JP2017144583A - Manufacturing method of tank and cooling device of tank body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove sufficiently bubbles on the surface of a tank body, while shortening a manufacturing time of a tank.SOLUTION: A manufacturing method of a tank 2 has: a heating step for heating a tank body 30 in which a fiber-reinforced resin layer 21 is formed on a surface layer by winding, around a liner 20, a fiber bundle into which a resin is impregnated; and a cooling step for cooling the tank body 30, while removing bubbles on the surface of the tank body 30 by jetting out high-pressure low temperature water A to the heated tank body 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a tank manufacturing method and a tank body cooling apparatus.

  For example, in a fuel cell system mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, a gas tank is used as a fuel gas supply source.

  In manufacturing this type of tank, a fiber bundle impregnated with resin is wound around a substantially elliptical liner (inner container) to form a tank body having a fiber reinforced resin layer on the surface, and then the tank body is heated in a heating furnace. The fiber reinforced resin layer is cured by heating and then the tank body is cooled (see Patent Document 1).

  By the way, in the tank manufacturing method, when the fiber reinforced resin layer is cured, the resin is cured while the air accumulated between the fiber bundles gradually escapes from the surface of the tank body. May remain and convex protrusions may be formed on the tank surface. For this reason, it is necessary to remove bubbles on the surface of the tank body (see Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).

JP 2014-156015 A JP 2010-264718 A International Publication No. 2013/057753 JP 2011-012764 A

  However, if the step of removing bubbles is separately performed in the tank manufacturing process, it takes much time, and the tank manufacturing time becomes long. On the other hand, even if the bubbles are removed when the tank body is heated, the removal of the bubbles may not be sufficient.

  The present application has been made in view of the above points, and provides a tank manufacturing method and a tank body cooling apparatus capable of sufficiently removing bubbles generated on the surface of the tank body while shortening the tank manufacturing time. One of its purposes is to provide it.

  As a result of intensive studies, the inventors of the present invention reduced the manufacturing time of the tank while cooling the tank body while ejecting liquid to the heated tank body and removing bubbles on the surface of the tank body. It has been found that bubbles generated on the surface of the body can be sufficiently removed, and the present invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention includes the following aspects.
(1) A heating process in which a fiber bundle impregnated with resin is wound around a liner to heat a tank body in which a fiber reinforced resin layer is formed on the surface layer, and a liquid is ejected to the heated tank body to surface the tank body And a cooling step for cooling the tank body while removing the bubbles.
In addition, this application contains the following aspects as a reference example.
(2) The cooling step includes a step of ejecting the liquid to the tank body in a state where the tank body is housed in a cooling container, and submerging the tank body in the liquid accumulated in the cooling container. The method for producing a tank according to (1).
(3) The tank manufacturing method according to (2), wherein the tank body is subjected to an expansion test in a state where the tank body is submerged in the liquid in the cooling container.
(4) The tank manufacturing method according to (1), wherein in the cooling step, a volatile liquid capable of cleaning the surface of the tank body is ejected to the tank body.
(5) The method for producing a tank according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the liquid is ejected at a high pressure of 35 MPa or more and at a low temperature of 40 ° C. or less.
(6) A fiber bundle impregnated with resin is wound around a liner to form a fiber reinforced resin layer on the surface layer, and then a cooling container that houses a heated tank body, and a liquid jet that ejects liquid to the tank body An apparatus for cooling the tank body, wherein the cooling container is capable of storing the liquid ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus and configured to be able to submerge the tank body in the liquid.
(7) A fiber reinforced resin layer is formed on a surface layer by winding a fiber bundle impregnated with resin around a liner, and then a cooling container that accommodates a heated tank body, and volatile that can clean the surface of the tank body And a liquid jetting device for jetting the liquid of the tank to the tank body.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to sufficiently remove bubbles on the surface of the tank body while shortening the manufacturing time of the tank.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of the fuel cell vehicle carrying a tank. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a tank. It is a flowchart which shows the main processes of the manufacturing method of the tank in 1st Embodiment. It is a graph which shows the temperature change of the tank body of a heating process and a cooling process. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a structure of a cooling device. It is a schematic diagram of the cooling device which shows the state where the tank body was submerged. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other structure of a cooling device. It is a flowchart which shows the main processes of the manufacturing method of the tank in 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. Note that the positional relationship such as up, down, left, and right in the drawing is based on the positional relationship shown in the drawing unless otherwise specified. Further, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are not limited to the illustrated ratios. Furthermore, the following embodiment is an illustration for explaining the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention only to the embodiment. Furthermore, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

  First, the usage example of the tank manufactured with the manufacturing method in this Embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a fuel cell vehicle 1 on which a tank 2 is mounted.

  In the fuel cell vehicle 1, for example, three tanks (gas tanks) 2 are mounted on the rear portion of the vehicle body. The tank 2 constitutes a part of the fuel cell system 3, and fuel gas can be supplied from each tank 2 to the fuel cell 5 through the gas supply line 4. The fuel gas stored in the tank 2 is a combustible high-pressure gas, for example, hydrogen gas. Note that the tank 2 in the present embodiment is not limited to the fuel cell vehicle 1 but also vehicles such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, as well as various moving bodies (for example, ships, airplanes, robots, etc.) and stationary equipment (housing, buildings). ).

  FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an outline of the configuration of the tank 2. The tank 2 is formed in a substantially ellipsoidal shape, for example. A base 10 is provided at both ends of the tank 2 on the tank shaft. The base 10 is made of, for example, aluminum.

  The tank 2 has a substantially elliptical liner 20 inside. The liner 20 is made of a resin, for example, and is formed of a polyamide resin such as nylon 6 or nylon 6, 6 or a polyethylene resin. The liner 20 in the present embodiment is made of resin, but may be made of aluminum. The base 10 is fitted into the openings at both ends of the liner 20. A fiber reinforced resin layer 21 is formed so as to cover a part of the surface of the base 10 and almost the entire surface of the liner 20.

  The fiber reinforced resin layer 21 is formed by winding a fiber bundle impregnated with a thermosetting resin around the outer periphery of the base 10 and the liner 20 by, for example, a filament wiping (FW) method. The fiber reinforced resin layer 21 is composed of a plurality of layers having different winding directions, such as hoop winding and helical winding. In addition, as a resin of the fiber reinforced resin layer 21, for example, an epoxy resin, a modified epoxy resin, an unsaturated polyester resin, or the like is used. Moreover, as a fiber, carbon fiber is used, for example.

(First embodiment)
Next, a method for manufacturing the tank 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the main steps of the method for manufacturing the tank 2.

  First, the liner 20 is formed by blow molding, injection molding, or the like (step S1). Next, the fiber bundle impregnated with the thermosetting resin is wound around the liner 20 by the FW method, and the fiber reinforced resin layer 21 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the liner 20 (step S2). In the present embodiment, the “tank body 30” is the one in the middle of manufacture in which the fiber reinforced resin layer 21 is formed on the liner 20.

  Next, the tank body 30 is accommodated in a heating device (not shown) and heated (step S3). In FIG. 4, the temperature change of the tank body 30 at the time of this heating process S3 and the below-mentioned cooling process S4 is shown. By heating the tank body 30, the temperature of the tank body 30 rises and the fiber reinforced resin layer 21 is thermoset. At this time, since the resin is cured while the air accumulated between the fiber bundles gradually escapes to the surface of the tank body 30, bubbles are formed on the surface of the tank body 30. In addition, a means and a method for heating the tank body 30 in the heating device are not particularly limited, and the heating may be performed by induction heating or a heater, or may be performed using hot air or the like. The heating device and the cooling device 40 may be separate devices or the same device.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the tank body 30 is accommodated in the cooling device 40 and cooled (step S4). The cooling device 40 includes, for example, a tank body 30, a cooling container 50 that can store liquid, and a liquid ejection device 51 that ejects high-pressure low-temperature water A as a liquid to the tank body 30. The liquid ejection device 51 includes, for example, a plurality of nozzles 60 arranged on the upper portion of the tank body 30, a liquid supply pipe 61 that supplies the high-pressure and low-temperature water A to the nozzle 60, a supply source 62 for the high-pressure and low-temperature water A, and the like. ing.

  When the tank body 30 is accommodated in the cooling container 50 of the cooling device 40, the high-pressure and low-temperature water A is ejected from the nozzle 60 onto the surface of the tank body 30. At this time, the high-pressure low-temperature water A is jetted at a high pressure of 35 MPa or higher and a low temperature of 40 ° C. or higher. Due to the ejection of the high-pressure low-temperature water A, bubbles on the surface of the tank body 30 are removed, and the tank body 30 is rapidly cooled.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the high-pressure low-temperature water A is ejected until the low-temperature water A ejected to the tank body 30 is accumulated in the cooling container 50 and the tank body 30 is gradually immersed and submerged.

  After the tank body 30 is submerged in the low temperature water A, the ejection of the high pressure low temperature water A is stopped. Next, for example, water is supplied into the tank body 30 through a pipe (not shown) attached to the base 10 of the tank body 30, and the internal pressure of the tank body 30 is raised as shown in FIG. At this time, an expansion test is performed in which the change in the volume of the tank body 30 with respect to the amount of water in the tank body 30 is measured, and the strength of the tank body 30 is inspected based on the change in the volume.

  Next, the tank body 30 is taken out from the cooling device 40, and the surface of the tank body 30 is cleaned (step S5). Next, a label is affixed to the surface of the tank body 30 (step S6), and the manufacture of the tank 2 is completed.

  According to the present embodiment, in the cooling step S4 after heating, the tank body 30 is cooled while ejecting the high-pressure low-temperature water A to the heated tank body 30 to remove bubbles on the surface of the tank body 30. Yes. Thereby, it is not necessary to perform the process of removing bubbles separately, and the manufacturing time of the tank 2 can be shortened. Further, by ejecting the high-pressure and low-temperature water A to the tank body 30, bubbles can be sufficiently removed. Moreover, since the tank body 30 can be rapidly cooled by the ejection of the high-pressure low-temperature water A, the cooling time of the tank body 30 and the manufacturing time of the tank 2 can be further shortened.

  In the cooling step S4, the high-pressure low-temperature water A is ejected in a state where the tank body 30 is accommodated in the cooling container 50, and the tank body 30 is submerged in the high-pressure low-temperature water A stored in the cooling container 50. The cooling of 30 can be stably performed in a shorter time.

  In the cooling step S4, the tank body 30 is subjected to an expansion test in a state where the tank body 30 is submerged in the high-pressure low-temperature water A of the cooling container 50. Therefore, there is no need to separately perform an expansion test of the tank body 30, Manufacturing time can be further reduced. In the present embodiment, the liquid is water, but is not limited thereto.

(Second Embodiment)
In the said embodiment, the cooling process S4 of the tank body 30 may eject the volatile liquid which can wash | clean the surface of the tank body 30 to the tank body 30. FIG. In such a case, the cooling device 40 ejects, for example, a cooling container 70 that houses the tank body 30 and a volatile high-pressure / low-temperature liquid B that can clean the surface of the tank body 30 to the tank body 30 as shown in FIG. The liquid ejecting device 71 is provided. The liquid ejection device 71 includes, for example, a plurality of nozzles 80 arranged on the upper portion of the tank body 30, a liquid supply pipe 81 for supplying the liquid B to the nozzle 80, a supply source 82 for the volatile liquid B, and the like. Yes. The volatile liquid B may be a volatile substance itself or may contain a volatile substance in part. For example, the volatile substance may be a volatile organic compound such as alcohol or acetone.

  FIG. 7 is a flow showing the main steps of the tank manufacturing method according to the second embodiment. The liner 20 is formed as in the first embodiment (step S1), the fiber reinforced resin layer 21 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the liner 20 (step S2), and then the tank body 30 is heated (step S3). .

  In the cooling step S <b> 4, when the tank body 30 is accommodated in the cooling container 70 of the cooling device 40, the volatile high-pressure / low-temperature liquid B is ejected to the tank body 30. Accordingly, the high-pressure and low-temperature liquid B rapidly cools the tank body 30 while removing bubbles on the surface of the tank body 30, and further cleans the surface of the tank body 30. The liquid B at this time is ejected at a high pressure of 35 MPa or more and a low temperature of 40 ° C. or less. When the cooling step S4 is finished, a label is pasted on the surface of the tank body 30 (step S6), and the manufacturing process of the tank 2 is finished.

  According to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to separately perform a step of removing bubbles on the surface of the tank body 30, and the manufacturing time of the tank can be shortened. Further, by ejecting the volatile liquid B to the tank body 30, the bubbles can be sufficiently removed. Further, since the volatile liquid B is ejected, the cooling time of the tank body 30 can be shortened by the heat of vaporization. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to separately perform the surface cleaning process of the tank body 30 before applying the label, the manufacturing time of the tank can be further shortened.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the idea described in the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood.

  For example, the configuration of the cooling device 40 in the above embodiment is not limited to this.

  The present invention is useful for sufficiently removing bubbles on the surface of the tank body while shortening the manufacturing time of the tank.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel cell vehicle 2 Tank 30 Tank body 40 Cooling device A High pressure low temperature water

Claims (1)

A heating step of winding a fiber bundle impregnated with resin around a liner and heating a tank body in which a fiber reinforced resin layer is formed on a surface layer;
And a cooling step of cooling the tank body while ejecting liquid to the heated tank body to remove bubbles on the surface of the tank body.