JP2010027582A - Manufacturing method of reformer for fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a reformer for fuel cell of stable quality capable of economically manufacturing the reformer with good workability. <P>SOLUTION: The reformer for the fuel cell is composed of a plurality of casings 10 arranged in a column each of which is constructed by superposing the flange parts 15, 16 formed on the peripheral edge portions of a first and a second tray-shaped flat containers 11, 12 rectangular in front view, through a partition plate 17. Reforming material is arranged in the casing 10, and the reformer for the fuel cell is manufactured by connecting coupling pipes 44-47 to connecting pipes 22-25 installed on inclination parts 18-21 of the first and second tray-shaped flat containers 11, 12. At the one end portions of the connecting pipes 22-25 and the coupling pipes 44-47, flanges 28, 48 are formed respectively, and the respective flanges 28, 48 are contacted for adjusting positions at their side ends, then the positioned side ends of the flanges 28, 48 are welded without using a melting metal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a reformer for a fuel cell.

Conventionally, a fuel cell that generates electricity by reacting hydrogen generated from a source gas of city gas or LP gas with air has been used. Here, as a device for generating hydrogen from a raw material gas, a fuel cell reformer (hereinafter also simply referred to as a reformer) that generates hydrogen by reacting the raw material gas with water in the presence of a catalyst is used. ing.
In this reformer for fuel cells, for example, as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a reformer using a cylindrical casing containing a catalyst for generating hydrogen and the like, and Patent Documents 3 and 4 are used. There is a reformer in which a plurality of flat-plate casings containing catalysts and the like are arranged side by side. Since the present invention relates to the latter, a fuel cell reformer using a flat casing will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the fuel cell reformer 50 includes a plurality of casings 51 to 60 filled with a reforming catalyst and an oxidation catalyst, a heat insulating material (not shown), a heat exchanger for exhaust heat recovery, And a heater. The plurality of casings 51 to 60 are integrated by bringing the wide surfaces of the side walls of the adjacent casings 51 to 60 into contact with each other, and the casings 51 to 60 are for connection through which raw material gas, air, water, or metamorphic processing gas flows. The pipes 61 to 69 are connected to each other.
By comprising in this way, raw material gas can be made to react with water under a catalyst, the raw material gas can be reformed, and a hydrogen-rich modified gas can be generated. In addition, since the detailed content of generation | occurrence | production of metamorphic processing gas is disclosed by above-mentioned patent document 3, 4, it abbreviate | omits here.

As shown in FIGS. 3B, 4, and 5, one casing constituting the fuel cell reformer 50, for example, the casing 58, has a partition plate 70 as a center, on both sides thereof, and a flange portion around the periphery. Two flat dish-shaped containers 73 and 74 in which 71 and 72 are formed are in a state in which the respective openings 75 and 76 are directed to the surface of the partition plate 70 and the flange portions 71 and 72 are brought into contact with the partition plate 70. It was attached with. A catalyst 79 is held on the inlet and outlet sides of the source gas in the first and second space portions 77 and 78 formed by the partition plate 70 and the flat dish-shaped containers 73 and 74, and the catalyst Ventilation holding plates 80 to 83 for rectifying the flow of the source gas passing through 79 are provided. Further, connecting pipes 84 to 87 for connecting the connecting pipe 65 and the like are respectively attached to the upper and lower inclined parts of the two flat dish-shaped containers 73 and 74.

JP 2003-151607 A JP-A-9-309702 JP 2004-59359 A JP 2007-326664 A

However, the conventional fuel cell reformer 50 still has the following problems to be solved.
The connecting pipe 84 and the connecting pipe 65 attached to the flat dish container 73 (similarly to the flat dish container 74) of the fuel cell reformer 50 have the same inner diameter and outer diameter. For this reason, when connecting the connecting pipe 84 and the connecting pipe 65, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), the connecting pipe 84 having an enlarged inner diameter at the end thereof is used. The pipe 65 was fitted, and TIG welding was performed while supplying a filler (filler metal) to the connecting portion 88.
Thus, when the connection part 88 is welded, the welded portion is in a right-angle state between the side surface of the connecting pipe 65 and the tip of the connecting pipe 84 and has a three-dimensional shape. However, it was not economical because it was necessary to use a filler.

Further, as described above, when a filler is used during welding, the welded portion has a high heat input, and therefore, for example, a hardness difference occurs between the welded portion and its peripheral portion with a change in the structure of the welded portion. At the same time, the inner surface side of the connecting pipe 65 is oxidized. For this reason, there is a possibility that cracks may occur in the connecting pipe 84 or the connecting pipe 65, and a rework accompanying this is necessary, and there is a problem that the fuel cell reformer 50 of stable quality cannot be manufactured.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (B), the flat dish-shaped container 73 (the same applies to the flat dish-shaped container 74) and the connection pipes 84 and 85 are also connected to the inclined portion of the flat dish-shaped container 73 through holes. After forming 89, the connecting pipe 84 was inserted into the through-hole 89, and the connecting portion 90 was TIG welded while supplying filler from the inside of the flat dish-shaped container 73. For this reason, the same problem as described above has occurred.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a reformer for a fuel cell that can economically produce a reformer for a fuel cell having a stable quality with good workability. To do.

The manufacturing method of the reformer for a fuel cell according to the present invention that meets the above-mentioned object is provided on the periphery of the rectangular first and second flat dish containers (flat dish containers) as viewed from the front. A plurality of casings, which are overlapped with a partition plate, are arranged in the casing, and a modifying material is disposed in the casing, and the connecting pipe provided in the inclined portion of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers In the manufacturing method of the reformer for the fuel cell in which the connecting pipe is connected to
One end of the connecting pipe and one end of the connecting pipe are provided with flanges, and the flanges are brought into contact with each other to align the side ends thereof. Welding without filler metal.

In the method for manufacturing a reformer for a fuel cell according to the present invention, the connection pipe is attached to the first and second flat dish-shaped containers by the inclined portions of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers. A burring process is performed, and an A step is provided to erect a cylindrical portion having a size into which the other end of the connecting pipe is fitted on the inner surface side of the inclined portion.
Put the other end of the connecting pipe bent according to the inclination of the cylindrical part into the cylindrical part, align the other end of the connecting pipe and the tip of the cylindrical part, It is preferable to have B process which welds the other end part of this pipe for connection and the front-end | tip part of a cylindrical part which were aligned without a filler metal.

In the fuel cell reformer manufacturing method according to the present invention, the welding is preferably TIG welding, laser welding, or plasma welding.

The method for manufacturing a reformer for a fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a flange provided at each end of the connection pipe and the connection pipe is brought into contact with the side end of the flange that has been aligned. Since the welding is performed without using the three-dimensional welding, the two-dimensional welding can be performed without the three-dimensional welding. For this reason, while workability | operativity at the time of welding becomes favorable, since it can weld without using a filler, it is economical. In addition, since welding is performed from the side end of the flange, it is possible to reduce the influence of the penetration during welding on the pipes of the connection pipe and the connection pipe.
Moreover, since it is not necessary to use a filler at the time of welding as mentioned above, it does not become high heat input at the time of welding, and generation | occurrence | production of the hardness difference between a welding location and its peripheral part and generation | occurrence | production of oxidation can be suppressed. Thereby, since generation | occurrence | production of the crack in piping for connection or piping for connection can be prevented, the repair which accompanies this becomes unnecessary, and the reformer for fuel cells of stable quality can be manufactured.

In particular, in the method for manufacturing a reformer for a fuel cell according to claim 2, the burring process is performed on the inclined portion of the flat dish container, and the other end portion of the connection pipe is fitted into the inner surface side of the inclined portion. Since the A step of standing the cylindrical portion is provided, the tip portion (tip surface) of the cylindrical portion can be arranged on the same plane and can be formed in a circular shape having an inner diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the connecting pipe. .
In addition, the other end of the connecting pipe bent according to the inclination of the cylindrical part is put into the cylindrical part, and the other end of the aligned connecting pipe and the tip of the cylindrical part are connected to the filler metal. Since it has B process without welding, it can weld two-dimensionally.
Therefore, as described above, a stable reformer for a fuel cell can be economically manufactured with good workability.

Since the welding is TIG welding, laser welding, or plasma welding, the fuel cell reformer manufacturing method according to claim 3 can be easily and simply welded without using a special method.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention.
Here, FIGS. 1A to 1C are respectively a front view and a partial side cross-section of a casing of a fuel cell reformer manufactured by the method of manufacturing a fuel cell reformer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A is a side cross-sectional view of the connecting portion of the casing connecting pipe and connecting pipe, and FIG. 2B is a side cross-sectional view of the connecting portion of the flat dish-shaped container and connecting pipe of the casing. FIG.

First, a fuel cell reformer manufactured by a method for manufacturing a fuel cell reformer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described, and then a fuel cell reformer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. A manufacturing method will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (C), 2 (A), and 2 (B), reforming for a fuel cell manufactured by a method for manufacturing a reformer for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as a reformer) is configured by arranging a plurality of (for example, about 2 to 20) casings 10 filled with a catalyst (reforming catalyst or oxidation catalyst) which is an example of a reforming material. The raw material gas and water are reacted in the presence of a catalyst to generate hydrogen. In FIG. 1B, the above-described catalyst is not shown.

Each casing 10 includes first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12 having a rectangular shape with rounded corners when viewed from the front.
Each of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12 has a wide bottom surface and has openings 13 and 14 at the top, and flanges 15 and 16 are provided on the opening side periphery. ing. The flanges 15 and 16 provided in the first and second flat dish containers 11 and 12 are formed so as to be parallel to the wide surfaces (bottom surfaces) of the flat dish containers 11 and 12, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to (C) and FIG. 2 (B), each casing 10 is provided with a flange 15 of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12 via a partition plate 17. 16 are formed on the upper and lower portions of the first flat dish-shaped container 11 in a standing state, and inclined portions 18 and 19 are formed from the wide surface to the flange portion 15, respectively. Inclined portions 20 and 21 are formed on the upper and lower portions of the second flat dish-shaped container 12 from the wide surface to the flange portion 16, respectively.
Connection pipes 22 to 25 are attached to the inclined portions 18 to 21, respectively. The connection pipe 22 (the same applies to the other connection pipes 23 to 25) has an attachment portion (base end portion or other end portion) 26 to the first flat dish-shaped container 11 provided on one side thereof. It is bent in a “<” shape when viewed from the side so as to be orthogonal to the surface of the inclined portion 18.

The angle θ formed by the axis of the attachment portion 26 of the connection pipe 22 and the axis of the connection portion 27 other than the attachment portion 26 is the wide surface (bottom surface) of the flat dish containers 11 and 12 of the inclined portions 18 to 21. ), For example, in a range of 130 to 170 degrees.
Thereby, since the connection part 27 of the piping 22 for connection can be arrange | positioned in parallel with the wide surface of the 1st flat dish-shaped container 11, for example, even when arrange | positioning the several casing 10 adjacently, The attached connecting pipes can be arranged without contacting each other, and the fuel cell reformer can be made compact. In addition, as shown to FIG. 1 (A)-(C) and FIG. 2 (A), the flange 28 is attached to the front-end | tip part (one end part) of the connection piping 22 (other connection piping 23-25 is also the same). Is provided. In addition, although it changes also with the magnitude | size of the whole reformer, in the case of the reformer for about 1 kW, the outer diameter of the connection piping 22 will be about 8-12 mm, In this case, the outer diameter of the flange 28 is for connection. The outer diameter of the connecting portion 27 of the pipe 22 is, for example, about 2 to 5 mm, and the thickness is, for example, about 0.6 to 2 mm.

The attachment portion 26 of the connection pipe 22 is fitted into a cylindrical portion 29 that is sized to fit the attachment portion 26 by performing a burring process on the inclined portion 18 of the first flat dish-shaped container 11. The cylindrical portion 29 is erected on the inner surface side of the inclined portion 18 in a state orthogonal to the surface of the inclined portion 18. In addition, the protrusion height H to the inner surface side of the inclined portion 18 of the cylindrical portion 29 is, for example, about 1.5 to 3 mm (the value of the protrusion height H is a value when the burring diameter is 8 to 12 mm. And the protrusion height H varies depending on the size of the burring diameter.)
Thereby, it can align so that the end surface 30 of the attachment part 26 of the connection piping 22 inserted in the cylindrical part 29 and the end surface 31 of the front-end | tip part of the cylindrical part 29 may be arrange | positioned on the same plane. Accordingly, the connecting pipe 22 is attached to the first flat dish-shaped container 11 by performing TIG welding in a planar (two-dimensional) manner from the end faces 30 and 31 side. The same applies to the other connection pipes 23 to 25.

The cylindrical portion formed in the inclined portion described above is orthogonal to the surface of the inclined portion as long as the end surface of the attachment portion of the connecting pipe and the end surface of the distal end portion of the cylindrical portion can be aligned. For example, it may be erected within a range of −10 degrees to +10 degrees with respect to the orthogonal state as a reference.
Catalyst filling ports 32 and 33 for charging a reforming catalyst or an oxidation catalyst are formed at the center of the wide surfaces of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12.
In addition, the 1st flat dish-shaped container 11 and the 2nd flat dish-shaped container 12 are the same shapes except for the fine shape mentioned later.

The partition plate 17 in which the peripheral edge 34 is sandwiched between the flanges 15 and 16 of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12 has an outer periphery that is the first and second flat dish-shaped containers. 11 and 12 are the same as or slightly larger than the outer peripheries of the flanges 15 and 16, and the flanges 15 and 16 of the flat dished containers 11 and 12 and the peripheral edge 34 of the partition plate 17 are, for example, It is welded by welding. A plurality of reinforcing ribs 35 to 37 are formed on the partition plate 17.
In this way, the first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12 are surrounded by the first flat dish-shaped container 11 and the partition plate 17 by overlapping the flanges 15 and 16 via the partition plate 17. The first space portion 38 and the second space portion 39 surrounded by the second flat dish-shaped container 12 and the partition plate 17 are formed. The partition plate 17 also has a function of transferring heat between the first and second space portions 38 and 39.

Ventilation holding plates 40 to 43 are arranged in the upper and lower portions of the first and second space portions 38 and 39 in the width direction of the first and second space portions 38 and 39, respectively.
Each of the ventilation holding plates 40 to 43 is formed by bending a single metal plate having a large number of small holes, that is, a punching metal, and usually has a spherical or cylindrical catalyst having a diameter of about 4 mm. While holding, the flow of the source gas is rectified.
Accordingly, the partition plate 17 in the first space 38, the upper and lower ventilation holding plates 40 and 41, and the region surrounded by the bottom of the first flat dish-shaped container 11, and the second space 39 The area surrounded by the partition plate 17, the upper and lower ventilation holding plates 42 and 43, and the bottom of the second flat dish-shaped container 12 can be filled with the catalyst, and the outflow of the catalyst to the connection pipes 22 to 25 can be prevented. be able to. Furthermore, since the upper and lower outer portions of the ventilation holding plates 40 to 43 serve as headers, the raw material gas can be evenly flowed between the catalysts.

The fuel cell reformer has a plurality of casings 10 as described above, and is integrated by bringing the wide surfaces of the side walls of adjacent casings 10 into contact with each other, and each casing 10 is attached to each casing 10. By connecting the connecting pipes 44 to 47 to the connecting pipes 22 to 25, they are connected to each other. In addition, since the flange 48 of the same outer diameter as the flange 28 provided in the connection piping 22-25 is provided in the one end part of each connection piping 44-47, the end surface of the flange 28 and the flange 48 is contact | abutted. By making contact, each side end can be aligned.
Therefore, the connection pipes 44 to 47 can be attached to the respective connection pipes 22 to 25 by performing TIG welding in plan from the side end sides of the flanges 28 and 48.

With this configuration, when hydrogen is generated, the source gas is caused to flow from the connection pipe 44 to the upstream side of the first space part 38 via the connection pipe 22, so that the inside of the first space part 38. After passing the catalyst, the catalyst flows through the connecting pipe 23 to the connecting pipe 45. Further, after the source gas is allowed to flow from the connecting pipe 47 to the upstream side of the second space 39 through the connecting pipe 25 and the catalyst in the second space 39 is passed, the connecting pipe 24 is connected to the connecting pipe 24. Through the connecting pipe 46.
Thereby, the hydrogen used for a fuel cell can be produced | generated from raw material gas.

Then, the manufacturing method of the reformer for fuel cells which concerns on one embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.
First, first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12, a partition plate 17, connection pipes 22 to 25, four ventilation holding plates 40 to 43, and connection pipes 44 to 47 are prepared.
Next, connecting pipes 22 and 23 are provided on the inclined portions 18 and 19 of the first flat dish-shaped container 11, and connecting pipes 24 and 25 are provided on the inclined parts 20 and 21 of the second flat dish-shaped container 12. , Install each.
Here, a method of attaching the connecting pipes 22 to 25 to the flat dish containers 11 and 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

Burring is performed on the inclined portion 18 (the same applies to the inclined portion 19) of the first flat dish-shaped container 11 (the same applies to the second flat dish-shaped container 12), and the connecting pipe 22 is provided on the inner surface side of the inclined portion 18. A cylindrical portion 29 having a size for fitting the attachment portion 26 is formed. At this time, the cylindrical part 29 is erected in an orthogonal state with respect to the surface of the inclined part 18 (step A).
Next, the attachment portion 26 of the connection pipe 22 is bent according to the inclination of the tubular portion 29, and this attachment portion 26 is inserted into the tubular portion 29, and the end surface 30 of the attachment portion 26 of the connection pipe 26 is The position of the end surface 31 at the tip of the cylindrical portion 29 is aligned on the same plane. Then, the connection pipe 22 is attached to the first flat dish-shaped container 11 by performing TIG welding planarly from the respective end faces 30 and 31 without using a filler (a filler metal) (B, above). Process).
The ventilation holding plates 40 to 43 are attached by welding to the upper and lower portions of the wide surfaces of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12 to which the respective connection pipes 22 to 25 are attached by the above-described method. .

Next, the surfaces of the flanges 15 and 16 are partitioned from both sides of the partition plate 17 with the openings 13 and 14 of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers 11 and 12 facing each other (facing each other). The plate 37 is brought into contact with the surface of the peripheral edge 34.
After welding the flange portions 15 and 16 of the flat dish containers 11 and 12 and the peripheral edge portion 34 of the partition plate 17 brought into contact with each other in this way, for example, by welding, the catalyst filling ports 32 and 33 are used, The first and second spaces 38 and 39 are filled with a catalyst, respectively, and the catalyst filling ports 38 and 39 are closed.
The plurality of casings 10 manufactured by the above method are stacked together with the wide surfaces of the side walls thereof, and the casings 10 are connected by connecting pipes 44 to 47.

As described above, the flanges 28 are provided at the distal ends of the connection pipes 22 to 25, and the flanges 48 are provided at one ends of the connection pipes 44 to 47. The positions of the side edges are adjusted by abutting. Then, TIG welding is performed in a planar manner from the side end sides of the aligned flanges 28 and 48 without using a filler (a filler metal).
Thereby, since the connection piping 44-47 can be attached to each connection piping 22-25, it can be used as a fuel cell reformer.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment, and the matters described in the scope of claims. Other embodiments and modifications conceivable within the scope are also included. For example, a case where the manufacturing method of the fuel cell reformer of the present invention is configured by combining some or all of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also included in the scope of the right of the present invention.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the welding of connection piping and connection piping and the welding of a flat dish container and connection piping were demonstrated by TIG welding, it is limited to this. For example, plasma welding or laser welding may be used.
In the embodiment described above, the reinforcing ribs are not formed on the first and second flat dish-shaped containers, but may be formed as a matter of course, and the reinforcing ribs formed on the partition plate It is not limited to.

(A)-(C) are the front view of the casing of the fuel cell reformer manufactured with the manufacturing method of the reformer for fuel cells which concerns on one embodiment of this invention, a partial sectional side view, and a rear view, respectively. is there. (A) is a sectional side view of the connecting part of the connecting pipe and connecting pipe of the casing, and (B) is a sectional side view of the connecting part of the flat dish container and connecting pipe of the casing. (A) is a perspective view of a reformer for a fuel cell according to a conventional example, and (B) is a perspective view of one casing constituting the reformer for a fuel cell. It is a disassembled perspective view of the casing. It is explanatory drawing of the use condition of the casing. (A) is a sectional side view of the connecting part of the connecting pipe and connecting pipe of the casing, and (B) is a sectional side view of the connecting part of the flat dish container and connecting pipe of the casing.

Explanation of symbols

10 :: casing, 11: first flat dish-shaped member, 12: second flat dish-shaped member, 13, 14: opening, 15, 16: flange, 17: partition plate, 18-21: inclined portion 22 to 25: piping for connection, 26: attachment portion, 27: connection portion, 28: flange, 29: cylindrical portion, 30, 31: end face, 32, 33: catalyst filling port, 34: peripheral portion, 35- 37: Reinforcing rib, 38: First space, 39: Second space, 40-43: Ventilation holding plate, 44-47: Connection pipe, 48: Flange

Claims (3)

A plurality of casings in which the flanges provided on the peripheral edges of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers having a rectangular shape when viewed from the front are overlapped with each other through a partition plate are arranged, and the modifying material is placed in the casings. In the method for producing a reformer for a fuel cell, wherein the connecting pipe is connected to the connecting pipe provided in the inclined portion of the first and second flat dish-shaped containers,
One end of the connecting pipe and one end of the connecting pipe are provided with flanges, and the flanges are brought into contact with each other to align the side ends thereof. A method for producing a reformer for a fuel cell, characterized by welding without a filler metal. 2. The method for manufacturing a reformer for a fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the connection pipe is attached to the first and second flat dish-shaped containers by inclining the first and second flat dish-shaped containers. A burring process is performed on the part, and a cylindrical part having a size in which the other end of the connection pipe is fitted on the inner surface side of the inclined part,
Put the other end of the connecting pipe bent according to the inclination of the cylindrical part into the cylindrical part, align the other end of the connecting pipe and the tip of the cylindrical part, A method for producing a reformer for a fuel cell, comprising: a step B in which the other end of the aligned connecting pipe and the tip of the tubular portion are welded without a filler metal. 3. The fuel cell reformer according to claim 1, wherein the welding is TIG welding, laser welding, or plasma welding. 4. Manufacturing method.

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