JPS6238637B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a sleeve-shaped (doughnut-shaped) heat pipe in which the central hollow part is filled with a metal hydride, and a metal hydride is applied to the inner wall of the outer pipe between an outer pipe and an inner pipe of the heat pipe. A metal hydride having a heat insulating material with or without a Wick effect along the outer wall of the inner tube, and a thermally conductive material having a Wick effect along the outer wall of the inner tube to prevent heat loss from the outer tube to the outside. Regarding containers.

Since metal hydrides have the property of reversibly absorbing and releasing large amounts of hydrogen, their use as hydrogen storage materials has attracted attention, and since they generate a large amount of reaction heat when absorbing and releasing hydrogen, they can also be used as heat storage materials. Attention has been paid. In hydrogen storage devices and heat storage devices that use metal hydrides, it is important to make the metal hydride absorb heat efficiently and to efficiently extract heat generated from the metal hydride.

However, when metal hydrides are repeatedly hydrogenated and dehydrogenated, they become pulverized and their volume decreases, which reduces their heat exchange function, and the metal hydrides themselves have low thermal conductivity, which is disadvantageous in terms of reaction heat transfer. There are other problems.

Previously, the inventors of this invention have solved these problems and reduced the sensible heat loss to the metal hydride container itself by filling the central hollow part of a sleeve-shaped heat pipe with metal hydride. A metal hydride container has been disclosed (see JP-A-58-47988 and JP-A-58-47989).

The wicks used in these sleeve-shaped heat pipes are generally made of a mesh made of fibrous material of thermally conductive metal such as stainless steel or copper.
A felt-like body or a porous member using these metals is used. This invention is an invention in which the heat dissipation and sensible heat loss from the outer wall of the sleeve-type heat pipe are improved by improving the heat pipe, and the central hollow part of the sleeve-type heat pipe is filled with metal hydride. The center opening at both ends of the central hollow part is closed with a closing member, and a hydrogen inlet/outlet conduit having an on-off valve is connected to the closing member through a partition body through which hydrogen can pass but not the metal hydride.
A metal hydride container installed so that the central hollow part of the heat pipe communicates with the inner wall of the outer pipe, in which a heat insulating material with or without a wicking effect is applied to the gap between the outer pipe and the inner pipe of the heat pipe. The present invention provides a metal hydride container characterized in that a thermally conductive material having a Wick effect is arranged along the outer wall of the inner tube.

In this specification, the term "wick effect" refers to the effect of moving a heat medium and transporting heat by means of a wick installed on the sealed inner surface between the outer tube and the inner tube of the heat pipe. .

The insulating material used in this invention may or may not have a Wick effect and is placed along the inner wall of the outer tube to reduce heat transfer to the outer wall of the sleeve heat pipe. Among these heat-insulating materials, those having the Wick effect include felt-like or woven-like heat-insulating materials made of glass fiber or ceramic fiber, and open-cell porous members made of the heat-insulating material. Examples of materials that do not have the Wick effect include a cylindrical body made of a heat insulating material having closed cells. Further, as the thermally conductive material used in the present invention, the above-mentioned materials used in conventional sleeve-shaped heat pipes can be used.

As described above, the heat insulating part of the metal hydride container of the present invention includes a heat insulating material with or without a heat effect disposed along the inner wall of the outer tube, and a heat insulating material having a heat effect disposed along the outer wall of the inner tube. It is composed of a two-layered member with a conductive material and a heat medium, and if the container of the present invention is used, the heat supply and heat recovery rates can be further improved, and a heat recovery rate of about 90% can be expected. The container of the present invention can be expected to improve the performance of heat storage tanks, heat engines, and hydrogen storage containers, and can be used for industrial purposes in the future, which will have a large ripple effect.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the container of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AB thereof. Reference numerals 1 and 2 denote an outer tube and an inner tube of a sleeve-shaped heat pipe, respectively, and between the two, there is a felt-like material 3 made of stainless fiber that is thermally conductive and has a Wick effect, and a felt material 3 that is heat insulating and has a Wick effect. Two layers of glass wool felt material 3' are arranged.
By arranging this insulating glass wool felt material 3', heat dissipation from the outer tube 1 to the outside and sensible heat loss are suppressed. The openings at both ends of this sleeve-shaped heat pipe are closed by closing plates 4a and 4b, and a hydrogen inlet/output conduit 8 having an on-off valve 7 is attached to the closing plate 4a, and furthermore, the hydrogen inlet/outlet conduit 8 is attached to the closing plate 4a. A porous conduit 9, e.g. of sintered alloy, through which hydrogen but not metal hydrides can pass, is inserted into the central hollow part 5 of the heat pipe.
extend coaxially, and the central hollow part 5 is filled with a metal hydride 6. In this metal hydride container, the porous conduit 9 prevents the metal hydride from scattering out of the system, and allows hydrogen to enter and exit quickly. Note that the conduit 9 may not extend to the opposing closing plate 4b as in this embodiment, but may protrude halfway into the central hollow, or may have a shape other than a cylinder.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a heat storage device using the metal hydride container shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. That is, a heat exchanger 2 is installed in the metal hydride container.
1 is connected to the heat storage device, and this heat exchanger 21
is filled with a heat medium 22, and has conduits 23a and 23b for the heat medium 22 in and out. And between the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12 is a heat insulating material 1 similar to that described above.
3' is arranged along the inner wall of the outer tube 11, and the outer tube 1
Dissipation of heat from 1 to the outside and sensible heat loss are suppressed. A thermally conductive material 13 similar to that described above is disposed along the outer wall of the inner tube 12. In addition, in order to more smoothly exchange heat between the heat exchanger 21 and the metal hydride container, a part of the heat insulating material 13' faces the heat medium 22 in the heat exchanger 21 via the outer tube 11. The section has been removed and a thermally conductive material has been placed in its place. The metal hydride container itself is then covered with a section 20. This heat storage device performs heat exchange as follows.

First, during heat storage, thermal energy is transferred from the heating medium 22 to the metal hydride container to heat the metal hydride 16 in the container through the sleeve-shaped heat pipe, and the generated hydrogen gas is transferred to the porous conduit 19. The hydrogen then passes through the opened on-off valve 17 and is led to a hydrogen cylinder or the like (not shown) through the hydrogen in/out conduit 18 and stored. On the other hand, during heat dissipation, hydrogen gas from a hydrogen cylinder or the like passes through the open on-off valve 17, passes through the hydrogen inlet/output conduit, and further passes through the porous conduit 19, contacts the metal hydride, reacts, and generates heat. The heat is transmitted to the heat exchanger 21 through the pipe, heats the heat medium 22, and utilizes the heat.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of a metal hydride container of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AB in FIG. FIG. 1,11...outer tube, 2,12...inner tube, 3,13...
Thermal conductive material, 3', 13'...insulating material, 4a, 4
b, 14a, 14b... Closing plate, 5, 15... Central hollow part of sleeve-shaped heat pipe, 6, 16... Metal hydride, 7, 17... Opening/closing valve, 8, 18... Hydrogen in/out conduit, 9, 19... Tubular Compartment body, 20...insulating material,
21... Heat exchanger, 22... Heat medium, and 23a, 2
3b...heat medium inlet/output conduit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A central hollow part of a sleeve-shaped heat pipe is filled with a metal hydride, and central openings at both ends of the central hollow part are closed with closing members, and the closing member includes a hydrogen inlet/outlet conduit having an on-off valve. A metal hydride container, which is installed to communicate with the central hollow part of the heat pipe through a partition that allows hydrogen to pass through but does not allow the metal hydride to pass through, the outer tube and the inner tube of the heat pipe being connected to each other. In the gap between the pipe and the pipe, a heat insulating material with or without a Wick effect is arranged along the inner wall of the outer pipe, and a thermally conductive material with a Wick effect is arranged along the outer wall of the inner pipe. Characteristic metal hydride containers.