JPH084013B2 - Fuel cell gas header and hybrid spiral cell - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a gas header of a fuel cell, and is particularly suitable for a composite large-capacity spiral cell which is effective for equalizing the temperature inside the cells of a large-sized battery. Regarding gas header structure.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as an internal manifold type gas introduction method and a gas header structure, as described in JP-A-60-241659, they are arranged at the upper and lower ends of a fuel cell main body, and a fuel chamber or an oxidizer chamber and a current collector are provided. A plurality of conduits from a buffer tank were connected to the end plate having a fuel tank, and the fuel and the oxidant gas were supplied into and discharged from the cell through the respective buffer tanks and conduits.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

The above-mentioned conventional technique has not been considered in increasing the capacity of fuel cells in the future. Further, the above-mentioned technique was also a structure of a cross-flow gas flow type of an internal manifold type. In order to increase the cell area with the future increase in capacity and obtain high output, in the internal manifold type composite large capacity type cell in which multiple unit cells are arranged on the same plane,
Applying the structure of the prior art as it is to the internal manifold type composite large-capacity spiral cell composed of spiral type cells, which is a gas introduction type that is effective for uniforming the temperature distribution in the cell surface, increases the electrode area. Therefore, there are problems such as an increase in the buffer tank and an increase in the diameter of the conduit provided between the end plate and the buffer tank.

The internal manifold type composite large-capacity spiral cell has a manifold in the center of the cell, and in order to make the temperature distribution in the cell uniform, a cathode gas flow with a large cooling effect is applied in the stacking direction. On the other hand, the gas flow is complicated because it is changed depending on the rib structure of the separator, and the corresponding cathode gas header has a much more complicated structure than the anode gas header, making gas control and battery handling difficult. was there.

The object of the present invention is to simplify the structure of the gas header,
It is an object to provide a gas header for a fuel cell and a composite spiral cell that can facilitate the handling and assembly of the cell.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, a gas header of a fuel cell according to the present invention is a gas header of a fuel cell that supplies gas to and discharges gas from a unit cell, and a gas inlet chamber that supplies gas to the unit cell and a gas supply manifold. Is provided in the central portion of the gas header, and a gas outlet chamber for exhausting the gas discharged from the unit cell to the outside and a gas exhaust manifold are provided in the outer peripheral portion of the gas header. With a gas supply pipe and a gas supply chamber, and the gas outlet chamber is in communication with a gas exhaust pipe and a gas exhaust chamber for exhausting gas to the outside,
The gas inlet chamber is separated in the upper and lower directions by a central partition plate in the central portion of the gas header, and the gas supply chamber and the gas exhaust chamber are formed in the space through the partition plate.

Further, instead of the gas inlet chamber of the gas header,
The base end may be connected to the gas supply pipe, and the front end may be formed by a branch pipe that is open corresponding to each unit cell.

In addition, the composite spiral cell according to the present invention includes a cell stack in which a plurality of unit cells are stacked in both the upper and lower directions with the gas header serving as a cathode gas header in the central portion, and the cell stacks are respectively disposed above and below the cell stack. And an anode header.

[Action]

The gas that has flowed into the gas inlet chamber of the gas header through the gas supply pipe is branched into two directions, that is, the gas header, and is supplied to the unit cell through each gas supply manifold. The structure can be simplified, and the handling and assembly of the battery can be simplified. Here, the same applies when a branch pipe is used instead of the gas inlet chamber.

Further, by arranging the cathode gas header in the center of the cell stack, and by forming a composite spiral cell in which anode headers are arranged above and below the cell stack, respectively,
The cathode gas header serves as a single gas header, which simplifies the structure and reduces the size, and more easily increases the capacity of the fuel cell.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a sectional structural view of a cathode gas header which is a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view (plan view) taken along the arrow II in FIG.

In the cathode gas header 1, a gas supply chamber 2 for supplying gas into the cell is provided at the center of the gas header.
The gas inlet chambers 4 are provided above and below the gas supply chamber 2 with the central partition plate 3 interposed therebetween. on the other hand,
Gas outlet chambers 5 are provided on both sides of the cathode gas header 1 which are parallel to the gas supply pipe 8 and the gas exhaust pipe 9. Here, in the center of the gas header, partition plates a, b, and c for providing the gas supply chamber 2 and gas supply holes 6 for supplying gas into the upper and lower gas inlet chambers 4 are machined. The gas supply chamber 2 and the gas exhaust chamber 7 are formed by being installed between the central partition plates 3. or,
Gas inlet chamber 2 and gas outlet chamber 5 are provided on both sides of the gas header.
Partitioning plates d, e, f, g are installed on the central partitioning plate 3 to partition the chambers.

Further, a gas supply pipe 8 is installed on the side of the gas supply chamber 2 in the center of the side surface of the cathode header 1, and a gas exhaust pipe 9 is installed on the side of the gas exhaust chamber 7. Then, a lid for sealing each of the gas inlet chamber 4 and the gas outlet chamber 5 on the upper surfaces (on the partition plates a, b, c, d, e, f, g) and on the outer peripheral frame plate 10. Board
11 are installed. Further, the cover plate 11 is provided with a gas supply manifold 12 into each unit cell and a gas exhaust manifold 13 from inside the cell.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. Between the partition plates d, e, f, g on both sides of the gas header and the central partition plate 3, there are reinforcing ribs 15 having a plurality of holes 14 for introducing the gas into the exhaust chamber for exhausting the gas. It is provided and both ends are reinforced between the upper and lower gas inlet chambers 4. That is, the structure of the present gas header is such that the gas inlet chambers 4 are provided in the upper and lower sides, a space is formed between the upper and lower sides, and the spaces are utilized to form the chambers. 15 is connected to reinforce the space and the gas header. The central portions of the upper and lower gas inlet chambers 4 are reinforced by partition plates a, b and c, as shown in FIGS. In addition, if necessary, reinforcement can be provided by providing a reinforcing rib in the structure of the gas header. The description of the example of attaching the reinforcing ribs is omitted.

The gas flow in the above cathode gas header structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The oxidant gas x before the reaction, which is the gas on the cathode side, is the gas processed into the central partition plate 3 from the gas supply pipe 8 and the gas supply chamber 2 which are provided in the central portion of the side surface of the gas header. It is sent to the upper and lower gas inlet chambers through the supply hole 6. The oxidant gas x sent to the gas inlet chamber 4 passes through a gas supply manifold 12 formed in plural on a lid plate 11 on the upper surface (or the lower surface in the lower chamber 4) of the gas inlet chamber 4, It is supplied to a unit cell (not shown).

Then, the reacted oxidant gas y, which is reacted and discharged in each cell unit, is sent to the gas outlet chamber 5 through the gas exhaust manifolds 13 which are processed in plural on both sides of the gas header. . The gas sent is
From the gas outlet chambers 5 on both sides of the gas header, they are collected in the gas exhaust chamber 7 in the central portion of the gas header through a plurality of holes 14 of the replenishing ribs 15 and discharged to the outside through the gas exhaust pipe 9.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention. Gas inlet room 4
Instead of the partition plate, a pipe having a necessary area for the amount of gas supplied into the cell (gas supply chamber pipe 17) is used. This gas supply chamber pipe 17 has a flat surface 4
One unit cell (total of eight unit cells on both upper and lower planes)
In order to send in a more uniform gas amount, the tip opening is arranged at the center of each unit cell. The gas supply chamber piping 17 is connected by an H-shaped branch pipe 18 for branching the gas into each chamber, and has a branch pipe structure as a whole. By connecting the gas supply pipe 8 and the H-shaped branch pipe 18, it is possible to supply a uniform amount of gas into the cell (unit cell).

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a composite large-capacity spiral cell when laminated. An intermediate header system is adopted in which the anode gas headers 20 are laminated on the upper and lower sides of the cell stack 19, and the cathode gas header 1 using the structure of the present invention is laminated in the central portion. With this laminated structure, it is possible to achieve a high laminated structure with a large capacity in the future and to obtain a high output.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the gas header of the fuel cell of the present invention, the gas flowing into the gas inlet chamber of the gas header through the gas supply pipe is branched and flows in two directions, that is, in the upper and lower directions of the gas header, and the gas is supplied to each gas supply manifold. Since the gas is supplied to the unit cell through the unit cell, the structure of the gas header itself can be simplified and the handling and assembly of the battery can be simplified. Further, substantially the same effect can be obtained by using a branch pipe instead of the gas inlet chamber.

Further, according to the composite spiral cell according to the present invention,
By arranging the cathode gas header in the center of the cell stack and arranging the anode headers above and below the cell stack to form a composite spiral cell, the cathode gas header becomes a single gas head, and the structure can be simplified and miniaturized. Further, the capacity of the fuel cell can be increased more easily.

That is, according to the present invention, the spiral method, which is the most effective gas introduction method for making the temperature distribution in the battery (in the cell) uniform, is applied as a composite large-capacity spiral cell, and the structure of the gas header related thereto is simplified. Therefore, there is an effect that the battery can be easily handled and assembled. Further, since the intermediate header system can be adopted, there is also an effect that the output of the battery can be increased with the increase in the area and the stacking of cells in the future.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional structural view of a first embodiment of a gas header according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view (plan view) taken along line II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the composite spiral cell according to the present invention. 1 ... Cathode gas header, 2 ... Gas supply chamber, 3 ...
… Central partition plate, 4 …… Gas inlet chamber, 5 …… Gas outlet chamber,
6 ... gas supply port, 7 ... gas exhaust chamber, 8 ... gas supply pipe, 9 ... gas discharge pipe, 10 ... peripheral frame plate, 11 ...
… Lid plate, 12 …… Gas supply manifold, 13 …… Gas exhaust manifold, 14 …… Gas inlet hole, 15 …… Reinforcing rib, 17 …… Gas supply chamber piping, 18 …… H-shaped branch pipe , 19 ...
… Cell stack, 20 …… Anode gas header, a, b, c,
d, e, f, g …… partition plate, x …… oxidant gas before reaction, y ……
Oxidizer gas after the reaction.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Tsutomu Takahashi, 1-1 1-1 Saiwaicho, Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture Hitachi factory Hitachi factory (72) Inventor Tadashi Takashima 3-chome, Saiwaicho, Hitachi, Ibaraki No. 1 Stock company Hitachi Ltd. Hitachi factory (56) Reference JP-A-63-236273 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A gas header of a fuel cell for supplying gas to and exhausting gas from a unit cell, wherein a gas inlet chamber for supplying gas to the unit cell and a gas supply manifold are provided in a central portion of the gas header, and the unit cell is also provided. A gas outlet chamber for exhausting the exhausted gas to the outside and a gas exhaust manifold are provided on the outer periphery of the gas header, and the gas inlet chamber is a gas supply pipe and a gas supply chamber for supplying gas from the outside. Further, the gas outlet chamber is communicated with a gas exhaust pipe for exhausting gas to the outside and the gas exhaust chamber, and the gas inlet chamber is separated in the upper and lower directions by a central partition plate at the central portion of the gas header. A gas header for a fuel cell, wherein the gas supply chamber and the gas exhaust chamber are formed in a space through a partition plate. 2. The branch pipe as claimed in claim 1, which has a base end communicating with a gas supply pipe and a front end opening corresponding to each unit cell, instead of the gas inlet chamber. Fuel cell gas headers. 3. A cell stack in which the gas header according to claim 1 or 2 is located at a central portion as a cathode gas header and a plurality of unit cells are stacked in both vertical directions, and the cell stacks are arranged above and below the cell stack, respectively. A composite spiral cell equipped with an anode header.