EP-4738488-A1 - FUEL CELL HUMIDIFIER HAVING BYPASS-TYPE BAFFLE

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a fuel cell humidifier including a bypass-type baffle, a mid-case having an exhaust gas inlet through which exhaust gas discharged from a fuel cell stack flows in and an exhaust gas outlet for discharging the exhaust gas, a cartridge arranged inside the mid-case and including an inner case in which humidification membranes are arranged and fixed portions configured to fix the humidification membranes at one side and another side of the inner case, and a bypass flow path formed between an inner wall of the mid-case and an outer side of the inner case, wherein the baffle is arranged in an inner space of the mid-case to divide the bypass flow path and has a movement hole through which a fluid moves.

Inventors

• KIM, IN HO
• KIM, DO WOO
• AHN, WOONG JEON

Assignees

• Kolon Industries, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20240724

Claims (8)

1. A fuel cell humidifier including a bypass-type baffle, the fuel cell humidifier comprising: a mid-case having an exhaust gas inlet through which exhaust gas discharged from a fuel cell stack flows in and an exhaust gas outlet for discharging the exhaust gas; a cartridge arranged inside the mid-case and including an inner case in which humidification membranes are arranged and fixed portions configured to fix the humidification membranes at one side and another side of the inner case; a bypass flow path formed between an inner wall of the mid-case and an outer side of the inner case; and the bypass-type baffle arranged in an inner space of the mid-case and dividing the bypass flow path, wherein the bypass-type baffle has a movement hole through which a fluid moves.
2. The fuel cell humidifier of claim 1, wherein a side surface of the inner case has openings continuously arranged from one side of the inner case to another side of the inner case.
3. The fuel cell humidifier of claim 1, wherein the bypass flow path includes a first bypass flow path formed between an upper portion of the inner wall of the mid-case and an upper portion of the outer side of the inner case, and a second bypass flow path formed between a lower portion of the inner wall of the mid-case and a lower portion of the outer side of the inner case, the bypass-type baffle has a plate shape and divides the first bypass flow path from the second bypass flow path, and the movement hole in the bypass-type baffle is provided at a point where one of the first bypass flow path and the second bypass flow path is formed.
4. The fuel cell humidifier of claim 3, wherein the bypass-type baffle has a plate shape and has a mounting hole into which the inner case is inserted, and the movement hole is provided in one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the mounting hole.
5. The fuel cell humidifier of claim 4, wherein the bypass-type baffle includes a first baffle having the movement hole only in the upper portion of the mounting hole, and a second baffle having the movement hole only in the lower portion of the mounting hole, and the first baffle and the second baffle are arranged in the inner space of the mid-case.
6. The fuel cell humidifier of claim 5, wherein the first baffle and the second baffle are alternately arranged in the inner space of the mid-case.
7. The fuel cell humidifier of claim 4, wherein the bypass-type baffle includes a first baffle having the movement hole only in the upper portion of the mounting hole, and a plurality of first baffles are arranged in the inner space of the mid-case such that the first bypass channel is open and the second bypass channel is closed.
8. The fuel cell humidifier of claim 4, wherein the bypass-type baffle includes a second baffle having the movement hole only in the lower portion of the mounting hole, and a plurality of second baffles are arranged in the inner space of the mid-case such that the second bypass flow path is open and the first bypass flow path is closed.

Description

Technical Field The disclosure relates to a fuel cell humidifier including a bypass-type baffle, and more particularly, to a fuel cell humidifier including a bypass-type baffle that may reduce differential pressure by bypassing exhaust gas through a bypass flow path and increase an effective area of a humidification membrane by diversifying a fluid movement path through the baffle. Background Art A fuel cell is a power-generating battery that combines hydrogen with oxygen to generate electric power. Unlike general chemical cells, such as dry cells or storage batteries, a fuel cell may continuously generate electric power as long as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied, and also has the advantage of being approximately twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine since heat loss does not occur in the fuel cell. A fuel cell system includes a stack that is an electricity generation assembly of unit fuel cells consisting of air electrodes and fuel electrodes, an air supply device that supplies air to the fuel cell's air electrodes, and a hydrogen supply device that supplies hydrogen to the fuel cell's fuel electrodes. In a polymer fuel cell of a fuel cell system, an ion exchange membrane of a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) requires an appropriate amount of moisture to function properly, and to achieve this, an air supply device of the fuel cell system includes a humidifier for humidifying the air supplied to fuel cells. The humidifier humidifies the dry gas supplied through an air compressor of an air supply system by using moisture in high-temperature and humid exhaust gas discharged from a fuel cell's air electrodes, and supplies the humidified air to the fuel cell's air electrodes. Fuel cell humidifiers use a membrane humidification method. Fuel cell humidifiers using the membrane humidification method perform membrane humidification through a gas-to-gas moisture exchange between the high-temperature and humid exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell's air electrodes and the dry gas supplied by an air compressor. A fuel cell humidifier may include a cartridge in which humidification membranes composed of hollow fiber membranes are arranged in units of modules. Dry gas passes through the hollow fiber membranes through one side and another side of a cartridge, and an opening (window) is provided in the side of the cartridge that opens toward the outside. Exhaust gas flows into the cartridge through the opening of the cartridge, and the exhaust gas in the cartridge exchanges moisture with the dry gas passing through the hollow fiber membrane. However, such a cartridge has the following problems. In general, an opening in the side of a cartridge is formed at a point into which exhaust gas flows, and as the amount of exhaust gas is more concentrated at the point into which the exhaust gas flows and a flow rate increases, a humidification membrane is damaged, resulting in reduction of durability. Also, because a movement path of exhaust gas moving through a cartridge is previously determined, membranes are not used uniformly in sections where exhaust gas flow paths are not determined inside the cartridge. Accordingly, there is a problem in that the humidification efficiency of such fuel cell is reduced because an effective membrane area is reduced and differential pressure increases. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem The disclosure is intended to solve the above-described problem, and more particularly, relates to a fuel cell humidifier including a bypass-type baffle that may reduce differential pressure by bypassing exhaust gas through a bypass flow path and increase an effective area of a humidification membrane by diversifying a fluid movement path through the baffle. Solution to Problem A fuel cell humidifier including a bypass-type baffle according to the disclosure described above includes a mid-case having an exhaust gas inlet through which exhaust gas discharged from a fuel cell stack flows in and an exhaust gas outlet for discharging the exhaust gas; a cartridge arranged inside the mid-case and including an inner case in which humidification membranes are arranged and fixed portions configured to fix the humidification membranes at one side and another side of the inner case; a bypass flow path formed between an inner wall of the mid-case and an outer side of the inner case; and the bypass-type baffle arranged in an inner space of the mid-case and dividing the bypass flow path, wherein the bypass-type baffle has a movement hole through which a fluid moves. In the fuel cell humidifier including the bypass-type baffle according to the disclosure described above, a side surface of the inner case may have openings continuously arranged from one side of the inner case to another side of the inner case. In the fuel cell humidifier including the bypass-type baffle according to the disclosure described above, the bypass flow path may include a first bypass flow path formed between an upper portion