JP2017027953A - Solid oxide fuel cell and inner ring fixing method of cylindrical cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a solid oxide fuel cell configured to improve vibration resistance and impact resistance of an aggregation of cell stacks, i.e., a SOFC cartridge, when conveyed.SOLUTION: In a solid oxide fuel cell where an inner ring 50C is inserted into a cell stack 40, in order to increase flow velocity of fluid flowing through a cylindrical cell stack 40, the inner ring 50C is inserted from an upper end opening of the cell stack 40, and placed on the upper end surface of the stack by means of a plurality of tabular claws 52 extending radially in the horizontal direction from the center of the upper end face of the inner ring 50C. Four or more tabular claws 52 are arranged in the circumferential direction at equal pitch.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a solid oxide fuel cell and a method for fixing a core of a cylindrical cell.

A fuel cell such as a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a system that generates electricity using a reaction between oxygen and hydrogen, and specifically, a solid oxide (hereinafter referred to as “SOFC”). Electricity is created by flowing and reacting fluids (oxidizing gas and fuel gas) inside and outside.
The SOFC cartridge 10 shown in FIG. 6 is configured by collecting a plurality of cylindrical SOFC cell stacks (cylindrical cell tubes; cylindrical cells) 40. The plurality of cell stacks 40 have a structure in which the upper end and the lower end are supported by the header portions Ha and Hb, and the fluid flows through the inside and the outside of the cell stack 40. The header portions Ha and Hb are also portions that constitute, for example, a fuel gas supply chamber and a fuel gas discharge chamber.

A core 50 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is inserted into the upper and lower ends of the cell stack 40. The core 50 is intended to increase the heat exchange efficiency by accelerating the flow velocity of the fluid flowing inside the cell stack 40, and in order to narrow the space in the cell stack 40 serving as a fluid flow path, These are rod-shaped parts inserted into the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet.
And in order to accelerate a fluid equally, the core 50 needs to be arrange | positioned in the axial center of the cell stack 40. FIG.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), three protrusions 51 that are equally arranged in the circumferential direction are provided on the upper and lower portions of the cylindrical core 50. The amount of eccentricity is reduced by narrowing the gap with the cell stack inner wall surface 40a.
Among these, the core (not shown) installed on the lower end side of the cell stack 40 is supported in a state close to fixing. However, the core 50 on the upper end side is placed so that the three plate-like claw portions 52 are hooked on the upper end portion of the cell stack 40 from the viewpoint of work efficiency and manufacturing cost.

  Moreover, the following patent document 1 discloses a core provided so as to narrow the flow path in the cell tube.

Japanese Patent No. 3888663

By the way, the core 50 placed on the upper end portion of the cell stack 40 has only three plate-like claw portions 52 placed on the upper end surface of the cell stack 40. It is possible to move by the gap existing between the inner wall surface 40a and the protrusion 51.
On the other hand, when the SOFC cartridge 10 is transported from the factory to the place of use, the entire cartridge is subjected to vibrations from road surface irregularities and steps, and the vibrations propagate to the cell stack 40 and the core 50.

Since the core 50 is moved by this vibration, the tip of the protrusion 51 collides with the cell stack inner wall surface 40a. Further, when such a collision occurs, a force in the close-contact direction is generated and the core 50 rotates.
Then, when the core 50 rotates in a state where the protruding portion 51 is in contact with the cell stack inner wall surface 40a, the cell stack inner wall surface 40a is gradually scraped by the protruding portion 51 to form the concave groove portion 40b.

Such a concave groove portion 40b means that the thickness of the cell stack 40 is partially reduced, and there is a concern that the reliability in strength is reduced. Furthermore, in the worst case, the formation of the concave groove 40b may cause the cell stack 40 to break. Against this background, in the SOFC cartridge 10 that is an aggregate of the cell stacks 40, it is necessary to take measures for vibration resistance and shock resistance during transportation.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is to improve vibration resistance and impact resistance when transporting an SOFC cartridge that is an assembly of cell stacks. An object of the present invention is to provide a solid oxide fuel cell and a method for fixing a core of a cylindrical cell.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means.
The solid oxide fuel cell according to the first reference aspect of the present invention is a fuel cell in which a core is inserted in the cell stack in order to accelerate the flow velocity of the fluid flowing in the cylindrical cell stack. The child is inserted from the upper end opening of the cell stack and is placed on the stack upper end surface by a plurality of plate-like claw portions extending radially from the center of the upper end surface of the core. The plate-like claw portion is provided with a bent portion that is inclined so that the central portion of the upper end surface is located below the portion of the plate-like claw portion placed on the cell stack. To do.

  According to such a solid oxide fuel cell of the first reference aspect, the core is inserted from the upper end opening of the cell stack and extends radially from the center of the upper end surface of the core in the horizontal direction. A plurality of plate-like claw portions are placed on the upper end surface of the stack, and each plate-like claw portion has a central portion on the upper end surface than a portion of the plate-like claw portion placed on the cell stack. Since the bending part which inclines so that it may be located below is provided, it becomes a core provided with the automatic centering function automatically located in the axial center of a cell stack. In this case, the conventional protrusion becomes unnecessary.

  The solid oxide fuel cell according to the first aspect of the present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell in which a core is inserted in the cell stack in order to accelerate the flow velocity of the fluid flowing in the cylindrical cell stack. The core is inserted from the upper end opening of the cell stack and is placed on the upper end surface of the stack by a plurality of plate-like claw portions extending radially from the center of the upper end surface of the core. 4 or more of the plate-like claw portions are arranged at equal pitches in the circumferential direction.

  According to the solid oxide fuel cell of the first aspect as described above, the core is inserted from the upper end opening of the cell stack, and extends in a horizontal direction from the center of the upper end surface of the core. The plate-like claw portion is placed on the upper end surface of the stack by the plate-like claw portion, and four or more plate-like claw portions are arranged at an equal pitch in the circumferential direction. As the contact area (friction surface) between the upper end surface of the cell stack and the upper surface of the cell stack increases, a large frictional force that contributes to suppressing the rotation of the core is generated. Further, by increasing the number of plate-like claw portions, the number of times (time) of contact with only one plate-like claw portion decreases, that is, until the next plate-like claw portion comes into contact with rotation. Since the time is shortened, this also suppresses the rotation of the core.

  Next, in the core fixing method of the cylindrical cell according to the second reference aspect of the present invention, the core for accelerating the flow velocity of the fluid flowing in the cylindrical cell stack is inserted into the cell stack, and the core is Solid oxide fuel that is inserted from the upper end opening of the cell stack and is placed on the upper end surface of the stack by a plurality of plate-like claws extending radially from the center of the upper end surface of the core. A method for fixing a cylindrical cell core of a battery, wherein the center portion of the upper end surface is positioned below each plate-like claw portion with respect to the portion of the plate-like claw portion placed on the cell stack. It is characterized in that an inclined bent portion is provided for alignment.

  According to the core fixing method of the cylindrical cell of the second reference aspect as described above, the center part of the upper end surface is lower than the part of the plate-like claw part placed on the cell stack. Therefore, the core is automatically aligned so as to be positioned at the center of the axis of the cell stack. In this case, the conventional protrusion becomes unnecessary.

  In the core fixing method of the cylindrical cell according to the second aspect of the present invention, the core for accelerating the flow velocity of the fluid flowing in the cylindrical cell stack is inserted into the cell stack, and the core is the cell stack. The solid oxide fuel cell is inserted into the stack upper end surface by a plurality of plate-like claws that are inserted from the upper end opening of the core and extend radially from the center of the upper end surface of the core. A cylindrical cell core fixing method, characterized in that rotation is suppressed by a frictional force obtained by arranging four or more plate-like claw portions at equal pitches in the circumferential direction.

  According to the core fixing method of the cylindrical cell of the second aspect as described above, rotation is suppressed by the frictional force obtained by arranging four or more plate-like claw portions at equal pitches in the circumferential direction, so that a large frictional force is used. It is possible to suppress the rotation of the core. Further, since the circumferential pitch (angle) decreases as the number of plate-like claw portions increases, the number of times (time) of contact with only one plate-like claw portion decreases. Since the time until the claw portion comes into contact is shortened, this also suppresses the rotation of the core.

  According to the present invention described above, when the SOFC cartridge that is a cylindrical cell stack aggregate is transported, the movement / rotation of the core due to vibration is suppressed, so that the inner wall surface can be prevented from being scraped, As a result, a solid oxide fuel cell with improved vibration resistance and impact resistance of the cell stack can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the reference embodiment of the "solid oxide fuel cell and cylindrical cell core fixing method" which concerns on this invention, (a) is a top view of a cell stack (cylindrical cell), (b) is (a It is AA sectional drawing of). It is a top view which shows the 1st modification concerning the cell stack (cylindrical cell) of reference embodiment. 1 is a plan view of a cell stack (cylindrical cell) showing an embodiment of a “solid oxide fuel cell and cylindrical cell core fixing method” according to the present invention. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the outline | summary of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC module). FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration example of the SOFC cartridge shown in FIG. 4. It is a front view which shows the outline | summary of a SOFC cartridge. It is a figure which shows the conventional core inserted in the upper end part side of a cell stack (cylindrical cell), (a) is a top view, (b) is BB sectional drawing of (a). It is explanatory drawing which shows that the conventional core rotates by vibration etc., (a) is a cross-sectional view, (b) is CC sectional drawing of (a).

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a solid oxide fuel cell and a core fixing method of a cylindrical cell according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, for convenience, the positional relationship of each component is specified using the expressions “upper” and “lower” with reference to the page, but this is not necessarily limited to the vertical direction. For example, the upward direction on the paper surface may correspond to the downward direction in the vertical direction. Moreover, you may respond | correspond to the horizontal direction where the up-down direction in a paper surface goes orthogonally to a perpendicular direction.

  Hereinafter, a SOFC module and a SOFC cartridge of a solid oxide fuel cell (hereinafter referred to as “SOFC”) will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 as an example of the fuel cell according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating one aspect of the SOFC module 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating one aspect of the SOFC cartridge 10.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the SOFC module 1 includes a plurality of SOFC cartridges 10 and a pressure vessel 2 that stores the plurality of SOFC cartridges 10. The SOFC module 1 includes a fuel gas supply pipe 3 and a plurality of fuel gas supply branch pipes 3a. Further, the SOFC module 1 has a fuel gas discharge pipe 4 and a plurality of fuel gas discharge branch pipes 4a.
The SOFC module 1 has an oxidizing gas supply pipe (not shown) and an oxidizing gas supply branch pipe (not shown). The SOFC module 1 has an oxidizing gas discharge pipe (not shown) and a plurality of oxidizing gas discharge branch pipes (not shown).

The fuel gas supply pipe 3 is provided outside the pressure vessel 2 and is connected to a fuel gas supply unit (not shown) that supplies a predetermined gas composition and a predetermined flow rate of the fuel gas G corresponding to the amount of power generated by the SOFC module 1. And connected to a plurality of fuel gas supply branch pipes 3a. This fuel gas supply pipe 3 branches and guides a predetermined flow rate of fuel gas G supplied from the above-described fuel gas supply section to a plurality of fuel gas supply branch pipes 3a.
Such a fuel gas supply branch pipe 3 a is connected to the fuel gas supply pipe 3 and to a plurality of SOFC cartridges 10. The fuel gas supply branch pipe 3a guides the fuel gas G supplied from the fuel gas supply pipe 3 to the plurality of SOFC cartridges 10 at a substantially equal flow rate, and makes the power generation performance of the plurality of SOFC cartridges 10 substantially uniform. is there.

The fuel gas discharge branch pipe 4 a is connected to the plurality of SOFC cartridges 10 and to the fuel gas discharge pipe 4. The fuel gas discharge branch pipe 4 a guides the exhaust fuel gas Ge discharged from the SOFC cartridge 10 to the fuel gas discharge pipe 4.
The fuel gas discharge pipe 4 is connected to a plurality of fuel gas supply branch pipes 3 a and a part thereof is disposed outside the pressure vessel 2. The fuel gas discharge pipe 4 guides the exhaust fuel gas Ge led out from the fuel gas discharge branch pipe 4 a at a substantially equal flow rate to the outside of the pressure vessel 2.

  Since the pressure vessel 2 is operated at an internal pressure of 0.1 MPa to about 1 MPa and an internal temperature of atmospheric temperature to about 550 ° C., the pressure vessel 2 is resistant to corrosion and resistance to oxidizing agents such as oxygen contained in the oxidizing gas. The possessed material is used. Examples of suitable materials for the pressure vessel 2 include stainless steel materials such as SUS304.

  Here, in the present embodiment, a mode in which a plurality of SOFC cartridges 10 are assembled and stored in the pressure vessel 2 is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the SOFC cartridges 10 are assembled. It is good also as an aspect accommodated in the pressure vessel 2 without being.

As shown in FIG. 5, the SOFC cartridge 10 includes a plurality of cell stacks (cylindrical cells) 40, a power generation chamber 11, a fuel gas supply chamber 12, a fuel gas discharge chamber 13, an oxidizing gas supply chamber 14, an oxidation gas And a reactive gas discharge chamber 15. The SOFC cartridge 10 includes an upper tube plate 16a, a lower tube plate 16b, an upper heat insulator 17a, and a lower heat insulator 17b.
In the present embodiment, the SOFC cartridge 10 includes a fuel gas supply chamber 12, a fuel gas discharge chamber 13, an oxidizing gas supply chamber 14, and an oxidizing gas discharge chamber 15 as illustrated. In this structure, the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas flow so as to face the inside and the outside of the cell stack 40, but this is not always necessary. For example, the inside and the outside of the cell stack flow in parallel. A structure or a structure in which the oxidizing gas flows in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the cell stack may be employed.

  The power generation chamber 11 is an area formed between the upper heat insulator 17a and the lower heat insulator 17b. The power generation chamber 11 is an area in which the fuel cells 41 of the cell stack 40 are arranged, and electricity is generated by electrochemically reacting the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas. Further, in the power generation chamber 11, the temperature in the vicinity of the center in the longitudinal direction of the cell stack 40 becomes a high temperature atmosphere (for example, about 700 ° C. to 1100 ° C.) during the steady operation of the SOFC module 1.

  The fuel gas supply chamber 12 is an area surrounded by the upper casing 18 a and the upper tube plate 16 a of the SOFC cartridge 10. The fuel gas supply chamber 12 communicates with a fuel gas supply branch pipe 3a (not shown) through a fuel gas supply hole 19a provided in the upper casing 18a. In the fuel gas supply chamber 12, one end of the cell stack 40 is disposed with the inside of the base tube 42 of the cell stack 40 open to the fuel gas supply chamber 12. The fuel gas supply chamber 12 guides the fuel gas supplied from the fuel gas supply pipe branch 3a (not shown) through the fuel gas supply hole 19a to the inside of the base pipe 42 of the plurality of cell stacks 40 at a substantially uniform flow rate. The power generation performance of the plurality of cell stacks 40 is made substantially uniform.

  The fuel gas discharge chamber 13 is an area surrounded by the lower casing 18b and the lower tube plate 16b of the SOFC cartridge 40. The fuel gas discharge chamber 13 is communicated with a fuel gas discharge branch pipe 4a (not shown) through a fuel gas discharge hole 19b provided in the lower casing 18b. In the fuel gas discharge chamber 13, the other end of the cell stack 40 is disposed with the inside of the base tube 42 of the cell stack 40 open to the fuel gas discharge chamber 13. The fuel gas discharge chamber 13 collects exhaust fuel gas that passes through the inside of the base tube 42 of the plurality of cell stacks 40 and is supplied to the fuel gas discharge chamber 13, and is not shown through the fuel gas discharge hole 19b. It leads to the fuel gas discharge branch pipe 4a.

Corresponding to the power generation amount of the SOFC module 1, a predetermined gas composition and a predetermined flow rate of oxidizing gas are branched to the oxidizing gas supply branch pipe and supplied to a plurality of SOFC cartridges 10. The oxidizing gas supply chamber 14 is an area surrounded by the lower casing 18b, the lower tube sheet 16b, and the lower heat insulator 17b of the SOFC cartridge 10.
The oxidizing gas supply chamber 14 is communicated with an oxidizing gas supply branch pipe (not shown) through an oxidizing gas supply hole 20a provided in the lower casing 18b. The oxidizing gas supply chamber 14 generates a predetermined flow rate of oxidizing gas supplied from an oxidizing gas supply branch pipe (not shown) through an oxidizing gas supply hole 20a through an oxidizing gas supply gap 21a described later. It leads to the chamber 11.

  The oxidizing gas discharge chamber 15 is a region surrounded by the upper casing 18a, the upper tube sheet 16a, and the upper heat insulator 17a of the SOFC cartridge 10. The oxidizing gas discharge chamber 15 communicates with an oxidizing gas discharge branch pipe (not shown) through an oxidizing gas discharge hole 20b provided in the upper casing 18a. The oxidant gas discharge chamber 15 is configured to show the exhaust oxidant gas supplied from the power generation chamber 11 to the fuel gas discharge chamber 15 via an oxidant gas discharge gap 21b described later via the oxidant gas discharge hole 20b. To the third oxidizing gas discharge branch.

The upper tube plate 16a is arranged between the top plate of the upper casing 18a and the upper heat insulator 17a so that the upper tube plate 16a, the top plate of the upper casing 18a and the upper heat insulator 17a are substantially parallel to each other. It is fixed to the side plate.
Further, the upper tube sheet 16a has a plurality of holes corresponding to the number of cell stacks 40 provided in the SOFC cartridge 10, and the cell stacks 40 are respectively inserted into the holes. The upper tube sheet 16a hermetically supports one end of the plurality of cell stacks 40 via one or both of a sealing member and an adhesive member, and also includes the fuel gas supply chamber 12 and the oxidizing gas discharge chamber 15. And is to be isolated.

  The lower tube plate 16b is disposed on the side plate of the lower casing 18b so that the lower tube plate 16b, the bottom plate of the lower casing 18b, and the lower heat insulator 17b are substantially parallel between the bottom plate of the lower casing 18b and the lower heat insulator 17b. It is fixed. The lower tube sheet 16b has a plurality of holes corresponding to the number of cell stacks 40 provided in the SOFC cartridge 10, and the cell stacks 40 are respectively inserted into the holes. The lower tube sheet 16b hermetically supports the other end of the plurality of cell stacks 40 via one or both of a sealing member and an adhesive member, and also includes a fuel gas discharge chamber 13 and an oxidizing gas supply chamber 14. And is to be isolated.

  The upper heat insulator 17a is disposed at the lower end of the upper casing 18a so that the upper heat insulator 17a, the top plate of the upper casing 18a and the upper tube plate 16a are substantially parallel to each other, and is fixed to the side plate of the upper casing 18a. Yes. Further, the upper heat insulator 17a is provided with a plurality of holes corresponding to the number of cell stacks 40 provided in the SOFC cartridge 10. The diameter of the hole is set larger than the outer diameter of the cell stack 40. The upper heat insulator 17a has an oxidizing gas discharge gap 21b formed between the inner surface of this hole and the outer surface of the cell stack 40 inserted through the upper heat insulator 17a.

  The upper heat insulator 17a separates the power generation chamber 11 and the oxidizing gas discharge chamber 15, and the atmosphere around the upper tube sheet 16a is heated to lower the strength and to be corroded by the oxidizing agent contained in the oxidizing gas. Suppresses the increase. The upper tube sheet 16a and the like are made of a high-temperature durable metal material such as Inconel, but the upper tube sheet 16a and the like are exposed to the high temperature in the power generation chamber 11, and the temperature difference in the upper tube sheet 16a and the like becomes large. This prevents heat deformation. Further, the upper heat insulator 17a guides the exhaust oxidizing gas exposed to a high temperature through the power generation chamber 11 to the oxidizing gas discharge chamber 15 through the oxidizing gas discharge gap 21b.

  According to the present embodiment, due to the structure of the SOFC cartridge 10 described above, the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas flow so as to face the inside and the outside of the cell stack 40. As a result, the exhaust oxidizing gas exchanges heat with the fuel gas supplied to the power generation chamber 11 through the inside of the base tube 42, and the upper tube plate 16a made of a metal material is buckled. It is cooled to a temperature that does not cause deformation and supplied to the oxidizing gas discharge chamber 15. The fuel gas is heated by heat exchange with the exhaust oxidizing gas discharged from the power generation chamber 11 and supplied to the power generation chamber 11. As a result, the fuel gas preheated to a temperature suitable for power generation can be supplied to the power generation chamber 11 without using a heater or the like.

  The lower heat insulator 17b is disposed at the upper end of the lower casing 18b so that the lower heat insulator 17b, the bottom plate of the lower casing 18b, and the lower tube plate 16b are substantially parallel to each other, and is fixed to the side plate of the lower casing 18a. . The lower heat insulator 17b is provided with a plurality of holes corresponding to the number of cell stacks 40 provided in the SOFC cartridge 10. The diameter of the hole is set larger than the outer diameter of the cell stack 40. The lower heat insulator 17b has an oxidizing gas supply gap 21a formed between the inner surface of this hole and the outer surface of the cell stack 40 inserted through the lower heat insulator 17b.

  The lower heat insulator 17b separates the power generation chamber 11 and the oxidizing gas supply chamber 14, and the atmosphere around the lower tube sheet 16b is heated to reduce the strength and corrosion due to the oxidizing agent contained in the oxidizing gas. Suppresses the increase. The lower tube plate 16b and the like are made of a metal material having high temperature durability such as Inconel. However, the lower tube plate 16b and the like are exposed to high temperatures, and the temperature difference in the lower tube plate 16b and the like is increased, so that the heat is deformed. It is something to prevent. The lower thermal insulator 17b guides the oxidizing gas supplied to the oxidizing gas supply chamber 14 to the power generation chamber 11 through the oxidizing gas supply gap 21a.

  According to the present embodiment, due to the structure of the SOFC cartridge 10 described above, the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas flow so as to face the inside and the outside of the cell stack 40. As a result, the exhaust fuel gas that has passed through the power generation chamber 11 through the inside of the base tube 42 is heat-exchanged with the oxidizing gas supplied to the power generation chamber 11, and the lower tube plate 16b made of a metal material or the like. Is cooled to a temperature that does not cause deformation such as buckling, and supplied to the fuel gas discharge chamber 13. The oxidizing gas is heated by heat exchange with the exhaust fuel gas and supplied to the power generation chamber 11. As a result, the oxidizing gas heated to the temperature necessary for power generation can be supplied to the power generation chamber 11 without using a heater or the like.

  The DC power generated in the power generation chamber 11 is led out to the vicinity of the end of the cell stack 40 by a lead film made of Ni / YSZ or the like provided in the plurality of fuel cells 41, and then the current collector rod (not shown) of the SOFC cartridge 10 ) Through a current collector plate (not shown) and taken out of each SOFC cartridge 10. In addition, the electric power led out of the SOFC cartridge 10 by the current collecting rod is mutually connected to the predetermined series number and parallel number of the generated power of each SOFC cartridge 10, and is led out of the SOFC module 1, It is converted into predetermined AC power by an inverter (not shown) or the like and supplied to the power load.

<Reference embodiment>
Now, for example, a core 50A configured as shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the cylinder of the cell stack 40 in order to accelerate the fluid flow velocity flowing inside the cylinder and increase the heat exchange efficiency. The core 50A increases the flow velocity by narrowing (squeezing) the fluid flow path (flow path cross-sectional area) of the cell stack 40. The core 50A is arranged on the upper end side and the lower end side of the cell stack 40, that is, on the cell stack 40. It is a cylindrical rod-shaped part inserted into the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet. The core 50A is preferably arranged coaxially with the axial center of the cell stack 40 in order to accelerate the fluid uniformly.

The core 50A of the present embodiment is inserted particularly from the upper end opening of the cell stack 40, and the stack upper end surface is formed by three plate-like claw portions 52A extending radially from the center of the upper end surface in the horizontal direction. 40c. In this case, the three plate-like claw portions 52A are equally arranged in the circumferential direction at a pitch of 120 degrees.
The plate-like claw portion 52 </ b> A is provided with a bent portion 53 that inclines the axial center direction downward from the inner wall surface position of the cell stack 40. As a result, the plate-like claw portion 52A is divided into an outer peripheral horizontal portion 52a and an inner peripheral inclined portion 52b with the bent portion 53 as a boundary, and the horizontal portion 52a is placed on the stack upper end surface 40c. In this case, the circumferential length of the horizontal portion 52a substantially coincides with the thickness of the stack upper end surface 40c, and the inclined portion 52b becomes an inclined surface that descends toward the upper end surface of the core 50A that is lower than the bent portion 53. .

  If the core 50A having such a structure is employed, the bent portion 53 is provided in the plate-like claw portion 52A, so that an automatic alignment function that is automatically positioned at the center of the axis of the cell stack 40 when subjected to vibration. It will be prepared. That is, the bent portion 53 of the plate-like claw portion 52A is located at the upper end of the cell stack 40 in the normal state (normal position) and coincides with the corner on the inner wall surface 40a side. An automatic alignment function that returns to the normal position by being guided by the inclined surface of the inclined portion 52 acts on the child 50A.

The core 50 </ b> A having such an automatic alignment function does not require the protrusion 51 for being arranged at the axial center of the cell stack 40, which is necessary in the conventional structure.
As a result, the core 50A without the projecting portion 51 can prevent the strength reliability such as the cell stack 40 from being broken, because the inner wall surface 40a of the cell stack 40 is not cut.
In the illustrated embodiment, the number of the plate-like claw portions 52A is three. However, for example, four plate-like claw portions 52A may be provided like a core 50B shown in FIG. That is, the plate-like claw portion 52A only needs to have a plurality of pieces that can ensure stable placement and alignment functions, and the number is not particularly limited. However, if the number of the plate-like claw portions 52A is too large, an effective area as a flow path is narrowed at the inlet opening of the cell stack 40, which is not preferable because pressure loss increases.

Further, the above-described core 50A is formed in this manner because the bent portion 53 is provided in the plate-like claw portion 52A and the axial center direction is inclined downward from a position coinciding with the inner wall surface 40a of the cell stack 40. By the method of aligning using the alignment function of the inclined surface 52b, a core fixing method of positioning the core 50A at the center of the axis that is a predetermined position of the cell stack 40 becomes possible. By such a core fixing method, the core 50A is automatically aligned so as to be automatically positioned at the center of the axis of the cell stack 40, so that the conventional protrusion 51 is unnecessary.
As a result, the core 50A without the projecting portion 51 does not scrape the inner wall surface 40a of the cell stack 40. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the strength reliability from being lowered, for example, the cell stack 40 is broken.

<Embodiment>
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part similar to reference embodiment mentioned above, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.
In this embodiment, the core 50C is placed on the upper end surface of the stack by the plate-like claw portions 52 that extend radially from the center of the upper end surface in the horizontal direction. In the illustrated embodiment, four plate-like claw portions 52 arranged at an equal pitch of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction are provided. That is, the contact area between the plate-like claw portion 52 and the upper end surface of the cell stack 40 is increased by increasing the plate-like claw portion 52 having the conventional structure shown in FIG. In this case, the protrusion 51 may be unnecessary, but may be provided similarly to the conventional structure.

  If the core 50C having such a structure is adopted, the contact area (friction surface) in a state where the plate-like claw portion 52 is placed on the upper end surface of the cell stack 40 is increased as compared with the conventional three pieces. To do. Therefore, the frictional force contributing to the rotation suppression of the core 50C is also increased by the increase in the contact area. Thus, when a larger frictional force is generated than in the prior art, the core 50C is restrained from rotational movement due to vibration. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inner wall surface 40a from being scraped due to contact with the protrusion 51, and thus it is possible to prevent strength reliability from being lowered, such as the cell stack 40 being broken.

Further, by increasing the number of the plate-like claw portions 52, the number of times (time) that the core 50C is inclined due to the influence of vibration or the like and only one plate-like claw portion 52 is in contact with the upper end surface of the cell stack 40. ) Less. That is, since the distance between the adjacent plate-like claw parts 52 becomes short, the contact with only one plate-like claw part 52 is 45 degrees (90 degrees in total) from the plate-like claw part 52 to both sides in the circumferential direction. In the conventional structure shown in FIG. 7, the range is as wide as 60 degrees (total of 120 degrees) on both sides in the circumferential direction.
For this reason, since the time until the next plate-like claw portion 52 comes into contact with the rotation of the core 50C can be shortened, this also suppresses the rotation of the core 50C.

In this way, four or more plate-like claw portions 52 are arranged at equal pitches in the circumferential direction to increase the frictional force obtained in comparison with the conventional method and secure a large frictional force and adopt a method for suppressing rotation. Also, the rotation of the core 52C using the frictional force can be suppressed.
Further, the core fixing method for increasing the number of the plate-like claw portions 52 to obtain a large amount of friction can reduce the circumferential pitch (angle) of the plate-like claw portions 52, so that one plate-like claw portion can be obtained. The number of times (time) of contact only at 52 is reduced, and therefore, the time until the next plate-like claw portion 52 comes into contact with the rotation is shortened. This also suppresses the rotation of the core 50C. .
As the number of the plate-like claw portions 52 increases to 4 or more, the frictional force increases. However, if the number of the plate-like claw portions 52 increases too much, an effective flow at the inlet opening of the cell stack 40 is increased. Since the road area is narrowed and causes an increase in pressure loss, an appropriate upper limit setting is required.

Thus, according to the above-described embodiment, the problem that has been a concern when transporting the SOFC cartridge 10 that is an assembly of the cell stacks 40, that is, the cores 50A, 50B, and 50C are caused by vibration during transportation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inner wall surface 40a of the cell stack 40 from being scraped, and as a result, the SOFC module 1 with improved vibration resistance and impact resistance of the cell stack 40 is provided. it can.
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, For example, it can change suitably in the range which does not deviate from the summary, such as not being limited to SOFC.

1 Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC module)
2 Pressure vessel 3 Fuel gas supply pipe 3a Fuel gas supply branch pipe 4 Fuel gas discharge pipe 4a Fuel gas discharge branch pipe 10 SOFC cartridge 11 Power generation chamber 12 Fuel gas supply chamber 13 Fuel gas discharge chamber 14 Oxidizing gas supply chamber 15 Oxidizing gas Gas discharge chamber 16a Upper tube plate 16b Lower tube plate 17a Upper heat insulator 17b Lower heat insulator 18a Upper casing 18b Lower casing 19a Gas fuel supply hole 19b Fuel gas discharge hole 20a Oxidative gas supply hole 20b Oxidative gas discharge hole 21a Oxidizing Gas supply gap 21b Oxidizing gas discharge gap 40 Cell stack (cylindrical cell)
40a Cell stack inner wall surface 40c Stack upper end surface 41 Fuel cell 42 Base tube 50, 50A, 50B, 50C Core 51 Protruding part 52, 52A Plate-like claw part 52a Horizontal part 52b Inclined part 53 Bent part

Claims (2)

In the solid oxide fuel cell in which a core is inserted in the cell stack in order to accelerate the flow velocity of the fluid flowing in the cylindrical cell stack,
The core is inserted from the upper end opening of the cell stack, and is placed on the stack upper end surface by a plurality of plate-like claws extending radially from the center of the upper end surface of the core,
A solid oxide fuel cell, wherein four or more plate-like claws are arranged at equal pitches in the circumferential direction. A core for accelerating the flow velocity of the fluid flowing in the cylindrical cell stack is inserted into the cell stack, the core is inserted from the upper end opening of the cell stack, and from the center of the upper end surface of the core. A solid cell fuel cell cylindrical core fixing method mounted on a stack upper end surface by a plurality of plate-like claws extending radially in a horizontal direction,
A method of fixing a core of a cylindrical cell, wherein rotation is suppressed by a frictional force obtained by arranging four or more plate-like claw portions at equal pitches in the circumferential direction.

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