CN117577871A - Bipolar plate structure of high-performance fuel cell and high-performance fuel cell - Google Patents
Bipolar plate structure of high-performance fuel cell and high-performance fuel cell Download PDFInfo
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- UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrogen Chemical compound [H][H] UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/02—Details
- H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
- H01M8/0258—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors characterised by the configuration of channels, e.g. by the flow field of the reactant or coolant
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/02—Details
- H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
- H01M8/0258—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors characterised by the configuration of channels, e.g. by the flow field of the reactant or coolant
- H01M8/0265—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors characterised by the configuration of channels, e.g. by the flow field of the reactant or coolant the reactant or coolant channels having varying cross sections
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
- Y02E60/50—Fuel cells
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Abstract
The invention discloses a bipolar plate structure of a high-performance fuel cell and the high-performance fuel cell, wherein the bipolar plate structure comprises a first inlet, a first outlet and a runner structure which is arranged on the bipolar plate and is communicated with the first inlet and the first outlet, the runner structure comprises at least two runners, and at least two runners with different widths exist in the runner structure in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the runners. The flow channel width in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the flow channel is changed, so that the flow channel can be blocked by accumulated water caused by gravity action by utilizing the change of the flow channel width in the direction, the influence of the non-uniformity of the accumulated water caused by gravity action on the gas uniformity of each part of the bipolar plate reaction zone is avoided, the uniform distribution of the gas at each part position of each bipolar plate in the working process of the fuel cell is further ensured, the distribution uniformity of fluid, pressure and concentration on each bipolar plate structure is ensured, and the performance and service life of the membrane electrode and the galvanic pile are improved.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of fuel cells, in particular to a bipolar plate structure of a high-performance fuel cell and the high-performance fuel cell.
Background
The main principle of the fuel cell is that chemical energy is converted into electric energy, the most important part in the fuel cell unit is a membrane electrode, in practical application, a plurality of single cells can be combined into a fuel cell stack according to the design requirement to meet the power output requirements of different sizes, hydrogen is mainly used as main fuel at present, compared with methane or petroleum gas which is used as raw materials, carbon deposition occurs on an anode due to insufficient reaction, and the carbon deposition is further attached to the surface of a catalyst active site of the anode, so that the activity decay of the fuel cell is accelerated, and the hydrogen has the advantage that the generated water vapor is very clean.
The bipolar plate structure in the prior art is an indispensable structure in a fuel cell, and has the functions of isolating a reaction medium, collecting current, conducting electricity, supporting a membrane electrode, conducting heat, providing a channel for reaction gas, uniformly distributing the reaction gas, draining water and the like in the fuel cell, and is called as a 'skeleton' of a fuel cell stack, and the reasonable flow field design of the bipolar plate can effectively improve the performance of the fuel cell. The types of flow fields commonly used at present are straight flow channels, S-shaped flow channels, serpentine flow channels and interdigital flow channels, wherein the S-shaped flow channels are increasingly applied due to better performance. However, the performance and service life of the fuel cell are not satisfactory, and it is generally considered that it is difficult to further improve the performance and service life of the fuel cell by designing a convection field, so how to further improve the performance and service life of the fuel cell is an important problem to be solved in the industry.
Disclosure of Invention
Based on the above, the embodiment of the invention provides a bipolar plate structure of a high-performance fuel cell and the high-performance fuel cell, so as to solve the problem that the performance and the service life of the fuel cell in the prior art are still to be improved.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bipolar plate structure for a high performance fuel cell, comprising a first inlet and a first outlet, and a flow channel structure provided on the bipolar plate communicating the first inlet and the first outlet, the flow channel structure comprising at least two flow channels, and at least two flow channels of different widths being present in the flow channel structure in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channels.
The current flow field design generally improves the flow channels in the extending direction of the flow channels (for convenience of distinction, the extending direction of the flow channels is called as x direction), such as S-shaped flow channels, serpentine flow channels, interdigital flow channels and the like, although the flow channel patterns are improved and adjusted, the improvement and adjustment also helps to improve the performance and service life of the fuel cell to a certain extent (the main principle is that the water accumulation problem in the flow field structure is solved to a certain extent by carrying out the flow channel width change design in the x direction), but in the flow field design scheme, the flow field structure is simply stacked by the same flow channels, namely the flow channels used in the flow field structure are all the same flow channels, that is, the flow field structure is characterized in that the flow channels used in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the flow channels (for convenience of distinction, the direction is called as y direction in the following). It is common for those skilled in the art to design bipolar plate structures of fuel cells to consider the uniformity requirements of fluid distribution, pressure distribution, concentration distribution, etc. throughout the reaction zone, while in general, each flow channel structure in a bipolar plate structure of a fuel cell is designed to be identical, i.e., only a simple stacking of identical flow channels is performed in the y-direction, which is an optimal design for ensuring uniformity of fluid distribution, pressure distribution, concentration distribution, etc. flowing over the bipolar plate, but the performance and service life of the fuel cell obtained by such a design are still unsatisfactory. In the practical application scene of the fuel cell, the fuel cell is generally horizontally arranged in the use process, at the moment, the flow channels in the bipolar plates in the fuel cell are arranged in parallel along the y direction, and gravity exists in the practical use scene, so that water generated by reaction in the fuel cell can seep from the membrane electrode and flow into the flow channels positioned at the lower part of the bipolar plates under the action of gravity, more water generated by reaction in the flow channels positioned near the lower part of the bipolar plates is caused, the flow rate of the water generated by reaction in the flow channels at the upper part of the bipolar plates is easy to be larger than that of other flow channels, the flow channels are easy to be blocked, and at the moment, the flow of gas in the blocked flow channels is influenced, so that the uniformity of fluid, pressure and concentration distribution of the whole fuel cell is influenced. Based on the above findings, it is explained that the existing field structure design mode has cognitive limitation and cognitive bias, and the field structure arrangement should be performed again in the y direction to form a new field structure design mode, which is a break-through hole for further improving the performance and service life of the fuel cell. Based on the above, the invention provides a new bipolar plate structure, the width distribution of the flow channels forming the flow channel structure in the y direction is designed, so that the widths of the flow channels arranged in parallel in the y direction are different, the flow velocity distribution of the gas at different positions of different flow channels in the y direction in the reaction zone is improved, and the water generated by the reaction at different positions in the y direction is better taken away through the changed gas flow velocity. Therefore, the scheme of the embodiment of the invention fully considers the actual use scene of the fuel cell, namely the high-performance fuel cell is transversely placed when in use, and the bipolar plate is transversely arranged (namely the y direction is the vertical direction, the extending direction x of the flow channel is parallel to the horizontal direction), so that the flow field structure on the bipolar plate structure breaks through the conventional redesign, the design thought in the y direction is changed, the flow channel width of one side end of the bipolar plate along the y direction is smaller, the influence of gravity on the fluid distribution in the flow channels of the bipolar plate is improved, such as the influence on water accumulation, the situation that part of flow channels are blocked by the water accumulation caused by the action of gravity is avoided, the distribution uniformity of fluid, pressure and voltage current concentration between the flow channels on the bipolar plate structure under the working state of the fuel cell is ensured, and the service life of the membrane electrode and the galvanic pile is prolonged. Meanwhile, although the bipolar plate structure of the high-performance fuel cell has uneven width among the flow channels in the y direction, the total reaction area on the bipolar plate is not reduced in practice, and the design of the structure can also effectively improve the water discharge effect generated by the reaction, thereby ensuring the uniform distribution of gas at each part of each bipolar plate in the working process of the fuel cell and ensuring the distribution uniformity of fluid, pressure and concentration at each part of the bipolar plate structure.
In some embodiments, the flow channel at an end position in the flow channel structure has a smallest width in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channel.
Therefore, by the arrangement, when the fuel cell works, the runner at the lowest part of the bipolar plate is ensured not to be blocked by water generated by reaction, and then the water generated by reaction accumulated under the action of gravity can be rapidly discharged, so that the uniformity of pressure distribution and current concentration distribution of a reaction area is improved, and the performance and service life of the fuel cell are effectively improved and prolonged.
In some embodiments, the flow channel structure is divided into at least two groups of flow channel parts, which consist of flow channels of equal width and arranged side by side.
Thus, by providing the flow passage portion, the number of the width dimensions of the flow passages in the flow passage structure can be reduced, and the cost and difficulty of manufacturing and processing the bipolar plate can be reduced.
In some embodiments, the flow channel structure includes at least three flow channels with different widths in a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of the flow channel, the flow channel structure is divided into at least three flow channel parts arranged in parallel, including a first flow channel part and a second flow channel part arranged at two end positions in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the flow channel in the flow channel structure, and at least one group of third flow channel parts arranged between the first flow channel part and the second flow channel part, the first flow channel part corresponds to the first outlet position, and the width of the flow channel of the first flow channel part and the width of the flow channel of the second flow channel part are both larger than the width of the flow channel of the third flow channel part in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the flow channel.
Thus, by setting the flow channel width of the flow channel part opposite to the first outlet relatively small, the flow velocity of water generated by reaction in the flow channel of the flow channel part can be increased, the water generated by reaction in the first flow channel part can be discharged faster due to the correspondence of the first flow channel part and the first outlet, and other flow channel parts can flow onto the flow channel below the bipolar plate when the fuel cell is horizontally arranged under the action of gravity so as to be discharged faster, thereby ensuring the uniformity of pressure distribution and current concentration distribution of the whole fuel cell reaction zone. This embodiment is mainly applied to the case where the first outlet is located at the upper portion of the bipolar plate when the fuel cell is placed horizontally.
In some embodiments, the width of the flow channel of the first flow channel portion is greater than the width of the flow channel of the second flow channel portion in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channel.
Therefore, when the fuel cell is horizontally placed, more water flows to the lower part of the bipolar plate (namely the second flow passage part) under the action of gravity than the water of the first flow passage part, so that the water generated by reaction can be discharged more quickly by utilizing the second flow passage part with smaller width of the flow passage, the condition of accumulated water is avoided, and the uniformity of pressure distribution and current concentration distribution of the whole fuel cell reaction area is ensured.
In some embodiments, the third flow path portions are provided with at least two groups, the third flow path portions are arranged in order of width of the flow path therebetween in a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of the flow path, and the width of the flow path in the third flow path portion is smaller as approaching the second flow path portion.
Therefore, when the fuel cell is horizontally placed, water generated by reaction flows into the flow channel with relatively smaller width under the action of gravity, so that the water discharge speed is improved, the condition of accumulated water is avoided, and the uniformity of pressure distribution and current concentration distribution of the whole fuel cell reaction area is ensured.
In some embodiments, the third flow path portion is provided with a set of flow paths, the first flow path portion having a width of 0.6-0.8mm, the second flow path portion having a width of 0.4-0.5mm, and the third flow path portion having a width of 0.8-1.0mm.
In some embodiments, the flow channel includes a first port and a second port, the width of the flow channel being configured to taper from the first port toward the second port.
Therefore, by the arrangement, when the gas and the water generated by the reaction flow in the flow channel, the flow speed can be gradually increased, the gas concentration in the later stage is further increased, the condition of uneven reaction of the membrane electrode is relieved, the whole voltage and the temperature distribution of the membrane electrode are uniform, and the discharge speed of the water generated by the reaction can be increased.
In some embodiments, the flow channel structure is a cathode flow channel structure.
In some embodiments, the flow channel structure is composed of a plurality of S-shaped flow channels arranged in parallel.
Thus, the flow passage performance of the bipolar plate can be better.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a high performance fuel cell comprising the bipolar plate structure described above.
The high-performance fuel cell provided by the invention adopts the bipolar plate structure, so that the problem of water accumulation can be well relieved and the service life of the high-performance fuel cell is prolonged when the high-performance fuel cell is used.
Drawings
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.
FIG. 1 is a bipolar plate structure of a high performance fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 2 is a bipolar plate structure of a high performance fuel cell according to another embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 3 is a bipolar plate structure of a high performance fuel cell according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows a bipolar plate structure of a high performance fuel cell according to yet another embodiment of the present invention
FIG. 5 is a flow channel structure of a bipolar plate structure of a high performance fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a graph comparing the performance of a typical prior art fuel cell employing a bipolar plate structure with identical flow channel structures with a fuel cell employing a bipolar plate structure according to various embodiments of the present invention under identical test conditions;
reference numerals: 11. a first inlet; 12. a first outlet; 2. a flow passage; 21. a first port; 22. a second port; 31. a first flow path portion; 32. a second flow path portion; 33. and a third flow path portion.
Detailed Description
For the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
It should be noted that, in the case of no conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.
Finally, it is further noted that relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms "comprises," comprising, "or" includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article or apparatus that comprises the element.
It is generally considered to be a common practice for those skilled in the art to design bipolar plate structures of fuel cells in order to ensure as uniform a distribution of fluids, pressure and concentration as possible, that the flow field structures on the bipolar plate structures should use exactly the same flow channels in the y-direction, i.e., the flow channel structures in the y-direction in the bipolar plate structures of the fuel cells are designed as simple stacks of identical flow channels so that the distribution of fluids, pressure and concentration flowing across the bipolar plates are as uniform as possible. However, such designs do not take into account the placement of the fuel cell during actual use and the effect of other forces on the gas and fluid flowing over the bipolar plate, i.e., are cognitively limited. In an actual use scene, the existing fuel cell is generally horizontally arranged, namely, the y direction on the bipolar plate in the fuel cell is consistent with the vertical direction, and water generated by reaction in the fuel cell is gradually accumulated and oozed into the flow channels of the bipolar plate from the membrane electrode when the fuel cell works, so that the water generated by reaction in the fuel cell can flow downwards under the action of gravity, the water generated by reaction in the fuel cell can be accumulated in the flow channels below the fuel cell, the quantity of the water generated by reaction in each flow channel in the fuel cell is inconsistent, the drainage pressure of the flow channels below the fuel cell is increased, and the situation that the flow channels below the fuel cell are blocked by accumulated water is more likely to occur. This is more pronounced when the air outlet of the bipolar plate is arranged in an upper part with respect to the direction of placement of the fuel cell. The problem of water accumulation and blockage caused by gravity is a key factor for disturbing and influencing the uniformity of gas, pressure, concentration and the like, and on the basis of the problem, the invention provides a method for modifying the flow channel arrangement in the y direction on the bipolar plate to improve the water accumulation problem caused by gravity and the uniformity problem of gas, pressure, concentration and the like, thereby improving the performance and the service life of the fuel cell.
The invention is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a structure of a bipolar plate structure of a high performance fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, and referring to fig. 1, the bipolar plate structure of the high performance fuel cell according to the present invention includes a first inlet 11 and a first outlet 12 disposed on a bipolar plate, and a flow channel structure disposed on the bipolar plate and communicating the first inlet 11 and the first outlet 12, wherein the flow channel structure is formed by arranging a plurality of flow channels 2 in parallel. The flow channel structure should be a flow channel structure on the cathode surface of the bipolar plate, and correspondingly, the first inlet 11 is an air inlet, and the first outlet 12 is an air outlet. The flow channels 2 in the flow channel structure are the same in structure, but at least two flow channels 2 are different in size, and the widths of the flow channels 2 are different, so that the flow rates of other flow channels 2 are different. In the flow channel structure, at least part of the flow channels 2 are arranged in parallel according to the width of the flow channels 2 from large to small or from small to large according to the width of the flow channels 2, so that when the fuel cell is horizontally placed, water generated by reaction can flow to the flow channels 2 with smaller width of the flow channels 2 under the action of gravity, and the water generated by reaction is better taken away by utilizing the property of higher gas flow rate of the flow channels 2 with smaller width of the flow channels 2, so that the situation of water accumulation is avoided. Illustratively, the dimensions of each flow channel 2 in the flow channel structure may be set to be different, that is, the width of each flow channel 2 is different, and further in the bipolar plate, the flow channel structure may be set to arrange each flow channel 2 in parallel in sequence according to the width thereof, so that flow channels 2 with gradually reduced widths are formed. As a preferred embodiment, the flow channel 2 at the end position in the flow channel structure may be provided to have a minimum width in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the flow channel 2. Therefore, when the fuel cell works, the runner at the lowest part of the bipolar plate is not blocked by water generated by reaction, and then the water generated by reaction accumulated under the action of gravity can be rapidly discharged, so that the pressure distribution and current concentration distribution uniformity of the reaction area are improved, and the performance and the service life of the fuel cell are effectively improved and improved.
Because the structural dimensions on the bipolar plate are smaller, if the widths of each runner 2 on the bipolar plate are different, the preparation difficulty and the preparation cost of the bipolar plate can be greatly increased, therefore, as a preferred implementation manner, the runner structure can be divided into a plurality of groups of runner parts, the widths of the runners 2 in each group of runner parts are the same, and the widths of the runners 2 of the runner parts in different groups are different, so that the runners 2 with the same widths of the runners 2 are divided into the same group of runner parts, and the size number of the runners 2 on the bipolar plate is reduced, thereby reducing the preparation difficulty and the preparation cost of the bipolar plate. Illustratively, referring to fig. 2, in this embodiment, the flow channel structure may be divided into a first flow channel portion 31 and a second flow channel portion 32 provided at both side ends of the bipolar plate, and a third flow channel portion 33 provided between the first flow channel portion 31 and the second flow channel portion 32, the widths of the flow channels 2 in the first flow channel portion 31, the third flow channel portion 33, and the second flow channel portion 32 gradually decreasing in order.
In some cases, the first outlet 12 will be located in an upper portion of the bipolar plate, such as the upper left or upper right portion, when the fuel cell is operating in a landscape configuration. At this time, in this embodiment, the flow channel structure may include at least three flow channels 2 of different widths, and the flow channel structure is divided into at least three flow channel portions arranged in parallel, including a first flow channel portion 31 and a second flow channel portion 32 provided at both side ends of the bipolar plate, and at least one third flow channel portion 33 provided between the first flow channel portion 31 and the second flow channel portion 32. Wherein the first flow path portion 31 corresponds to the first outlet 12, and the width of the flow path 2 of the first flow path portion 31 and the width of the flow path 2 of the second flow path portion 32 are both set to be larger than the width of the flow path 2 of the third flow path portion 33. In this way, when the fuel cell is horizontally arranged and operated, the gas flow rate in the first flow channel part 31 positioned at the upper part of the bipolar plate is faster than the gas flow rate in the third flow channel part 33, water generated by reaction in the first flow channel part 31 can be carried out more quickly under the action of the gas flow, and the water generated by reaction in the first flow channel part 31 can be discharged as soon as possible because the first flow channel part 31 corresponds to the first outlet 12, so that accumulation of water generated by reaction in other flow channel parts is avoided, the flow channel positioned at the lowest part of the bipolar plate is not blocked by the water generated by reaction, the water generated by reaction accumulated under the action of gravity can be discharged quickly, the pressure distribution and the current concentration distribution uniformity of a reaction zone are improved, and the performance and the service life of the fuel cell are improved and improved effectively. As described with reference to fig. 3, in this embodiment, the arrangement position of the first flow path portion 31 at the upper portion of the bipolar plate corresponds to the position of the first outlet 12, and therefore the width of the flow path 2 of the first flow path portion 31 is smaller than the width of the flow path 2 of the third flow path portion 33 arranged below the first flow path portion 31 (arranged at the middle portion of the bipolar plate), and water generated by the reaction in the first flow path portion 31 can be discharged as quickly as possible by utilizing the arrangement position advantage of the first flow path portion 31. Further, in this embodiment, the width of the flow channel 2 of the first flow channel portion 31 is preferably set to be larger than the width of the flow channel 2 of the second flow channel portion 32, and the second flow channel portion 32 and the third flow channel portion 33 may be arranged so as to be gradually narrowed in order of the widths of the flow channels 2 thereof in accordance with the above embodiment. This is because the water produced by the reaction in the second flow path portion 32 and the third flow path portion 33 is necessarily more than the water produced by the reaction in the first flow path portion 31 due to the gravity, and thus by setting the width of the flow path 2 of the second flow path portion 32 to be the smallest, the gas flow rate in the second flow path portion 32 is made the highest, the problem of water accumulation can be solved better, and the pressure distribution and the current concentration distribution uniformity of the whole fuel cell reaction zone can be improved. In the ideal structural arrangement state, the width of each flow channel 2 can be set to be different, so that the flow channels 2 on the bipolar plate can form a structure in which the width of the flow channel 2 is gradually changed, and in the above embodiment, since the width of the flow channel 2 at the upper part and the width of the flow channel 2 at the lower part are smaller than the width of the flow channel 2 at the middle part, the widths of the flow channels 2 can be gradually widened from top to bottom and then gradually narrowed.
The number of the third flow channel portions 33 may be set according to the number of the width types of the flow channels 2 in the flow channel structure. Illustratively, if five flow channels 2 of different widths are included in the flow channel structure, three groups of the third flow channel portions 33 are to be formed, excluding two flow channels 2 of different widths for forming the first flow channel portion 31 and the second flow channel portion 32, the three groups of the third flow channel portions 33 being arranged in order of the widths of the flow channels 2 therebetween, and the widths of the flow channels 2 in the third flow channel portion 33 being closer to the second flow channel portion 32 being smaller. Fig. 4 schematically shows a structural schematic of the bipolar plate structure in this embodiment, and the bipolar plate structure shown in fig. 4 is a manner in which the bipolar plates are arranged when the fuel cell is arranged horizontally. In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the flow channel structure includes four flow channels 2 with different widths, the width of the flow channel 2 of the first flow channel portion 31 is 0.7mm, the width of the flow channel 2 of the second flow channel portion 32 is 0.5mm, the widths of the flow channels 2 of the two third flow channel portions 33 are respectively 0.8mm and 1.0mm, the two third flow channel portions 33 are sequentially arranged downwards from large to small according to the width of the flow channel 2, that is, the third flow channel portion 33 with the width of the flow channel 2 being 1.0mm is above, and the third flow channel portion 33 with the width of the flow channel 2 being 0.8mm is below, so that the width of the flow channel 2 near the lower portion of the bipolar plate is smaller, the gas flow velocity is faster, water generated by the reaction can be better carried away, and the problem of accumulated water is avoided.
The structure of the runner 2 may be a common runner structure such as a straight runner 2, an S-shaped runner 2, a serpentine runner 2, an interdigital runner 2, etc., preferably the structure of the S-shaped runner 2 is adopted, and the performance is good and the processing is relatively easy. At both ends of the flow channel 2 are a first port 21 and a second port 22, the gas entering the flow channel 2 from the first inlet 11 and entering the flow channel 2 from the first port 21, and exiting from the second port 22 and exiting from the first outlet 12, and in some embodiments the width of the flow channel 2 may also be arranged to decrease gradually from the first port 21 towards the second port 22. When the gas flows in the flow channel 2, the width of the flow channel 2 is gradually reduced, so that the flow speed of the gas is increased, and meanwhile, the gas reacts with the membrane electrode in the front section of the flow channel 2, so that the gas concentration in the rear section of the flow channel 2 is reduced in the general flow channel 2 design, the gas concentration in the rear section of the flow channel 2 can be ensured, the condition of uneven membrane electrode reaction is relieved, the whole voltage and the temperature distribution of the membrane electrode are uniform, and the discharge speed of water generated by the reaction can be increased. Illustratively, fig. 5 schematically illustrates a schematic structure of the flow channel 2 of the above embodiment, and referring to fig. 5, the width at the first port 21 of the flow channel 2 is larger than the width at the second port 22 of the flow channel 2. Meanwhile, the design mode can be combined with the design of the S-shaped runner 2, so that the performance of the runner 2 is further improved. It should be noted that, regarding the above-described structural design in which the width of the flow channel 2 gradually decreases, the width of the flow channel 2 (e.g., the width of the flow channel 2 of the first flow channel portion 31, the width of the flow channel 2 of the second flow channel portion 32, etc.) described above in the present invention is understood as a design in which the width in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the flow channel 2 is located in the flow channel 2 to ensure the positional relationship between the flow channel portions.
Figure 6 schematically illustrates a graph of the performance of a typical prior art fuel cell employing a bipolar plate structure with a uniform flow channel structure versus a fuel cell employing a bipolar plate structure according to various embodiments of the present invention under similar test conditions. The comparative example is a performance fold line of a fuel cell using a bipolar plate structure in which the flow channel structures are completely identical in the conventional art, example 1 is an embodiment shown in fig. 1, example 2 is an embodiment shown in fig. 2, example 3 is an embodiment shown in fig. 3, and example 4 is an embodiment shown in fig. 4. As can be seen from the comparison result of fig. 6, the fuel cell using the bipolar plate structure according to the embodiments of the present invention has improved performance in all aspects compared to the fuel cell using the bipolar plate structure in which the flow channel structures are identical in the general prior art, that is, the fuel cell using the bipolar plate structure according to the embodiments of the present invention has improved uniformity of gas distribution at each part of each bipolar plate during operation, and improved uniformity of distribution of fluid, pressure and concentration across the bipolar plate structure, thereby improving electrochemical performance of the fuel cell.
The bipolar plate structure of the high-performance fuel cell is designed by the widths of the flow channels 2 of the flow channel structure, so that the widths of the flow channels 2 which are arranged in parallel are different, the smaller the width of the flow channels 2 is, the faster the flow velocity of gas is, and water generated by reaction can be taken away better, so that the water generated by reaction on the bipolar plate is not easy to accumulate due to the different water discharge speeds among the flow channels 2 with different widths, and the situation that the flow channels 2 are blocked is avoided. In addition, under the general use scene, the high-performance fuel cell is generally placed horizontally, so that the bipolar plate is also placed horizontally (namely, the direction of the flow channels 2 is parallel to the horizontal direction and all the flow channels 2 are distributed along the vertical direction), the width of the flow channel 2 at one side end on the bipolar plate is smaller, when the high-performance fuel cell is placed horizontally, water generated by reaction flows onto the flow channel 2 of the bipolar plate below under the action of gravity, the flow velocity of the generated water can be improved by utilizing the flow channel 2 with smaller width, the drainage speed is improved, the situation that part of the flow channels 2 are blocked is avoided, the distribution uniformity of fluid, pressure and concentration among all the flow channels on the bipolar plate structure of the fuel cell under the working state is ensured, and the service life of the membrane electrode and the galvanic pile is prolonged. Meanwhile, although the bipolar plate structure of the high-performance fuel cell has uneven width among the flow channels 2, the total reaction area on the bipolar plate is not reduced in practice, and the design of the structure can also effectively improve the water discharge effect generated by the reaction, thereby ensuring the uniform distribution of gas at each part position of each bipolar plate in the working process of the fuel cell and ensuring the distribution uniformity of fluid, pressure and concentration at each part on the bipolar plate structure.
The invention also provides a high-performance fuel cell, wherein the bipolar plate structure of the high-performance fuel cell adopts the bipolar plate structure in any embodiment, so that the problem of water accumulation can be well relieved when the high-performance fuel cell is horizontally placed and used, the uniform distribution of gas at each part of each bipolar plate in the working process of the fuel cell is ensured, the distribution uniformity of fluid, pressure and concentration at each part of the bipolar plate structure is ensured, and the service life of the high-performance fuel cell is prolonged.
Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present application, and are not limiting thereof; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions.
Claims (10)
1. A bipolar plate structure for a high performance fuel cell, comprising a first inlet (11) and a first outlet (12), and a flow channel structure arranged on the bipolar plate communicating the first inlet (11) and the first outlet (12), said flow channel structure comprising at least two flow channels (2), and at least two flow channels (2) of different widths being present in said flow channel structure in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channels (2).
2. Bipolar plate structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow channels (2) at end positions in the flow channel structure have a minimum width in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channels (2).
3. A bipolar plate structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow channel structure is divided into at least two groups of flow channel parts, each group consisting of flow channels (2) of equal width and arranged side by side.
4. A bipolar plate structure according to claim 3, characterized in that in the flow channel structure there are at least three flow channels (2) of different widths in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channels (2), the flow channel structure being divided into at least three groups of flow channel parts arranged side by side, comprising a first flow channel part (31) and a second flow channel part (32) arranged at two end positions in the flow channel structure in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channels (2), respectively, and at least one group of third flow channel parts (33) arranged between the first flow channel part (31) and the second flow channel part (32), the first flow channel part (31) corresponding to the first outlet (12) position, the width of the flow channel (2) of the first flow channel part (31) and the width of the flow channel (2) of the second flow channel part (32) being both larger than the width of the flow channel (2) of the third flow channel part (33) in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channel (2).
5. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 4, characterized in that the width of the flow channel (2) of the first flow channel portion (31) is greater than the width of the flow channel (2) of the second flow channel portion (32) in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the flow channel (2).
6. The bipolar plate structure according to claim 4, characterized in that the third flow channel portions (33) are provided with at least two groups, the width of the flow channels (2) in a group of third flow channel portions (33) arranged between the respective groups of third flow channel portions (33) in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channels (2) being arranged such that the closer the flow channels (2) in the group of third flow channel portions (33) of the second flow channel portions (32) are, the smaller the width in the direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the flow channels (2) is.
7. A bipolar plate structure according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the flow channel (2) comprises a first port (21) and a second port (22), the width of the flow channel (2) being arranged to decrease gradually from the first port (21) towards the second port (22).
8. The bipolar plate structure of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the flow channel structure is a cathode flow channel structure.
9. The bipolar plate structure of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein at least some of the flow channels are S-shaped flow channels.
10. A high performance fuel cell comprising a bipolar plate structure according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
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| CN202410077685.3A CN117577871A (en) | 2024-01-19 | 2024-01-19 | Bipolar plate structure of high-performance fuel cell and high-performance fuel cell |
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| CN202410077685.3A CN117577871A (en) | 2024-01-19 | 2024-01-19 | Bipolar plate structure of high-performance fuel cell and high-performance fuel cell |
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