate 10; the first side of the cathode plate 20, the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 are all positioned on the same side of the cathode plate 20, and the second side of the cathode plate 20, the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the second side of the cathode edge zone 22 are all positioned on the same side of the cathode plate 20; the sides of the cathode plate 20 and the anode plate 10 disposed opposite to the membrane electrode assembly 30 are first sides, which are disposed opposite to the second sides.

As shown in fig. 18 to 20, at least part of the anode reaction region 11 and at least part of the cathode reaction region 21 are recessed in directions away from each other, and at least part of the anode edge region 12 and at least part of the cathode edge region 22 are projected in directions toward each other.

Thus, the whole anode plate 10 presents a shape with a convex central concave edge, the whole cathode plate 20 presents a shape with a convex central concave edge, after the anode plate 10 is buckled with the cathode plate 20, a large enough space can be formed in a central reaction area for accommodating the main body part of the membrane electrode assembly 30, correspondingly, the space of the reaction area has smaller limit on the membrane electrode assembly 30 and accessory parts, the membrane electrode assembly 30 and accessory parts which are more beneficial to electrochemical reaction can be designed, and the distance between the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 at the edge is small, so that the anode plate is convenient to seal, and sealing materials can be saved.

According to the single fuel cell of the embodiment of the invention, by arranging the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 in the structural form, a reaction area which is large enough can be defined, so that the reaction efficiency of the single fuel cell is higher, and sealing materials can be saved.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 18, the seal of the unit fuel cell takes the form of: the membrane electrode assembly 30 comprises an anode gas path diffusion layer 31, a membrane electrode 33 and a cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 which are stacked, the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 is opposite to the anode reaction zone 11, the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is opposite to the cathode reaction zone 21, at least part of the membrane electrode 33 extending out of the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 and the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is externally provided with an insulating frame 34, and the insulating frame 34 is clamped between the mutually protruding parts of the anode edge zone 12 and the cathode edge zone 22.

The insulating frame 34 and the membrane electrode assembly 30 may be preformed in a single body. The insulating frame 34 is made of an insulating elastic material and has a certain hardness. Positioning of the membrane electrode assembly 30 is achieved by the cooperation of the insulating frame 34 with the mutually protruding portions of the anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22 at the time of assembly. In assembly, the pressing deformation of the insulating frame 34 by applying a fastening force to the lamination direction completes the sealing of the unit fuel cell.

In this way, there is no need to provide a separate seal groove and seal 222 when sealing the unit fuel cell, and the number of parts of the unit fuel cell can be reduced. The positioning, sealing and insulation of the membrane electrode assembly 30 can be achieved by providing mutually projecting portions directly at the anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22, greatly simplifying the assembly process.

The distance of the axis of the convex portion of the anode edge region 12 in the stacking direction of the unit fuel cells from the axis of the convex portion of the cathode edge region 22 in the stacking direction of the unit fuel cells is f, satisfying: f is less than or equal to 10 mu m. As shown in fig. 18 to 20, the anode edge region 12 has an anode clamping portion 126 protruding toward the membrane electrode assembly 30, and the cathode edge region 22 has a cathode clamping portion 126 protruding toward the membrane electrode assembly 30, and the axis of the anode clamping portion 126 in the stacking direction of the unit fuel cells is a distance f from the axis of the cathode clamping portion 126 in the stacking direction of the unit fuel cells, satisfying: f is less than or equal to 10 mu m.

That is, the machining precision of the anode clamping portion 126 and the cathode clamping portion 126 needs to meet a certain requirement, so that the anode clamping portion 126 and the cathode clamping portion 126 can be arranged substantially opposite to each other, in actual operation, the dislocation of the anode clamping portion 126 and the cathode clamping portion 126 in the direction parallel to the stacking direction should be between 2 μm and 10 μm, so that the stability of sealing and positioning can be ensured, and the machining difficulty is not great.

As shown in fig. 19, the first side of the anode reaction region 11 is provided with an anode flow channel 111, the anode flow channel 111 is recessed in a direction away from the membrane electrode assembly 30, and the anode edge region 12 has an anode clamping portion 126 protruding toward the membrane electrode assembly 30. The main body portion of the anode edge region 12 is disposed flush with a region of the first side of the anode reaction region 11 where the anode flow channels 111 are not provided.

The anode plate 10 may employ a double-sided concave-convex structure formed by punching from a malleable material. As shown in fig. 19, the anode plate 10 has a concave-convex structure with double-sided staggered symmetry. The anode plate 10 includes three different levels: anode runner bottom surface A1, anode runner top surface A2 and anode clamping portion raised surface A3. The anode edge area 12 is generally flush with the anode flow channel top surface A2, and the anode clamping portion raised surface A3 is higher than the anode flow channel top surface A2. This corresponds to a reduction in the datum plane of the anode plate 10, facilitating processing of the anode plate 10.

As shown in fig. 20, the cathode reaction region 21 is provided with a cathode flow channel 211, the cathode flow channel 211 is recessed in a direction away from the membrane electrode assembly 30, and the cathode edge region 22 is protruded in a direction close to the membrane electrode assembly 30 with respect to the cathode reaction region 21 to form a sink in the cathode reaction region 21. The cathode edge zone 22 has a cathode clamping portion 126 that projects toward the mea 30.

The cathode plate 20 may employ a double-sided concave-convex structure formed by punching from a malleable material. As shown in fig. 19, the cathode plate 20 exhibits a concave-convex structure with double-sided staggered symmetry. The cathode plate 20 includes four datum planes: cathode runner bottom surface C1, cathode runner top surface C2, cathode clamping portion raised surface C3, and cathode edge area plane C4.

As shown in fig. 15, in some embodiments, the unit fuel cell may further include: the gas circuit assembly 40, the gas circuit assembly 40 sets up at the heavy groove. The junction of the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 is formed in a stepped shape, and the gas path assembly 40 is positioned by the stepped surface 223 between the first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 and the first side of the cathode edge zone 22.

The air path assembly 40 may have a plate shape, and the air path assembly 40 includes a plurality of through holes for air supply and water passage. The gas circuit assembly 40 can meet the gas and water passing requirements, and the gas reaction space of the cathode side can be greatly enhanced through the combination of the gas circuit assembly 40 and the cathode flow channel 211, so that the gas flowing space of the cathode side is larger than that of the anode side, and the problem that the reaction spaces required by the oxyhydrogen side are different is solved, and the structures of the cathode flow channel 211 and the anode flow channel 111 can be basically the same in design, thereby ensuring that the volume of the fuel cell separator can be maintained in a smaller range, and the production process of the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 is simpler.

As shown in fig. 2 and 18, in some embodiments, the fuel cell stack may further include: cooling side assembly 50 and louvers 60.

The technical features of the first to eighth embodiments may be combined with each other to form more embodiments without collision, for example, the sealing structure of the unit fuel cell in the first embodiment may refer to the structures of the sixth, seventh and eighth embodiments, or the fuel cell separator in the first embodiment may further include the grid 60, the cooling side assembly 50 and the like in the second embodiment, or the fuel cell separator in the first embodiment may further include the air path assembly 40 and the like in the third embodiment, which will not be described herein again.

An embodiment will be described in detail below as an example in conjunction with the features of the above embodiments.

Example nine

As shown in fig. 1 to 10 and 21 to 22, the fuel cell separator according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: anode plate 10, cathode plate 20, gas circuit assembly 40, cooling side assembly 50, grid 60.

The anode plate 10 includes an anode reaction region 11 and an anode edge region 12 surrounding the anode reaction region 11, and the anode flow channel 111 is disposed on a first side of the anode reaction region 11, for example, the anode reaction region 11 may be rectangular, and the anode edge region 12 may be a rectangular frame; the cathode plate 20 includes a cathode reaction region 21 and a cathode edge region 22 surrounding the cathode reaction region 21, and a cathode flow channel 211 is provided at a first side of the cathode reaction region 21.

At least a portion of the anode flow channels 111 extend in a first direction and at least a portion of the cathode flow channels 211 extend in a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction.

Grid 60 is sandwiched between the second side of anode edge zone 12 and the second side of cathode edge zone 22, and grid 60 is connected to both anode edge zone 12 and cathode edge zone 22. The cooling side assembly 50 is interposed between the second side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21 such that the anode plate 10 is spaced apart from the cathode plate 20, and both sides of the cooling side assembly 50 respectively press against the second side of the anode reaction zone 11 and the second side of the cathode reaction zone 21. The cooling side assembly 50 is provided with a coolant flow passage through which a coolant flows, and the coolant flows through the cooling side assembly 50, thereby taking away heat of the anode reaction zone 11 and the cathode reaction zone 21.

The first side of the cathode reaction zone 21 is recessed with respect to the first side of the cathode edge zone 22 toward the second side of the cathode plate 20 to form a sink, the gas circuit assembly 40 is disposed in the sink, and the gas circuit assembly 40 is positioned through the peripheral wall of the sink.

The gas circuit assembly 40 includes a plurality of through holes, the through holes are used for gas supply, water pass through, the gas circuit assembly 40 can satisfy gas, water pass through the demand, through the combination of gas circuit assembly 40 and cathode runner 211, can greatly strengthen the gas reaction space of cathode side, make the gas circulation space of cathode side be greater than the positive pole side, in this way, the different problem of the required reaction space of oxyhydrogen side has been solved, and the structure of cathode runner 211 and positive pole runner 111 can be designed basically the same, thereby guarantee that the volume of fuel cell separator can maintain at less scope, and the production technology of positive plate 10 and negative plate 20 is simpler.

The anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22 are both provided with the avoidance grooves 77, and the avoidance grooves 77 of the anode edge region 12 and the avoidance grooves 77 of the cathode edge region 22 are arranged opposite to each other. The dodging groove 77 is used for pressing the fuel cell separator, the dodging groove 77 penetrates through the edge area along the thickness direction of the fuel cell separator, the distance from the edge of the dodging groove 77 close to the reaction area is c, and the following conditions are satisfied: c is more than or equal to 20mm. The fuel cell stack is a stacked structure, and the fuel cell separators are also a stacked structure, and when stacking the fuel cell separators as a fuel cell stack, it is necessary to press the fuel cell separators using fasteners so that the respective fuel cell separators can be closely attached, the fasteners penetrating through the relief grooves 77 to penetrate through the fuel cell stack in the stacking direction of the fuel cell stack.

According to the fuel cell separator of the embodiment of the invention, the flow of the generated water and the coolant is optimized by adopting the vertical flow channel and by adopting the simple flow channel part which is easy to process, and simultaneously, the highly complex process is avoided. Meanwhile, the whole concave-convex of the fuel cell separator is optimized, so that different reaction spaces required by the oxyhydrogen side can be met without increasing the width of the flow channel. Meanwhile, the precise positioning of the membrane electrode assembly 30 is realized by utilizing the height difference formed by the concave and convex. The press-fitting force required for assembling the electric pile can be reduced, and the pressure applied to the inside of the battery is more uniform.

As shown in fig. 1-10 and 21-22, the present invention also discloses a unit fuel cell.

A unit fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: anode plate 10, cathode plate 20, gas circuit assembly 40, cooling side assembly 50, grid 60, and membrane electrode assembly 30.

The membrane electrode assembly 30 comprises an anode gas path diffusion layer 31, a membrane electrode 33 and a cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 which are stacked, the membrane electrode assembly 30 is clamped between the first side surface of the anode plate 10 and the first side surface of the cathode plate 20, the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 is opposite to the anode reaction zone 11, the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is opposite to the cathode reaction zone 21, the anode gas path diffusion layer 31 is clamped between the first side surface of the anode reaction zone 11 and the membrane electrode 33, and the cathode gas path diffusion layer 32 is clamped between the gas path assembly 40 and the membrane electrode 33.

The gas circuit assembly 40 comprises a plurality of through holes, the through holes are used for gas supply and water passing, the gas circuit assembly 40 can meet the gas and water passing requirements, the gas reaction space of the cathode side can be greatly enhanced through the combination of the gas circuit assembly 40 and the cathode runner 211, and the gas circulation space of the cathode side is larger than that of the anode side, so that the problem that the reaction spaces required by the oxyhydrogen side are different is solved, the structures of the cathode runner 211 and the anode runner 111 can be basically the same in design, the volume of the single fuel cell can be ensured to be maintained in a smaller range, and the production process of the anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 is simpler.

The membrane electrode assembly 30 is integrally formed with the gas circuit assembly 40. Thus, the membrane electrode assembly 30 can be positioned simultaneously by positioning the gas circuit assembly 40 through the sink of the cathode plate 20, thereby simplifying the assembly process of the unit fuel cell.

The anode edge region 12 and the cathode edge region 22 are both provided with the avoidance grooves 77, and the avoidance grooves 77 of the anode edge region 12 and the avoidance grooves 77 of the cathode edge region 22 are arranged opposite to each other. The avoidance groove 77 is used for press-fitting the unit fuel cell, the avoidance groove 77 penetrates through the edge area along the thickness direction of the unit fuel cell, the distance from the edge of the avoidance groove 77 close to the reaction area is c, and the following conditions are satisfied: c is more than or equal to 20mm. The fuel cell stack is a stacked structure, and the unit fuel cells are also a stacked structure, and when stacking the unit fuel cells as a fuel cell stack, it is necessary to press the unit fuel cells using a fastener so that the respective unit fuel cells can be closely attached, the fastener penetrating through the avoiding groove 77 to penetrate through the fuel cell stack in the stacking direction of the fuel cell stack.

According to the single fuel cell provided by the embodiment of the invention, the vertical flow channel is adopted, and the flow of generated water and coolant is optimized by adopting a simple flow channel part which is easy to process, and meanwhile, the highly complex process is avoided. Meanwhile, through optimizing the whole concave-convex of the single fuel cell, different reaction spaces required by the oxyhydrogen side can be met without increasing the width of the flow channel. Meanwhile, the precise positioning of the membrane electrode assembly 30 is realized by utilizing the height difference formed by the concave and convex. The press-fitting force required for assembling the electric pile can be reduced, and the pressure applied to the inside of the battery is more uniform.

The structure of the cathode plate 20 and the anode plate 10 in the above embodiments one to nine can be described with reference to the following embodiments.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4 and 14, the anode plate 10 is flat plate-shaped including grooves, and the anode flow channels 111 include grooves provided on the first side of the anode plate 10, the cathode plate 20 is flat plate-shaped including grooves, and the cathode flow channels 211 include grooves provided on the first side of the cathode plate 20. The first side of the anode plates 10, cathode plates 20 include grooves, and the second side of the anode plates 10, cathode plates 20 may be planar, which facilitates stacking. The anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 can be made of graphite, composite graphite or corrosion-resistant metal by machining and the like.

In other embodiments, as shown in fig. 12, 16, 19 and 20, the anode plate 10 is a plate body that is concave-convex on both the first side and the second side, and the cathode plate 20 is a plate body that is concave-convex on both the first side and the second side. The anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 can be formed into a structure with concave-convex on both sides by stamping using ductile corrosion-resistant materials such as stainless steel, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy, etc. The anode plate 10 and the cathode plate 20 have concave-convex structures with two-sided staggered symmetry.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: many changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A fuel cell separator, characterized by comprising:

an anode plate, wherein an anode runner is arranged on a first side surface of the anode plate, and at least part of the anode runner extends along a first direction;

a cathode plate, wherein a first side surface of the cathode plate is provided with a cathode flow channel, and at least part of the cathode flow channel extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; wherein the method comprises the steps of

The anode plate and the cathode plate are arranged in a stacked manner, and the second side surface of the anode plate is opposite to the second side surface of the cathode plate;

the anode plate comprises an anode reaction zone and an anode edge zone surrounding the anode reaction zone, and the anode runner is arranged on the first side surface of the anode reaction zone;

the cathode plate comprises a cathode reaction zone and a cathode edge zone surrounding the cathode reaction zone, and the cathode runner is arranged on the first side surface of the cathode reaction zone;

the anode edge region and the cathode edge region each include: two first edge regions oppositely arranged along the first direction, two second edge regions oppositely arranged along the second direction, wherein one of the two first edge regions is provided with a fuel gas inlet, and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a fuel gas outlet;

One of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant outlet and a fuel gas inlet, and the other of the two first edge regions is provided with a coolant inlet and a fuel gas outlet;

one of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant inlet, and the other of the two second edge regions is provided with an oxidant outlet;

the coolant outlet and the fuel gas inlet are distributed at intervals along the second direction, the fuel gas inlet is arranged at one end close to the oxidant outlet, and the coolant outlet is arranged at one end close to the oxidant inlet;

the coolant inlet and the fuel gas outlet are distributed at intervals along the second direction, the fuel gas outlet is arranged at one end close to the oxidant inlet, and the coolant inlet is arranged at one end close to the oxidant outlet;

the grid plate is clamped between the second side face of the anode edge area and the second side face of the cathode edge area, and the grid plate is hermetically connected with the anode edge area and the cathode edge area;

a cooling side assembly sandwiched between the second side of the anode reaction zone and the second side of the cathode reaction zone to space the anode plate from the cathode plate, the grid surrounding the cooling side assembly.

2. The separator according to claim 1, wherein two first edge regions of the anode edge region are provided with an inlet flow guiding region and an outlet flow guiding region, respectively, the inlet flow guiding region being provided between the fuel gas inlet and the anode flow channel, the outlet flow guiding region being provided between the fuel gas outlet and the anode flow channel, the inlet flow guiding region and the outlet flow guiding region each extending in the second direction.

3. The fuel cell separator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the anode flow channel includes a plurality of anode sub-flow channels extending in a first direction, the plurality of anode sub-flow channels being arranged at intervals in a second direction;

the cathode flow channel comprises a plurality of cathode sub-flow channels extending along the second direction, and the plurality of cathode sub-flow channels are arranged at intervals along the first direction.

4. A fuel cell separator as claimed in claim 3, wherein a first end of the anode sub-flow channel is connected to a first end of an adjacent one of the anode sub-flow channels and a second end of the anode sub-flow channel is connected to a second end of an adjacent other of the anode sub-flow channels.

5. The fuel cell separator according to claim 1, wherein the cooling side assembly is provided with coolant flow channels through which coolant flows, the anode edge region and the cathode edge region are provided with coolant inlets and coolant outlets separated by the anode reaction region and the cathode reaction region, the grid is provided with grid flow channels, the coolant inlets are in communication with the coolant flow channels through the corresponding grid flow channels, and the coolant outlets are in communication with the coolant flow channels through the corresponding grid flow channels.

6. The fuel cell separator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the anode plate and the cathode plate are each flat plate-shaped including grooves, and the anode flow channel includes grooves provided on the first side of the anode plate, and the cathode flow channel includes grooves provided on the first side of the cathode plate.

7. The fuel cell separator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the anode plate and the cathode plate are plate bodies that are concave-convex on both the first side face and the second side face.

8. A fuel cell stack, comprising: a plurality of the fuel cell separators and membrane electrode assemblies according to any one of claims 1 to 7, a plurality of the fuel cell separators being arranged in a stack, and the membrane electrode assemblies being interposed between an anode plate of the fuel cell separator and a cathode plate of an adjacent one of the fuel cell separators.

9. The fuel cell stack according to claim 8, further comprising: the fuel cell separator is the fuel cell separator according to claim 1, the gas path assembly is clamped between the first side surface of the cathode reaction zone and the membrane electrode assembly, and the gas path assembly is provided with a plurality of through holes for air supply and water passing through.

10. A unit fuel cell, characterized by comprising:

a cathode plate, wherein a first side surface of the cathode plate is provided with a cathode flow channel, and at least part of the cathode flow channel extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction;

the membrane electrode assembly is clamped between the first side surface of the anode plate and the first side surface of the cathode plate;

a grid plate;

a cooling side assembly;

the anode plate, cathode plate, grid plate, and cooling side assembly of the unit fuel cell have the same structure as the anode plate, cathode plate, grid plate, and cooling side assembly in the fuel cell separator according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

11. A unit fuel cell according to claim 10, wherein,

the anode plate comprises an anode reaction zone and an anode edge zone surrounding the anode reaction zone, and an anode sealing groove is arranged on the first side surface of the anode edge zone;

the cathode plate comprises a cathode reaction zone and a cathode edge zone surrounding the cathode reaction zone, and a cathode sealing groove is arranged on the first side surface of the cathode edge zone;

The membrane electrode assembly comprises an anode gas path diffusion layer, a membrane electrode and a cathode gas path diffusion layer which are arranged in a stacked mode, wherein the membrane electrode extends out of the anode gas path diffusion layer and at least part of the cathode gas path diffusion layer is provided with an insulating frame, and the insulating frame is clamped between sealing pieces arranged on the anode sealing groove and the cathode sealing groove.