KR20240077632A - Separator for fuel cell and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a separator plate for a fuel cell in which a gasket formed on the separator plate can be omitted to form surface pressure and a method of manufacturing the same.
A separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a reaction region formed in the center; It includes a manifold area formed by passing through a plurality of manifolds through which reaction gas or cooling water is introduced or discharged, respectively, around the reaction area, and one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds include the reaction area. A folding portion is formed that extends from the inner peripheral surface of the area opposite to and is provided to be foldable in the direction of the reaction area.

Description

Separator for fuel cell and manufacturing method thereof}

The present invention relates to a separator for a fuel cell and a method of manufacturing the same, and more specifically, to a separator for a fuel cell in which a gasket formed on the separator can be omitted to create surface pressure, and to a method of manufacturing the same.

A fuel cell is a type of power generation device that converts the chemical energy of fuel into electrical energy by electrochemically reacting within a stack. It not only supplies driving power for industrial, household, and vehicles, but also supplies power to small electronic products such as portable devices. It can be used for, and its area of use is gradually expanding as a highly efficient, clean energy source.

A typical fuel cell stack has a membrane electrode assembly (MEA: Membrane-Electrode Assembly) located at the innermost part, which consists of a polymer electrolyte membrane that can move hydrogen cations (protons), and hydrogen on both sides of the electrolyte membrane. It consists of a catalyst layer applied so that oxygen can react with oxygen, that is, an anode and a cathode.

In addition, a gas diffusion layer (GDL) is laminated on the outer part of the membrane electrode assembly, that is, the outer part where the fuel electrode and the air electrode are located, and fuel is supplied to the outside of the gas diffusion layer and water generated by the reaction is A separation plate with a flow field for discharge is disposed, and an end plate is coupled to the outermost side to support and secure each of the above-mentioned components. At this time, gaskets are formed in various patterns to maintain airtightness of the hydrogen, oxygen (air) and coolant flowing from the separator plate.

Meanwhile, the separation plate is generally manufactured in a structure in which lands that serve as supports and channels (passages) that serve as flow paths for fluid are repeatedly formed.

In other words, since a typical separator plate has a structure in which the lands and channels are repeatedly curved, the channel on one side facing the gas diffusion layer is used as a space through which reactive gases such as hydrogen or air flow, and at the same time, the channel on the opposite side is used as a space where reactive gases such as hydrogen or air flow. As it is used as a space through which the cooling medium flows, one unit cell can be formed with a total of two separators, one separator plate with hydrogen/coolant channels and one separator plate with air/coolant channels.

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the reaction surface of a conventional separator for a typical fuel cell, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the cooling surface of a conventional separator for a typical fuel cell.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional separator plate 10 has a membrane electrode assembly and a gas diffusion layer stacked in the center to form a reaction region 10a in which hydrogen, a reactive gas, and air (oxygen) react, and the reaction region ( Around 10a), preferably on both sides, a pair of manifold areas 10b are formed through which a plurality of manifolds 11 through which reaction gas or cooling water is introduced or discharged are formed.

At this time, a gasket line 21 is formed on the separator plate 10 by injecting a gasket material to surround the reaction area 10a and one or more manifolds 11 selected from the plurality of manifolds 11.

In addition, when branched or extended from the gasket line 21 to guide the flow path of the reaction gas or cooling water, or when stacked with the adjacent separator plate 10 or gas diffusion layer, the shape of the separator plate 10 is changed by maintaining mutual surface pressure. A plurality of gasket feet 22 are formed to prevent deformation.

At this time, the gasket line 21 is formed in a relatively simple structure to surround the reaction area 10a and the manifold 11, but in the case of the gasket foot 22, due to its role, it is arranged close to each other in a relatively dense area. It is formed into a difficult structure.

Accordingly, in the case of the gasket line 21, it is easy to implement the structure, but in the case of the gasket foot 22, it is difficult to accurately implement the structure, and even after injection of the gasket material, injection defects occur, causing damage to the gasket foot 22. As (Burr) occurs excessively, problems such as blockage of the flow path of the reaction gas or coolant or reduction of the cross-sectional area of the flow path occur.

The content described as background technology above is only for understanding the background to the present invention, and should not be taken as an admission that it corresponds to prior art already known to those skilled in the art.

Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1846633 (2018.04.02)

The present invention provides a separator for a fuel cell that can omit the gasket formed on the separator to create surface pressure, and a method of manufacturing the same.

The technical problems to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the present invention. You will have to see it.

A separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a reaction region formed in the center; It includes a manifold area formed by passing through a plurality of manifolds through which reaction gas or cooling water is introduced or discharged, respectively, around the reaction area, and one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds include the reaction area. A folding portion is formed that extends from the inner peripheral surface of the area opposite to and is provided to be foldable in the direction of the reaction area.

The folding part is characterized in that a plurality of first support protrusions formed to protrude at a predetermined distance from each other are formed.

One surface of the fuel cell separator is a reaction surface, the other surface is a cooling surface, and the plurality of first support protrusions formed on the folding part are characterized in that they protrude in the direction of the cooling surface after being folded.

In the manifold area, around one or more manifolds selected from among the plurality of manifolds, a plurality of second parts are formed to protrude in the direction of the reaction surface at a predetermined distance from each other in an area opposite the reaction area. It is characterized by the formation of supporting protrusions.

The first support protrusion is formed at a position that overlaps the position at which the second support protrusion is formed after the folding unit is folded.

In the manifold area, the reaction gas flowing through the manifold selected between one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds and the reaction area passes from the cooling surface to the reaction surface and flows into the reaction area. It is characterized in that a plurality of reaction gas flow holes are formed at a predetermined distance apart.

The plurality of reaction gas flow holes are formed on a virtual straight line extending in the direction of the reaction region between the plurality of second support protrusions.

Among the plurality of manifolds, a guide notch forming a line along which the folding part is folded is provided around the manifold where the folding part is formed.

A gasket line is formed in the manifold area to surround one or more manifolds selected from among the plurality of manifolds and maintain airtightness.

Meanwhile, a method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a reaction region formed in the center; It includes a manifold area formed by passing through a plurality of manifolds through which reaction gas or cooling water is introduced or discharged, respectively, around the reaction area, and one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds include the reaction area. A preparation step of preparing a separator having a folding portion extending from the inner peripheral surface of the area opposite to the reaction area and being foldable in the direction of the reaction area; A folding step of folding the folding portion formed on the separator plate and bringing it into close contact with the manifold area; and an injection step of forming a gasket line by injecting a gasket material onto the surface of the separator plate to surround the reaction area and one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds.

In the preparation step, one side of the separator plate is formed as a reaction surface, and the other side is formed as a cooling surface, and the separator plate includes a plurality of first supports formed to protrude from the folding portion at a predetermined distance from each other. It is characterized by forming protrusions.

In the preparation step, the plurality of first support protrusions formed on the folding portion of the separator plate are formed to protrude in the direction of the cooling surface after being folded, and are formed in the manifold area of the separator plate among the plurality of manifolds. A plurality of second support protrusions are formed around the selected one or more manifolds to protrude in the direction of the reaction surface at a predetermined distance from each other in an area opposite the reaction area.

In the preparation step, the first support protrusion is formed at a position that overlaps the position where the second support protrusion is formed after the folding step.

In the preparation step, the reaction gas flowing into the manifold area through a manifold selected between one or more manifolds selected from among the plurality of manifolds and the reaction area passes from the cooling surface to the reaction surface, It is characterized by forming a plurality of reaction gas flow holes spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals to allow the reaction gas to flow into the reaction area.

In the preparation step, the plurality of reaction gas flow holes are formed on a virtual straight line extending in the direction of the reaction area between the plurality of second support protrusions.

In the preparation step, a guide notch is provided to form a line along which the folding portion is folded around a manifold in which the folding portion is formed among the plurality of manifolds, and in the folding step, the folding portion is folded based on the guide notch. It is characterized by:

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a gasket foot formed by injection molding is used to guide the flow path of the reaction gas or cooling water around the manifold or to maintain mutual surface pressure when stacked with an adjacent separator plate or gas diffusion layer. By improving the shape of the separator plate so that it can be replaced, the effect of omitting the formation of gasket feet can be expected.

By omitting the formation of the gasket foot having such a difficult structure, the occurrence of problems such as blockage or reduction of the flow path of the reaction gas or coolant caused by injection defects can be fundamentally suppressed.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the reaction surface of a conventional separator plate for a typical fuel cell.
Figure 2a is a diagram showing the reaction surface of a separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2b is a diagram showing the cooling surface of a separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 and 4 are diagrams showing the stacked state of a fuel cell stack including a separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5A to 5C are diagrams showing step by step a method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cross section taken along line CC of FIG. 5A.

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, identical or similar components will be assigned the same reference numbers regardless of reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.

The suffixes “module” and “part” for components used in the following description are given or used interchangeably only for the ease of preparing the specification, and do not have distinct meanings or roles in themselves.

In describing the embodiments disclosed in this specification, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the detailed descriptions will be omitted. In addition, the attached drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and the technical idea disclosed in this specification is not limited by the attached drawings, and all changes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention are not limited. , should be understood to include equivalents or substitutes.

Terms containing ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

When a component is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but that other components may exist in between. It should be. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a component is “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In this specification, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to indicate the presence of one or more other features. It should be understood that it does not exclude in advance the possibility of the existence or addition of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the reaction surface of a conventional separator for a typical fuel cell, FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the response surface of a separator for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a drawing showing the cooling surface of a fuel cell separator according to , and FIGS. 3 and 4 are drawings showing the stacked state of a fuel cell stack including a fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5A to 5C is a diagram showing step-by-step the manufacturing method of a separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cross section taken along line C-C of FIG. 5A. At this time, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross section along line A-A of FIG. 5C, and FIG. 5C is a diagram showing a cross section along line B-B of FIG. 5B.

The fuel cell separator according to an embodiment of the present invention, like the conventional fuel cell separator 100, has a membrane electrode assembly and a gas diffusion layer stacked in the center to create a reaction area ( 100a) is formed, and a manifold area 100b is formed around the reaction area 100a through which a plurality of manifolds 110 through which the reaction gas is introduced or discharged respectively pass through. For example, a pair of manifold regions 100b may be formed on both sides of the reaction region 100a.

At this time, the plurality of manifolds 110 formed in the manifold area 100b are formed into a manifold into which hydrogen, a reactive gas, is introduced or discharged, and a manifold into which air, a reactive gas, is introduced or discharged. Additionally, a manifold through which coolant is introduced or discharged may be further formed in the manifold area 100b.

One side of the separator 100 is formed as a reaction surface 100R on which the membrane electrode assembly and the gas diffusion layer are stacked, and the other side is formed as a cooling surface 100C on which the other separator 100' is stacked.

Meanwhile, in this embodiment, one or more manifolds 110 selected from a plurality of manifolds 110 formed in the manifold area 100b are included to replace the role of the gasket foot formed in the conventional separator plate. A folding portion 120 is formed that extends from the inner peripheral surface of the area opposite the reaction area 100a and is capable of being folded in the direction of the reaction area 100a.

At this time, a plurality of first support protrusions 121 formed to protrude at a predetermined distance from each other are formed in the folding unit 120. Therefore, the first support protrusion 121 serves to replace the role of the gasket foot 22 formed in the conventional separation plate 10.

To this end, as shown in FIG. 3, the first support protrusion 121 is preferably formed to protrude in the direction of the cooling surface 100C of the separation plate 100 after the folding portion 120 is folded.

In addition, around one or more manifolds 110 selected from among the plurality of manifolds 110 in the manifold area 100b, a reaction surface 100R is formed at a predetermined distance from each other in an area opposite to the reaction area. ) It is preferable that a plurality of second support protrusions 122 formed to protrude in the direction are formed.

At this time, the second support protrusion 122 is preferably formed to protrude in the direction of the reaction surface 100R of the separation plate 100.

In addition, the first support protrusion 121 is preferably formed at a position that overlaps the position where the second support protrusion 122 is formed after the folding part 120 is folded, and thus the folding part 120 is folded. After the first support protrusion 121 and the second support protrusion 122 are disposed at overlapping positions and protrude in different directions, the first support protrusion 121 and the second support protrusion 122 When the fuel cell stack is stacked, the desired level of surface pressure is maintained in the corresponding area.

Meanwhile, a reaction gas flow hole 140 through which a reaction gas flows is formed in the manifold area 100b.

To elaborate, the reaction gas flowing in through the manifold 110 selected between one or more manifolds 110 selected from among the plurality of manifolds 110 and the reaction area 100a flows from the cooling surface to the reaction surface ( A plurality of reaction gas flow holes 140 that allow the reaction gas to pass through 100R and flow into the reaction area are formed to penetrate the separator plate 100. At this time, it is preferable that the plurality of reaction gas flow holes 140 are formed at a predetermined interval while maintaining a straight line with respect to the width direction of the separator plate 100.

In particular, it is preferable that the plurality of reaction gas flow holes 140 are formed on a virtual straight line extending between the plurality of second support protrusions 122 in the direction of the reaction region 100a.

Therefore, the reaction gas flowing into the manifold 110 is guided to the space between the first support protrusions 121 and moves to the reaction gas flow hole 140, passes through the reaction gas flow hole 140, and then flows into the reaction area ( Let it flow into 100a).

Meanwhile, among the plurality of manifolds 110, it is preferable that a guide notch 150 forming a line along which the folding part 120 is folded is provided around the manifold 110 where the folding part 120 is formed. Therefore, when the folding unit 120 is folded, the folding line is accurately set by the guide notch 150, and the folding unit 120 is folded smoothly.

For this purpose, the guide notch 150 is preferably formed at a midpoint between the virtual line on which the first support protrusion 121 is formed and the virtual line on which the second support protrusion 122 is formed.

In addition, in the manifold area 100b, a gasket line 160 is formed by injection molding to surround one or more manifolds 110 selected from among the plurality of manifolds 110 and maintain airtightness. At this time, in this embodiment, the effect of easily performing injection molding to form the gasket line 160 can be expected by omitting the gasket foot 22, which was conventionally injection molded together with the gasket line 21.

Next, a method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention largely includes a preparation step of preparing a separator plate 100 provided with a folding portion 120, and a separator plate ( It includes a folding step of folding the folding portion 120 at 100 and an injection step of forming a gasket line 160 on the separator plate 100.

At this time, in order to perform the process smoothly, the folding step and the injection step can be performed first and then the injection step, or the injection step can be performed first and then the folding step. In this embodiment, the method of performing the folding step first and then performing the injection step will be described.

The preparation step is a step of preparing the separation plate 100 provided with the folding portion 120 described above.

To elaborate, as shown in FIG. 5A, a metal plate is put into a press device, and then the separator plate 100 is manufactured through a press process so that it is punched and formed into a desired shape.

At this time, a plurality of manifolds 110 and reaction gas flow holes 140 are formed on the separation plate 100 by punching, and the first support protrusion 121, the second support protrusion 122, and the guide notch are formed by forming. (150) is formed. Additionally, flow path shapes of various patterns can be formed in the reaction area 100a by forming.

So, as described above, the separator 100 includes a reaction area 100a formed in the center; A manifold area 100b is formed by passing through a plurality of manifolds 110 through which reaction gas or cooling water is introduced or discharged, respectively, around the reaction area 100a.

In addition, one or more manifolds 110 selected from the plurality of manifolds 110 include a folding unit extending from the inner peripheral surface of the area opposite the reaction area 100a and provided to be foldable in the direction of the reaction area 100a. (120) is formed.

At this time, after the folding unit 120 is folded, the plurality of first support protrusions 121 are formed to protrude in the direction of the cooling surface, and the second support protrusions 122 are formed to protrude in the direction of the reaction surface 100R. Therefore, in the preparation stage, it is desirable to form both the first and second support protrusions 121 and 122 to protrude in the direction of the reaction surface 100R.

In addition, the formation position of the first support protrusion 121 and the second support protrusion 122 is such that the first support protrusion 121 is formed at a position overlapping with the position at which the second support protrusion 122 is formed after the folding step. do.

To this end, the guide notch 150 is formed at the midpoint between the virtual line on which the first support protrusion 121 is formed and the virtual line on which the second support protrusion 122 is formed.

In addition, a plurality of reaction gas flow holes 140 are formed at predetermined intervals. At this time, the plurality of reaction gas flow holes 140 are located between the first plurality of support protrusions 121 and the second support protrusion 122. It is formed on a virtual straight line extending in the direction of the reaction area 100a.

Once the separation plate 100 is prepared in this way, a folding step of folding the folding unit 120 is performed.

In the folding step, as shown in FIG. 5B, the folding part 120 is folded so that the folding part 120 is brought into close contact with the manifold area 100b.

At this time, the folding unit 120 is folded based on the guide notch 150, so that the first support protrusion 121 and the second support protrusion 122 overlap after the folding unit 120 is folded.

And, after folding the folding portion 120, an injection step of forming the gasket line 160 on the separator plate 100 is performed.

The injection step is a step of forming the gasket line 160 by putting the separator plate 100 into the injection device and then injecting the gasket material in a desired pattern.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 5C, unlike the prior art, only the gasket line 160 of a simple structure is formed by omitting the gasket foot 22, which was injection molded together with the gasket line 160, so the injection molding of the gasket line 160 is performed. can be carried out easily.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings and the above-described preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto and is limited by the claims described below. Accordingly, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the technical spirit of the claims described later.

100: Separator plate 100a: Reaction area
100b: Manifold area 110: Manifold
120: Folding portion 121: First support protrusion
130: second support protrusion 140: reaction gas flow hole
150: Guide notch 160: Gasket line
200: Membrane electrode assembly (sub gasket)

Claims (16)

As a separator plate for a fuel cell,
A reaction area formed in the center;
It includes a manifold area formed by passing through a plurality of manifolds through which reaction gas or cooling water is introduced or discharged, respectively, around the reaction area,
A separator plate for a fuel cell, characterized in that one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds are formed with a folding portion that extends from the inner peripheral surface of the area opposite the reaction area and is provided to be foldable in the direction of the reaction area.
In claim 1,
A separator plate for a fuel cell, wherein a plurality of first support protrusions are formed on the folding portion to protrude at a predetermined distance from each other.
In claim 2,
One side of the fuel cell separator is a reaction surface, and the other side is a cooling surface,
A separator plate for a fuel cell, characterized in that the plurality of first support protrusions formed on the folding portion protrude in the direction of the cooling surface after being folded.
In claim 3,
In the manifold area, around one or more manifolds selected from among the plurality of manifolds, a plurality of second parts are formed to protrude in the direction of the reaction surface at a predetermined distance from each other in an area opposite the reaction area. A separator plate for a fuel cell, characterized in that support protrusions are formed.
In claim 4,
The separator plate for a fuel cell, wherein the first support protrusion is formed at a position overlapping a position where the second support protrusion is formed after the folding portion is folded.
In claim 4,
In the manifold area, the reaction gas flowing through the manifold selected between one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds and the reaction area passes from the cooling surface to the reaction surface and flows into the reaction area. A separator plate for a fuel cell, characterized in that a plurality of reaction gas flow holes are formed at predetermined intervals.
In claim 6,
A separator plate for a fuel cell, wherein the plurality of reaction gas flow holes are formed on a virtual straight line extending in the direction of the reaction region between the plurality of second support protrusions.
In claim 1,
A separator plate for a fuel cell, characterized in that a guide notch is provided around the manifold where the folding portion is formed among the plurality of manifolds, forming a line along which the folding portion is folded.
In claim 1,
A separator plate for a fuel cell, wherein a gasket line is formed in the manifold area to surround one or more manifolds selected from among the plurality of manifolds and maintain airtightness.
A method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell,
A reaction area formed in the center; It includes a manifold area formed by passing through a plurality of manifolds through which reaction gas or cooling water is introduced or discharged, respectively, around the reaction area, and one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds include the reaction area. A preparation step of preparing a separator having a folding portion extending from the inner peripheral surface of the area opposite to the reaction area and being foldable in the direction of the reaction area;
A folding step of folding the folding portion formed on the separator plate and bringing it into close contact with the manifold area;
A method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell, comprising an injection step of forming a gasket line by injecting a gasket material onto the surface of the separator plate to surround the reaction area and one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds.
In claim 10,
In the preparation stage,
One side of the separator plate is formed as a reaction surface, and the other side is formed as a cooling surface,
A method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell, wherein a plurality of first support protrusions are formed on the separator plate to protrude from the folding portion at a predetermined distance from each other.
In claim 11,
In the preparation stage,
A plurality of first support protrusions formed on the folding portion of the separation plate are formed to protrude in the direction of the cooling surface after being folded,
Around one or more manifolds selected from among the plurality of manifolds in the manifold area of the separator, a plurality of formed protrusions are formed to protrude in the direction of the reaction surface at a predetermined distance from each other in an area opposite the reaction area. A method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell, characterized in that forming a second support protrusion.
In claim 12,
In the preparation stage,
A method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell, wherein the first support protrusion is formed at a position that overlaps the position where the second support protrusion is formed after the folding step.
In claim 12,
In the preparation stage,
In the manifold area, the reaction gas flowing through the manifold selected between one or more manifolds selected from the plurality of manifolds and the reaction area passes from the cooling surface to the reaction surface and flows into the reaction area. A method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell, characterized in that forming a plurality of reaction gas flow holes spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.
In claim 14,
In the preparation stage,
A method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell, wherein the plurality of reaction gas flow holes are formed on a virtual straight line extending in the direction of the reaction area between the plurality of second support protrusions.
In claim 10
In the preparation stage,
A guide notch is provided around a manifold in which a folding part is formed among the plurality of manifolds and forms a line along which the folding part is folded,
In the folding step,
A method of manufacturing a separator plate for a fuel cell, characterized in that the folding part is folded based on the guide notch.