DE102022210602A1 - Conveying device for a fuel cell system for conveying and/or recirculating a gaseous medium, in particular hydrogen - Google Patents

Abstract

Conveying device (1) for a fuel cell system (31) for conveying and/or recirculating a gaseous medium, in particular hydrogen, with a side channel compressor (8), wherein the conveying device (1) is at least partially driven by a metering valve (6) with a propulsion jet (40) of a pressurized gaseous medium, wherein the pressurized gaseous medium is supplied to the conveying device (1) by means of the metering valve (6), wherein the side channel compressor (8) has a compressor wheel (7) which is arranged to be rotatable about an axis of rotation (4), wherein an anode outlet (3) of a fuel cell (29), in particular a fuel cell stack (33), is fluidically connected to an inlet, in particular an inlet channel (18), of the conveying device (1), and wherein an outlet, in particular an outlet channel (19), of the conveying device (1) is fluidically connected to an anode inlet (5) of the fuel cell (29), wherein the compressor wheel (7) is arranged on its circumference in the region of a Compressor chamber (30) has first blades (35) arranged. According to the invention, the compressor chamber (30) and/or the first blades (35) are delimited on their side facing away from the axis of rotation (41) by an outer limiting ring (39) and/or can be at least partially fluidically encapsulated, with second blades (36) arranged on the side of the limiting ring (39) facing away from the axis of rotation (41) in the region of a flow channel (22), with the compressor wheel (7) being drivable by the propulsion jet (40) of the metering valve (6) acting on the second blades.

Description

State of the art

The present invention relates to a conveying device for a fuel cell system for conveying and/or recirculating a gaseous medium, in particular hydrogen, which is intended in particular for use in vehicles with a fuel cell drive.

In the future, gaseous fuels will play an increasing role in the automotive sector alongside liquid fuels. Hydrogen gas flows must be controlled, particularly in vehicles with fuel cell drives. The gas flows are no longer controlled discontinuously as with the injection of liquid fuel, but the gas is taken from at least one tank, in particular a high-pressure tank, and fed to the delivery device via an inflow line of a medium-pressure line system. This delivery device feeds the gas to a fuel cell via a connecting line of a low-pressure line system.

From the EN 10 2017 222 390 A1 a conveying device for a fuel cell system for conveying and/or recirculating a gaseous medium is known, in particular hydrogen, with a side channel compressor, with a jet pump driven by a propulsion jet of a pressurized gaseous medium and with a metering valve. The pressurized gaseous medium is fed to the jet pump by means of the metering valve, with an anode outlet of a fuel cell being fluidically connected to an inlet of the conveying device and with an outlet of the conveying device being fluidically connected to an anode inlet of the fuel cell,

The EN 10 2017 222 390 A1 A fuel cell system known from a known conveyor system can have certain disadvantages. The components of the conveyor system, in particular the side channel compressor, the HGI and the jet pump, are at least partially connected to one another and/or to the fuel cell and/or to other components of the conveyor system by means of fluidic connections in the form of pipes and, if necessary, an additional distributor plate with internal channels. The components are at least partially present as separate assemblies that are connected to one another by means of pipes. This creates many flow deflections and thus flow losses. This reduces the efficiency of the conveyor system.

On the other hand, arranging the components metering valve and/or jet pump and/or side channel compressor as separate assemblies has the disadvantage that they form a large surface area in relation to the installation space and/or geometric volume. This promotes rapid cooling, especially when the entire vehicle is idle for long periods, which can lead to increased formation of ice bridges and thus increased damage to the components and/or the entire fuel cell system, which in turn can lead to reduced reliability and/or service life of the conveyor system and/or the fuel cell system. A further disadvantage is the poor cold start properties of the components metering valve and/or jet pump and/or side channel compressor and/or the fuel cell system and/or the entire vehicle, since heating energy and/or thermal energy must be introduced individually into the components side channel compressor and/or jet pump and/or metering valve, whereby the components are arranged at a distance from one another and thus each component must be heated separately, especially at temperatures below 0° Celsius, in order to eliminate possible ice bridges.

Furthermore, a separate housing must be provided for each of the side channel compressor, jet pump and metering valve components, which leads to high manufacturing costs and/or material costs. The provision of a jet pump also leads to increased installation space requirements for the entire conveying system, since the jet pump can be built in a bulky manner in conjunction with the metering valve.

Disclosure of the invention

Advantages of the invention

According to the invention, a conveying device for a fuel cell system is proposed for conveying and/or recirculating a gaseous medium, in particular hydrogen. The conveying device is at least partially driven by means of a metering valve with a propulsion jet of a pressurized gaseous medium, wherein the pressurized gaseous medium is fed to the conveying device by means of the metering valve, wherein the side channel compressor has a compressor wheel, which is arranged so as to be rotatable about an axis of rotation. An anode outlet of a fuel cell, in particular a fuel cell stack, is fluidically connected to an inlet, in particular an inlet channel, of the conveying device. Furthermore, an outlet, in particular an outlet channel, of the conveying device is fluidically connected to an anode inlet of the fuel cell. The Compressor wheel having first blades arranged on its circumference in the region of a compressor chamber.

With reference to claim 1, the conveying device is proposed in which a compressor chamber and/or several first blades are delimited on their side facing away from the axis of rotation by an outer limiting ring and/or can be at least partially fluidically encapsulated, with second blades arranged on the side of the outer limiting ring facing away from the axis of rotation in the region of a flow channel. The compressor wheel can be driven by the propulsion jet of the metering valve acting on the second blades. In this way, the efficiency of the conveying unit can be improved, since the compressor wheel can be efficiently driven via the second blades arranged on the side of the outer limiting ring facing away from the axis of rotation in the region of the flow channel. The second blades can be driven by means of the propulsion jet of the metering valve. The propellant, which is under high pressure and at a high speed, impacts the surface of the second blades in the form of the propellant jet and, in particular by means of a momentum transfer and/or a flow effect, causes a force to be exerted on the compressor wheel and, due to the lever arm, the compressor wheel is set in motion and/or kept in motion. Furthermore, the advantage can be achieved that the jet pump component can be saved and is no longer required, since the compressor wheel is driven directly by means of the metering valve, which means that the required installation space of the conveying device can be reduced, since the jet pump component used in the prior art can be built in a protruding manner and protrudes away from the rest of the components of the conveying device. Furthermore, the advantage can be achieved that the conveying device and/or the side channel compressor and/or a drive motor can be cooled by means of the freshly flowing propellant medium, which comes in particular from a tank, in particular a high-pressure tank. In addition, the product costs of the conveying device can be reduced, since the use of an additional cooling element component is no longer required.

The measures listed in the subclaims enable advantageous further developments of the conveying device specified in claim 1. The subclaims relate to preferred further developments of the invention.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the conveying device, the side channel compressor has at least one at least partially encapsulated separation chamber and at least the flow channel that runs at least partially in a ring around the axis of rotation in a housing on the side of the outer limiting ring facing away from the axis of rotation. In this way, the advantage can be achieved that the second blades can be flowed against and driven by the propulsion jet of the metering valve in the area of the flow channel in such a way that a fluidic separation of this flow channel from the compressor chamber can be achieved. The flow energy of the propulsion jet can thus be converted at least almost exclusively into kinetic rotational energy. If the propulsion jet of the metering valve is injected onto the first blades in the area of the compressor chamber, there would be a fluidic mixing of the propulsion medium and the gaseous medium in the compressor chamber, in particular the recirculate, with the flow energy of the propulsion jet occurring at least partially due to turbulence, flow losses and/or friction losses due to contact with the gaseous medium and/or the surfaces of at least one side channel. The efficiency of the conveyor device and/or the entire fuel cell system can thus be increased by the inventive design of the conveyor device with the flow channel. On the other hand, this can achieve the advantage that the water from the gaseous medium, which is discharged from the compressor chamber of the side channel compressor into the separation chamber and/or can be discharged further out of the housing of the side channel compressor and the conveyor device. This offers the advantage that an increase in the efficiency of the side channel compressor and/or the conveying device can be maintained over the entire service life, since the proportion and/or concentration of H ₂ in the gaseous medium can be increased, while the proportion and/or concentration of water in the gaseous medium can be reduced. Furthermore, the advantage is achieved that by leading the water out of the area of the compressor chamber, so-called ice bridges are prevented from forming between the moving parts, in particular the compressor wheel and the housing, when the fuel cell system is switched off and at low ambient temperatures. Such ice bridges would make it difficult or completely impossible to start the conveying device, in particular the side channel compressor. Thus, the inventive design of the side channel compressor and/or the conveying device can prevent damage to the rotating parts of the side channel compressor due to the formation of ice bridges. This leads to a higher reliability of the conveying device.

According to an advantageous development of the conveying device, it has a tank, wherein the side channel compressor and the tank are at least indirectly fluidically connected by means of a connecting channel, in particular via the separation chamber, and together form a water separator. The connecting channel is located at a higher geodetic level than an inlet channel, in particular by means of which the gaseous medium is supplied to the side channel compressor and/or the conveying device and which is located at a lower geodetic level. In this way, the advantage can be achieved that, on the one hand, a compact arrangement of the components of the conveying device and thus a compact design of the conveying device can be achieved. Furthermore, in this way the advantage can be achieved that an accumulation of water in one of the lines of the conveying device can be avoided and the water is drained directly from the conveying device into the tank of the water collector. In addition, the water can be brought to a higher geodetic level when being drained into the tank, so that when the water is later drained from the tank, no additional lifting work has to be carried out in order to drain the water from the anode area out of the system and/or the anode area by means of the water separator. Thus, energy can be saved by means of the design of the conveying device according to the invention and the efficiency of the conveying device can be increased.

According to a particularly advantageous development of the conveying device, a discharge channel has a mixing area, in particular in its upstream area, wherein the outlet of the side channel compressor and the outlet of the flow channel are also fluidically connected to one another via the mixing area. In this way, the advantage can be achieved that an efficient merging and mixing of the driving medium fed from the metering valve via the flow channel into the mixing area with the recirculate fed from the compressor chamber of the side channel compressor to the mixing area via its outlet can take place. Mixing of the driving medium and the recirculate only takes place in the mixing area, without mixing of the recirculate and the driving medium occurring upstream of the mixing area in the area of the compressor chamber or the flow channel. Thus, a large part of the pressure energy and/or kinetic energy of the pressurized propellant coming from a high-pressure tank and metered into the flow channel of the side channel compressor via the metering valve can be used at least almost exclusively to drive the compressor wheel via the second blades. This has the advantage of increasing the efficiency of the conveying device and/or the side channel compressor. Furthermore, this development of the conveying device according to the invention offers the advantage that the propellant is only brought together with the recirculate after the water has been separated in the area of the compressor chamber and/or the separation chamber and/or the side channel compressor, so that it can be prevented that part of the propellant is inadvertently led out of the conveying unit via the separation process of the water in the water separator and can therefore no longer be used in a fuel cell stack. The efficiency of the fuel cell stack and/or the fuel cell system can thus be increased.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the conveying device, the flow channel is at least indirectly fluidically connected to the compressor chamber via a throttle, in particular in a downstream end region of the compressor chamber. In this way, the advantage can be achieved that when the pressure level of the driving medium in the flow channel is increased, the driving medium is discharged from the flow channel into the compressor chamber by means of the throttle, so that the pressure level in the flow channel can be reduced. This prevents the driving medium from flowing into the mixing area at an increased pressure level and from there into the discharge channel and into the fuel cell stack and damaging the fuel cell stack, since a membrane of the fuel cell stack reacts sensitively to pressure differences between the cathode area and the anode area and can tear and/or be damaged. The throttle is designed in such a way that the driving medium only passes through the throttle when a certain pressure level is exceeded, which can be achieved, for example, by the structural geometric design of the throttle. An increased pressure, which is discharged into the compressor chamber via the throttle, can be reduced more efficiently in the compressor chamber due to the larger flow space and the fluidic interaction between the compressor wheel and at least one side channel. This reduces the probability of failure of the fuel cell stack and the entire fuel cell system and thus increases the service life of the fuel cell system.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the conveying device, the throttle can be adjusted by means of an actuator, in particular the flow rate can be reduced or increased, wherein the throttle can also be completely fluidically closed by means of the actuator, so that in particular the flow channel from the compressor chamber can be fluidically encapsulated at least via this flow connection. In this way, the advantage can be achieved that, depending on the operating state of the conveying device and/or the pressure level in the flow channel, a controlled discharge of the driving medium from the flow channel into the compressor chamber can be achieved in such a way that the pressure level in the flow channel and/or in the mixing area and/or in the discharge channel can be regulated and/or reduced so that the gaseous medium flowing into the fuel cell stack via the anode inlet does not exceed a pressure level that is harmful to the fuel cell stack. In an exemplary embodiment of the conveying device, a pressure level can be measured by means of one or more sensors, in particular pressure sensors, present in the flow channel, in the mixing area, in the discharge channel or in the anode inlet, whereby these measured values are used to specifically control the actuators to adjust the opening cross-section and/or to close and/or fully open the throttle. In this way, the propellant can be removed from the flow channel more quickly and efficiently to prevent the fuel cell stack from being damaged if a pressure level is exceeded. This increases the service life of the fuel cell stack and/or the fuel cell system.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the conveying device, the water component is separated from the gaseous medium in the side channel compressor, the separation taking place in particular by means of the centrifugal principle. In this way, the advantage can be achieved that the kinetic energy, in particular the rotational energy, of the compressor wheel, which is primarily used to compress the gaseous medium, is also used to accelerate the water present in the gaseous medium by the compressor wheel as it rotates and in the process moves it away from the axis of rotation of the compressor wheel by means of centrifugal force. This enables efficient separation of the water from the gaseous medium and the efficiency of the water separator and/or the conveying device can be improved. By using the centrifugal principle to remove the heavy components such as water, in particular from the compressor chamber, the advantage can be achieved that the separation process is improved in such a way that the water can be almost completely separated from the gaseous medium, in particular from the hydrogen of the gaseous medium. This ensures that as high a proportion of hydrogen as possible flows back to the fuel cell stack, which increases the efficiency and/or performance of the fuel cell stack and/or the fuel cell system. Another advantage is that no additional energy and/or only a small amount of energy needs to be provided to separate the water component from the hydrogen component, particularly from the fuel cell system and/or the higher-level vehicle system. Further introduction of energy, particularly kinetic energy or pressure energy, into the medium is therefore no longer necessary in order to achieve optimal efficiency of the separation process by the side channel compressor using the centrifugal principle. This increases the efficiency of the fuel cell system and reduces operating costs.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the conveying device, the connecting channel has a curvature, wherein a flow direction IV, in particular of the discharged water, changes in the region of the curvature from a flow direction IVa running parallel to a reference axis to a flow direction IVb running at least almost in a direction of gravity. In this way, the advantage can be achieved that at least in the second partial area B the water can be conveyed through the connecting channel into the tank exclusively by means of the already existing kinetic energy of movement and by using gravity. In this way, no additional energy is required for transport through the partial area B, which would first have to be introduced from outside the connecting channel, such as a pressure force or an additional impulse. The efficiency of the water separator and/or the conveying device can thus be improved.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the conveying device, the second blades are designed as Pelton turbine blades. The second blades are open on the side facing the propulsion jet and the metering valve and have a bulbous shape on the side facing away from the propulsion jet and the metering valve. In this way, the advantage can be achieved that the delivery pressure achievable by the propulsion jet can be increased and the fluidic efficiency of the compressor wheel in the area of the flow channel can be improved. The overall efficiency of the side channel compressor can thus be increased. Furthermore, an improved momentum transfer and/or an improved flow effect can be achieved by the propulsion medium at high speed in the form of the propulsion jet and the force acting on the open surface of the Pelton turbine blades, so that a force is exerted on the respective compressor wheel and due to the lever arm the compressor wheel is set in motion and/or kept in motion.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described here and the aspects highlighted therein. Rather, within the scope specified by the claims, a large number of modifications and/or combinations of the features and/or advantages described in the claims are possible, which are within the scope of expert action.

Short description of the drawing

The invention is described in more detail below with reference to the drawing.

• 1 zeigt in einer Draufsicht eine Fördereinrichtung mit einem Seitenkanalverdichter, einem Dosierventil und einem Strömungskanal,
• 2 zeigt eine in 1 mit D-D bezeichnete Schnittansicht der Fördereinrichtung, insbesondere mit dem Seitenkanalverdichter.

It shows:

• 1 shows a top view of a conveying device with a side channel compressor, a metering valve and a flow channel,
• 2 shows a 1 Sectional view of the conveying device, marked DD, in particular with the side channel compressor.

Embodiments of the invention

The representation according to 1 shows a top view of a conveying device 1. This conveying device 1 is suitable for a fuel cell system 31 for conveying and/or recirculating a gaseous medium, in particular hydrogen. The conveying device 1 has a side channel compressor 8, wherein the conveying device 1 is at least partially driven by a metering valve 6 with a propulsion jet 40 of a pressurized gaseous medium. The pressurized gaseous medium is fed to the conveying device 1 by means of the metering valve 6, wherein the side channel compressor 8 has a compressor wheel 7 which is rotatable about a rotation axis 41 (shown in 2 ) is arranged. Furthermore, in 1 shown that an anode outlet 3 of a fuel cell 29, in particular of a fuel cell stack 33, is fluidically connected to an inlet, in particular an inlet channel 18, of the conveying device 1 and wherein an outlet, in particular an outlet channel 19, of the conveying device 1 is fluidically connected to an anode inlet 5 of the fuel cell 29. The compressor wheel 7 has first blades 35 arranged on its circumference in the region of a compressor chamber 30.

1 shows that a first axis 15 and/or a second axis 17 run at least almost parallel to a reference axis 12. Furthermore, the gaseous medium, which is an anode gas, can be sucked in from the fuel cell stack 33 by means of the conveyor device 1, wherein this is a recirculate that is not used in the fuel cell stack 33. This recirculate flows via the anode outlet 3 into the conveyor device 1 and/or the inlet channel 18 and can contain water. This water can be in the form of water particles 11, for example, which appear in particular as water droplets. The gaseous medium, including the water, is set in rotation in the compressor wheel 7 of the side channel compressor 8 and/or conveyed and/or carried along in the circumferential direction by means of the compressor wheel 7. For this purpose, a plurality of first blades 35 are formed on the outer diameter of the compressor wheel 7, which entrain and/or convey the gaseous medium when the compressor wheel 7 rotates. Due to the higher density, when the gaseous medium is conveyed by means of the first blades 35 in the compressor chamber 30, the water migrates radially outwards within half to three-quarters of a rotor revolution at the typical high speeds of a side channel compressor 8 and is led out of the side channel compressor 8 by means of a connecting channel 20. The water component is separated from the gaseous medium in the side channel compressor 8 by means of the centrifugal principle. The remaining dried gaseous medium can then be mixed in a mixing region 42, which is located downstream of the outlet of the side channel compressor 8, with fresh hydrogen, which is in particular a driving medium, which flows into the mixing region 42 via a flow channel 22.

As in 1 shown, the conveyor device 1 has a tank 13, wherein the side channel compressor 8 and the tank 13 are at least indirectly fluidically connected by means of a connecting channel 20, in particular via a separation chamber 38 (shown in 2 ), and together form a water separator 10, wherein the connecting channel 20 is located at a higher geodetic level 17 than the inlet channel 18. The gaseous medium, in particular the recirculate, is fed to the side channel compressor 8 and/or the conveyor device 1 by means of the inlet channel 18, wherein the inlet channel 18 is located at a lower geodetic level 15, in particular with regard to a direction of action of gravity 34. The connecting channel 20 runs in its first partial area A at least almost parallel to the reference axis 12. Water is discharged from the side channel compressor 8, in particular the compressor chamber 30, through the connecting channel 20, in particular into the tank 13. The reference axis 12 runs orthogonal to the direction of action of gravity 34. Furthermore the connecting channel 20 has a curvature 37 in its second partial region B, wherein a flow direction IV, in particular of the drained water, changes in the region of the curvature 37 from a flow direction IVa running parallel to the reference axis 12 to a flow direction IVb running at least almost in the direction of gravity 34. Furthermore, the water separator 10 and/or the tank 13 is located above the anode outlet 3 and/or the first axis 15. The inlet channel 18 is connected to a cathode outlet 23 by means of a first outlet 28 in which a first drain valve 14, in particular a purge valve 14, is located. In addition, the tank 13 of the water separator 10 is connected to the cathode outlet 23 by means of a second outlet 32 in which a second drain valve 16, in particular a drain valve 16, is located. The conveying device 1 can be used in a vehicle to supply electrical energy to a drive and/or auxiliary consumers. The tank 13 is located above the cathode outlet 23 so that it can store water without requiring additional installation space below the fuel cell stack 33. At the same time, this prevents a return flow into the conveying device 1 and/or the side channel compressor 8. The first drain valve 14 shown here can be used to reduce the nitrogen content in the anode gas and/or gaseous medium if this function is only inadequately fulfilled by the second drain valve 16, which is in particular a drain valve 16.

Furthermore, 1 shown that the discharge channel 19 has the mixing region 42 in its upstream region, wherein the outlet of the side channel compressor 8 and the outlet of the flow channel 22 are fluidically connected to one another via the mixing region 42. The discharge channel 19 can run rotationally symmetrically to a third axis 27 at least over part of its length, wherein the third axis 27 runs at an angle α to the axes 15, 17, 22. The flow channel 22 can also be at least indirectly fluidically connected to the compressor chamber 30 via a throttle 44, in particular in a downstream end region of the compressor chamber 30. In addition, in 1 shown that the conveyor device 1 has a heating element 21, wherein the heating element 21 is located in particular in a housing 43 of the side channel compressor 8. This heating element 21 can be used at low temperatures if the system heating output alone is not sufficient and to specifically heat areas of the conveyor device 1 in which residual water collects when the entire vehicle is idle for a long time, wherein the residual water can form ice bridges at temperatures below 0°C, which damage the conveyor device 1. In order to prevent this formation of ice bridges, the heating element 21 is supplied with electrical energy, in particular heating energy. In further alternative embodiments, the heating element 21 can also, in particular in addition to electrical energy, be supplied with energy via a heat exchanger and/or be supplied with energy via a magnetic field, in particular inductively, and/or be supplied with energy mechanically and/or be supplied with energy chemically.

In 1 It is shown that air, in particular oxygen, from the environment is supplied to the fuel cell stack 33 by means of a cathode inlet 25. This air is led out of the fuel cell stack 33 by means of the cathode outlet 23 after the oxygen in the fuel cell stack 33 has at least partially reacted with the hydrogen. All components of the conveyor device 1 can be attached to the fuel cell 29 and/or to the fuel cell stack 33 by means of a plate-shaped element 2.

2 shows a 1 sectional view, designated DD, of the conveying device 1, in particular with a side channel compressor 8. A section of the side channel compressor 8 is shown in the area of the compressor chamber 30, the at least one separation chamber 38 and the flow channel 22. It is shown that the side channel compressor 8 has at least one side channel 24 and the compressor wheel 7 arranged so as to be rotatable about the axis of rotation 41, the compressor wheel 7 having first blades 35 arranged on its circumference, a compressor chamber 30 being located in the area of the first blades 35 and/or at least one side channel 24, the compressor chamber 30 and/or the first blades 35 being delimited on their side facing away from the axis of rotation 41 by an outer delimiting ring 39 and/or being at least partially fluidically encapsulated. The outer limiting ring 39 runs rotationally symmetrically to the axis of rotation 41 of the compressor wheel 7. The side channels 24 can be located on both sides of the first blades 35 in the direction of the axis of rotation 41.

In 2 It is shown that the side channel compressor 8 has, on the side of the outer limiting ring 39 facing away from the axis of rotation 41, in its housing 43, at least one at least partially encapsulated separation chamber 38 and at least the flow channel 22 running at least partially in a ring shape around the axis of rotation 41. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the side channel compressor 8 has the flow channel 22 running in a ring shape around the axis of rotation 41 and two separation chambers 38 running in a ring shape around the axis of rotation 41. In the direction of the In this exemplary embodiment, the flow channel 22 is located between the two separation chambers 38 on the axis of rotation 41. It is also shown that on the side of the limiting ring 39 facing away from the axis of rotation 41, there are second blades 36 arranged in the area of the flow channel 22, wherein the compressor wheel 7 can be driven by the propulsion jet 40 of the metering valve 6 acting on the second blades 36. These second blades 36 can be designed as Pelton turbine blades 36.

Furthermore, 2 shown that the separation chambers 38 can receive water or water particles 11 from the compressor chamber 30, which is discharged from the compressor chamber 30 into the separation chambers 38 by means of the centrifugal principle. As the rotation speed of the compressor wheel 7 increases, the heavy water component of the gaseous medium becomes so large due to the forces acting by means of the rotational movement of the compressor wheel 7, in particular a centrifugal force and/or a centrifugal force, that the water and/or the water particles 11 flow in a direction IX pointing away from the axis of rotation 41 from the respective side channel 24 and/or the compressor chamber 30 between the outer limiting ring 39 and the housing 43 into the respective separation chamber 38. The water is thus led out of the area of the at least one side channel 24 and/or compressor chamber 30 and collected in the area of the respective separation chamber 38. Alternatively, the water can flow into the connecting channel 20 with an existing resulting kinetic energy acting tangentially to the compressor wheel circumference, wherein the respective separation chamber 38 is fluidically connected to the connecting channel 20.

As in 2 As shown, the flow rate can be adjusted, in particular reduced or increased, at the throttle 44 by means of an actuator 43, wherein the throttle 44 can also be completely fluidically closed by means of the actuator 43, so that in particular the flow channel 22 of the compressor chamber 30 can be fluidically encapsulated at least via this flow connection. Furthermore, it is shown that the compressor wheel 7 of the side channel compressor 8, in particular depending on the operating state of the fuel cell 29, is either driven by a drive motor 26 or at least indirectly driven by the drive jet 40 of the metering valve 6. Alternatively, the at least one compressor wheel 7 can also be driven simultaneously by the drive motor 26 or drive jet 40 of the metering valve 6.

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102017222390 A1 [0003, 0004]

Claims (11)

Conveying device (1) for a fuel cell system (31) for conveying and/or recirculating a gaseous medium, in particular hydrogen, with a side channel compressor (8), wherein the conveying device (1) is at least partially driven by a metering valve (6) with a propulsion jet (40) of a pressurized gaseous medium, wherein the pressurized gaseous medium is supplied to the conveying device (1) by means of the metering valve (6), wherein the side channel compressor (8) has a compressor wheel (7) which is arranged to be rotatable about an axis of rotation (41), wherein an anode outlet (3) of a fuel cell (29), in particular a fuel cell stack (33), is fluidically connected to an inlet, in particular an inlet channel (18), of the conveying device (1), and wherein an outlet, in particular an outlet channel (19), of the conveying device (1) is fluidically connected to an anode inlet (5) of the fuel cell (29), wherein the compressor wheel (7) is arranged on its circumference in the region of a Compressor chamber (30) has first blades (35) arranged, characterized in that the compressor chamber (30) and/or the first blades (35) are delimited on their side facing away from the axis of rotation (41) by an outer limiting ring (39) and/or can be at least partially fluidically encapsulated, wherein second blades (36) arranged in the region of a flow channel (22) are located on the side of the limiting ring (39) facing away from the axis of rotation (41), wherein the compressor wheel (7) can be driven by the propulsion jet (40) of the metering valve (6) acting on the second blades (36). Conveying device (1) according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the side channel compressor (8) has, on the side of the outer boundary ring (39) facing away from the axis of rotation (41), in a housing (43), at least one at least partially encapsulated separation chamber (38) and at least the flow channel (22) running at least partially in a ring shape around the axis of rotation (41). Conveying device (1) according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the conveying device (1) has a tank (13), wherein the side channel compressor (8) and the tank (13) are at least indirectly fluidically connected by means of a connecting channel (20) and together form a water separator (10), wherein the connecting channel (20) is located at a higher geodetic level (17) than the inlet channel (18), in particular by means of which the gaseous medium is supplied to the side channel compressor (8) and/or the conveying device (1) and which is located at a lower geodetic level (15). Conveying device (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 3 , characterized in that the discharge channel (19) has a mixing region (42), in particular in its upstream region, wherein in addition the outlet of the side channel compressor (8) and the outlet of the flow channel (22) are fluidically connected to one another via the mixing region (42). Conveying device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow channel (22) is at least indirectly fluidically connected to the compressor chamber (30) via a throttle (44), in particular in a downstream end region of the compressor chamber (30). Conveying device (1) according to Claim 5 , characterized in that the throttle (44) can adjust the flow rate by means of an actuator (43), in particular can reduce or increase it, wherein the throttle (44) can also be completely fluidically closed by means of the actuator (43), so that in particular the flow channel (22) from the compressor chamber (30) can be fluidically encapsulated at least via this flow connection. Conveying device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the water component is separated from the gaseous medium in the side channel compressor (8) by means of the centrifugal principle. Conveying device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connecting channel (20) has a curvature (37), wherein a flow direction IV, in particular of the discharged water, changes in the region of the curvature (37) from a flow direction IVa running parallel to a reference axis (12) to a flow direction IVb running at least almost in a direction of action of gravity (22). Conveying device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second blades (36) are designed as Pelton turbine blades (36). Use of the conveyor device (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 9 in a fuel cell system (31). Use of the fuel cell system (1) according to one of the Claims 1 until 10 , in a Vehicle for supplying electrical energy to the drive system and/or auxiliary consumers.

Images