JP2010232019A - Fuel cell device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce noises generated from a fuel cell device without affecting an installation space and power generation capacity of the fuel cell device. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel cell device 1 generates power by an electrochemical reaction and is provided with a cover 14 which covers an body of the fuel cell device 1 and a gas supply device 4 to supply gas to the fuel cell device 1. An orifice 10 which lowers noises of a low frequency region generated from a gas suction portion 11 and raises noises of high frequency region is installed at the gas suction portion 11 of the gas supply device 4. Thereby, without affecting the cost, installation space, and power generation capacity, noises leaking from the outer enclosure of the fuel cell device can be insulated and reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell device that generates power by an electrochemical reaction between a fuel gas and an oxidant gas, for example.

  In recent years, as one of the new power generation systems, there has been a fuel cell device using an electrolyte membrane and a catalyst that has an advantage of low-noise power generation that does not generate harmful substances such as NOX and SOX and has low noise. It is considered.

  Such a fuel cell device includes, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, a reformer that generates hydrogen gas from natural gas that is a fuel gas, and the hydrogen gas and oxygen as an oxidant. A fuel cell that generates electricity by an electrochemical reaction with (gas), a gas supply device (gas blower) that supplies oxygen (gas) to the fuel cell, and the electric energy generated in the fuel cell to commercial voltage / frequency A power conversion device (inverter) for conversion, a heat recovery device that includes a heat exchanger, recovers heat generated in the fuel cell or reformer, and supplies the heat to other external devices using waste heat, and a main body (package) ) Basically constituted by a blower (ventilation fan) for ventilating the inside and a heat radiating device (cooling module) used for cooling when exhaust heat is not used.

In the above basic configuration, in order to smoothly operate each component, water (steam) is supplied to a blower for boosting natural gas, a desulfurizer for removing sulfur from the natural gas, or a reformer. The pump that sends water to the fuel cell, the pump that sends water to the fuel cell, the purification device that removes impurities in the water, the ion exchange device that removes the water electrolyte, fuel gas, air Various auxiliary devices such as a controller as a control unit for controlling the flow rate of water with a solenoid valve are arranged and physically and electrically connected by piping and wiring.
JP 2002-216828 A JP 2008-84564 A

  When such a fuel cell device is used as a generator for home use, the fuel cell device requires a large installation space. Therefore, the fuel cell device is generally installed outdoors, and one of the electric power used at home is used. It is normal to drive all day to cover the department or all. For this reason, if a large noise is generated during operation of the fuel cell device, not only the user but also neighboring residents will be uncomfortable. Accordingly, it is indispensable to reduce the noise of the fuel cell device not only during the daytime, but particularly at nighttime, in order to eliminate discomfort given to the user and neighboring residents.

  Most of the noise generated from the fuel cell device is caused by the gas supply device, which is a constituent device of the fuel cell device, and the intake noise and vibrations generated during operation propagate to the piping, the outer shell, etc. A loud noise is generated. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the noise of the gas supply device that is the noise source of the fuel cell device.

As a method for solving the above-mentioned problem, the pressure loss is reduced by increasing the diameter of a pipe connecting the gas supply device and a gas supply destination device such as the fuel cell, and the gas supply device is configured. There is a way to reduce the motor output. In this way, since the output of the motor is reduced, the vibration of the gas supply device can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce vibration propagating to the pipe connected to the gas supply device and the outer shell of the fuel cell device, and at the same time, the pressure when inhaling the gas is reduced, so that the intake noise is reduced. Can do.

  However, in the above method, there is a problem that the unit is increased in size by thickening the pipe connecting the gas supply device and the gas supply destination device. For this reason, more installation space is required, and in the case of using it for home use, there is a problem that the installation space cannot be secured. Further, since the gas supply amount of the gas supply device is reduced by lowering the output of the motor, there is a problem that the power generation output of the fuel cell device is lowered and the power generation efficiency is lowered.

  As another method, as shown in FIG. 8, there is a method in which a soundproof wall is attached to an outer shell of a fuel cell device that houses a noise source. In FIG. 8, 1 is a main body cover, 40 is an air blower, 60 is a fuel cell that generates power using air pressurized by the air blower 40 and fuel (hydrogen) from a fuel supply device (not shown), and 130 is the air blower. An opening 150 for taking the supplied outside air into the main body 150 is a soundproof box that suppresses the noise of the air blower 40 from leaking to the outside. In this way, noise can be reduced by the soundproof wall. Therefore, the vibration propagating to the outer shell of the fuel cell device can be absorbed by the soundproof wall and the intake noise can be reduced.

  However, since the above method is a simple method of simply attaching a soundproof wall or a vibration absorber, noise in a high frequency range (for example, 1 KHz or more) with a large transmission loss of incident sound energy is a relatively simple method. Sound insulation is possible, but noise insulation in low frequency range (for example, less than 1KHz) with low transmission loss must be taken into account when selecting the thickness and material of the sound insulation wall. There is a problem of requiring a lot of space.

  Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention provides a fuel cell device capable of sound insulation and reduction of noise generated in a suction portion of a gas supply device without affecting cost, installation space, and power generation capacity. With the goal.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a fuel cell device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a fuel cell device that generates power by an electrochemical reaction, the cover covering the main body of the fuel cell device, and the fuel cell device. A gas supply device for supplying gas to the gas suction portion of the gas supply device, provided with an orifice that lowers the low frequency noise from the gas suction portion and raises the high frequency noise. is there.

  A fuel cell device according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in claim 1, the gas supply device supplies air to the fuel cell.

  A fuel cell device according to a third aspect is characterized in that the inner diameter of the orifice is smaller than the inner diameter of the suction port of the gas pipe in the first or second aspect.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the fuel cell device according to the third aspect, wherein the inner diameter of the orifice is 0.05 to 0.35 times the inner diameter of the suction port.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the fuel cell device according to the third or fourth aspect is characterized in that the orifice and the gas pipe are integrally formed.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fuel cell device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein a sound insulating plate is provided around the gas suction portion.

  The present invention has the following effects.

  According to the fuel cell device of claim 1 of the present invention, the gas suction portion is provided with an orifice that lowers the noise in the low frequency region and increases the noise in the high frequency region, and the body cover of the fuel cell device is a sound insulation plate. Although it is a simple and shared configuration, noise leaking from the outer shell of the fuel cell device can be sound-insulated and reduced without affecting the cost, installation space, and power generation capacity.

  According to the fuel cell device of claim 2 of the present invention, the frequency of the noise at the air suction port of the gas supply device that constitutes the air piping path that is the largest noise generation source among the devices constituting the fuel cell device. The air supply device, which is the largest noise generation source among the devices that make up the fuel cell device, has a simple structure but does not affect the cost, installation space, and power generation capacity. Noise generated in the gas suction portion can be more effectively sound-insulated and reduced than other gas pipes.

  According to the fuel cell device of claim 3 of the present invention, since the inner diameter of the orifice is smaller than the inner diameter of the suction port of the gas pipe, the length of the orifice can be shortened, so that the space can be saved.

  According to the fuel cell device of claim 4 of the present invention, the inner diameter of the orifice is 0.05 to 0.35 times the inner diameter of the suction port. An increase in power consumption due to the increase can be suppressed.

  According to the fuel cell device of claim 5 of the present invention, since the orifice and the gas pipe are integrally formed, it is not necessary to use a fastening device for fastening the orifice and the gas pipe. Is easy.

  According to the fuel cell device of claim 6 of the present invention, since the sound insulation plate is provided around the gas suction portion, not only the cover of the fuel cell device, but also the sound insulation is performed with a structure having a larger transmission loss. Noise generated by raising the frequency range to a high sound range can be further reduced by the orifice.

  1st invention is a fuel cell apparatus which generates electric power by electrochemical reaction, Comprising: The cover which covers the main body of this fuel cell apparatus, The gas supply apparatus which supplies gas to this fuel cell apparatus, The said gas suction part Are provided with orifices for lowering the noise in the low frequency range from the gas suction part and increasing the noise in the high frequency range. By adopting such a configuration, the fuel cell device of the present invention can insulate and reduce the noise emitted from the gas suction portion without affecting the cost, installation space, and power generation capacity.

  According to a second invention, in the first invention, the gas supply device supplies air to the fuel cell. By adopting such a configuration, the gas of the air supply device which is the largest noise generation source among the devices constituting the fuel cell device without affecting the cost, the installation space and the power generation capacity with a simple configuration. It is possible to more effectively insulate and reduce noise from the suction portion than other gas pipes.

  According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, the inner diameter of the orifice is smaller than the inner diameter of the suction port of the gas pipe. By adopting such a configuration, the length of the orifice can be shortened, so that space can be saved.

  In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, the inner diameter of the orifice is 0.05 to 0.35 times the inner diameter of the suction port. By setting it as this structure, the raise of the power consumption by the increase in the suction resistance of the said gas supply apparatus can be suppressed.

  According to a fifth invention, in the third or fourth invention, the orifice and the gas pipe are integrally formed. With this configuration, it is not necessary to use a fastening device that fastens the orifice and the gas pipe, so that the assembly operation of the fuel cell device is easy.

  In a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, a sound insulating plate is provided around the gas suction part. By adopting such a configuration, sound is insulated not only by the cover of the fuel cell device but also by a structure having a larger transmission loss, so that noise generated by raising the frequency range by the orifice can be further reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of the configuration of the fuel cell apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the gas suction portion 11 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel cell device 1 according to the first embodiment includes a gas suction unit 11, a gas supply device 4, a filter 12, a humidifier 5, and a fuel cell 6 along the air flow in the gas flow path. Arranged in order. Each of these components is connected in communication by a single gas pipe 3. The gas suction section 11 is composed of an orifice 10 and the gas pipe 3 that lower the noise in the low frequency range by sucking into the gas suction port 13 at the tip and increase the noise in the high frequency range, and is fastened at the flange portion of the orifice 10. The screw 16 is fastened to the flange portion of the gas pipe 3. In the fuel cell device 1 having this configuration, when the gas is sucked from the gas suction port 13 provided at the tip of the gas pipe 3, the orifice 10 lowers the noise in the low frequency range and increases the noise in the high frequency range. The low frequency noise of the gas suction is lowered to increase the high frequency noise. After being compressed and discharged by the gas supply device 4, it is humidified by the humidifier 5 and flows into the air electrode 7 of the fuel cell 6. The fuel electrode 6 of the fuel cell 6 is configured to be supplied with fuel from the fuel port 9, and the entire surface of the fuel cell device 1 is covered with the body cover 14 so that the internal components of the fuel cell device 1 In addition to protecting against intrusion from the outside, it also blocks out noise that leaks to the outside.

  Next, the operation of the orifice 10 that lowers the noise in the low frequency region of the gas suction of the gas suction portion 11 having the above configuration and raises the noise in the high frequency region will be described.

1 and 2, the gas supply device 4 can be provided with a fan such as a fan or a pump that requires rotating blades, a diaphragm electromagnetic pump, or the like. As for the gas suction sound, it is known that the gas suction unit 11 is synchronized with the sound source frequency of the sound generated by the gas supply device 4 to generate air column resonance, and this phenomenon is noise. For example, when the gas supply device 4 is a diaphragm electromagnetic pump and the power supply frequency is 50 Hz, a multiple of 50 Hz can be a sound source frequency. At this time, if the air suction sound in the gas suction part 11 is a low frequency range (for example, less than 1 KHz), 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, ... 1000 Hz. Resonates at at least one frequency below and the noise level at that frequency increases. There is a method of using a structure such as a wall material when insulating noise, but the sound transmission loss (TL) becomes large when the frequency is relatively high as shown in Equation (1), and the structure such as a wall material is used. However, even if the sound source is covered with a structure, the transmission loss when the frequency is relatively low is small, and even if the sound source is covered with a structure, a large effect cannot be obtained.
TL = 18 log ₁₀ f · M-44 (1)
TL: Transmission loss (dB), f: Frequency (Hz), M: Area density of structure (Kgf / m ² )
Therefore, we focused on increasing the frequency of the gas suction sound to increase the transmission loss of the gas suction sound. In order to increase this frequency, the length of the sound wavelength was shortened as shown in Equation (2).
f = V / λ (2)
f: frequency (Hz), V: speed of sound (m / s), λ: length of wavelength (m)
That is, the gas suction part 11 is provided with the orifice 10 to change the length of the sound wavelength and change the frequency. Furthermore, the inner diameter of the orifice 10 is made smaller than the inner diameter of the gas pipe 3 of the air suction part 11 to lower the noise in the low frequency range and increase the noise in the high frequency range. At this time, the noise transmission loss is increased by lowering the noise in the low frequency range and increasing the noise in the high frequency range, so that the effect of the sound insulation plate on the main body cover 14 of the fuel cell device can be increased.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the characteristics of the fuel cell apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The inner diameter of the orifice 10 is 0.05 to 0.35 times the inner diameter of the gas pipe 3. As a result, it is possible to reduce noise in the low frequency region and to suppress an increase in power consumption of the gas supply device 4 due to an increase in resistance at the gas suction port 13. Here, the inner diameter dimension of the orifice 10 is such that the ratio D ₁₀ / D ₃ of the inner diameter dimension of the gas pipe 3 is set to 0.05 to 0.35. As 40 dB, the upper limit value of the ratio D ₁₀ / D ₃ becomes 0.35, and the power consumption of the gas supply device 4 starts to increase rapidly when the ratio D ₁₀ / D ₃ is 0.05, This is because it is determined that it is the limit of the normal operation state.

  As described above, in the fuel cell device according to Embodiment 1, the gas suction portion 11 is provided with the orifice 10 that lowers the noise in the low frequency region and increases the noise in the high frequency region, and the sound insulating plate is used as the fuel cell device. Because it is shared by the main body cover, noise can be reduced easily, at a low cost and at a low cost.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the fuel cell device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, showing the configuration of the gas suction portion 11, and the gas suction at the gas suction port 13 of the gas suction portion 11. The orifice 10 and the gas pipe 3 that lower the noise in the low frequency range and increase the noise in the high frequency range are integrally formed. The same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same numbers, and Description is omitted.

  As described above, in the fuel cell device according to the second embodiment, the gas pipe 3 and the orifice 10 can be integrated to provide a fuel cell device with good assemblability in the production line.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the fuel cell device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is configured by providing a sound insulating plate 15 around the gas suction portion 11 of the gas supply device 4. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The transmission loss of the gas suction noise of the gas suction part 11 can be further increased.

Thus, in the fuel cell device according to the third embodiment, since the sound insulating plate 15 is provided so as to cover the vicinity of the gas suction portion 11, a fuel cell device with further reduced noise can be provided.

  A gas suction unit 11 including the gas supply device 4 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 was incorporated in the fuel cell device 1, and a noise test was performed when the fuel cell device 1 was operated alone alone.

  At this time, the fuel cell device to be measured was installed in the center of the soundproof room, and the microphone for measuring the noise value was installed at a position 1 m away from the fuel cell power generator. The microphone was used with an A-weighting filter simulating human audible range characteristics.

Here, as the gas supply device 4, an electromagnetic pump with a power supply specification of 50 Hz is used, and the gas suction portion 11 has a ratio D ₁₀ / D ₃ of the outer diameter ΦD ₁₀ of the orifice ₁₀ and the outer diameter D ₃ of the gas pipe 3. The relationship was 0.10, and the length of the orifice was 13 mm. The noise measurement from the gas supply device 4 used here was performed under the condition that the noise was maximum. That is, it was operated under the condition of 50 L / min at which the noise at which the air flow rate reached the maximum value was the largest.

  Further, a noise test was performed in the same manner under the same conditions except that the orifice 10 was not provided.

  The measurement results of noise are shown in FIGS. FIG. 6 shows a result of 1/3 octave frequency analysis of noise measurement results when the main body cover 14 showing the same effect as the sound insulation plate 15 is not provided. Thereby, when the orifice 10 is not provided, a strong peak noise value is exhibited at a low frequency of less than 1 KHz, particularly 100 Hz, 200 Hz, and 400 Hz. However, when the orifice 10 is provided, this low frequency noise is reduced, Instead, it can be confirmed that a strong peak noise value appears particularly at a high frequency of 1 KHz or more. FIG. 7 shows the result of 1/3 octave frequency analysis of the measurement result of noise when a main body cover having the same effect as that of the sound insulating plate 15 is provided. Thus, when the orifice 10 is provided in FIG. 7, a strong peak noise value appears particularly at a high frequency of 1 KHz or more. However, the main body cover 14 having the same effect as the sound insulating plate 15 is provided. It can be confirmed that the noise value in a high frequency region with a large transmission loss, particularly 1 KHz or more, is greatly reduced. As a result, it can be confirmed that the all-pass noise value is reduced by about 6 dB by providing the orifice 10 and further disposing the main body cover 14.

  As described above, the fuel cell device according to the present invention can reduce the noise generated in the gas suction portion of the gas supply device without affecting the installation space and the power generation capacity. In addition, it can also be applied to fuel cell vehicles.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a fuel cell device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the structure of the fuel cell apparatus in Embodiment 1 The graph which shows the characteristic of the fuel cell apparatus in Embodiment 1 Sectional drawing which expands and shows the structure of the fuel cell apparatus concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention Schematic diagram showing the configuration of the fuel cell device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The graph which shows the noise measurement result in the Example of this invention, and shows the result of 1/3 octave frequency analysis The graph which shows the other noise measurement result in the Example of this invention, and shows the result of the 1/3 octave frequency analysis Schematic sectional view showing the structure of a conventional fuel cell device

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel cell apparatus 2 Air 3 Gas piping 4 Gas supply apparatus 6 Fuel cell 10 Orifice 11 Gas suction part 13 Suction port 14 Main body cover 15 Sound insulation board

Claims (6)

A fuel cell device that generates power by an electrochemical reaction, comprising a cover that covers a main body of the fuel cell device, and a gas supply device that supplies gas to the fuel cell device, wherein the gas suction portion of the gas supply device includes the gas suction unit. A fuel cell device provided with an orifice for lowering noise in a low frequency range from a gas suction portion and increasing noise in a high frequency range. The fuel cell device according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply device supplies air to the fuel cell. The gas suction portion includes the gas pipe, a suction port for sucking gas from the gas pipe, and the orifice, and the inner diameter of the orifice is smaller than the inner diameter of the suction port of the gas pipe. Item 3. The fuel cell device according to Item 1 or 2. The fuel cell device according to claim 3, wherein an inner diameter of the orifice is 0.05 to 0.35 times larger than an inner diameter of the suction port. The fuel cell device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the orifice and the gas pipe are integrally formed. The fuel cell device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a sound insulating plate is provided around the gas suction portion.