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KR-102962846-B1 - SOLID OXIDE STACK ASSEMBLY CAPABLE OF SAFE TRANSPORTATION

KR102962846B1KR 102962846 B1KR102962846 B1KR 102962846B1KR-102962846-B1

Abstract

A solid oxide stack assembly capable of safe transport is disclosed. The solid oxide stack assembly capable of safe transport according to the present invention comprises: a stack formed by repeatedly stacking unit cells, each unit cell and a predetermined stacking structure, which are mutually combined; an upper plate and a lower plate arranged to support the upper and lower surfaces of the stack, respectively; a plurality of guide bars that penetrate the upper plate and the stack at equal intervals along the edge of the upper plate and are coupled to the lower plate to guide the alignment and assembly of the stack; a plurality of compression springs installed such that one end is supported on the upper plate while penetrating through a protrusion of a guide bar protruding from the upper plate; and a pressure member that is screw-fastened to the protrusion to press the other end of the compression spring, thereby compressing the stack at a constant rate and maintaining the alignment of the stack. According to the present invention, even if the stack is pre-assembled at a fuel cell or water electrolytic device manufacturing plant, it is possible to safely transport the stack to the installation site, thereby preventing a decrease in the output of the fuel cell or water electrolytic device due to misalignment of the stack, and enabling the installation and pretreatment processes of the fuel cell or water electrolytic device to be carried out quickly at the installation site.

Inventors

  • 김선동
  • 김세영
  • 김태우
  • 최윤석
  • 박상신

Assignees

  • 한국에너지기술연구원

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20221230

Claims (7)

  1. A stack formed by repeatedly stacking unit bodies in which unit cells and predetermined stacks are mutually combined; an upper plate and a lower plate arranged to support the upper and lower surfaces of the stack, respectively; a plurality of guide bars that penetrate the upper plate and the stack at equal intervals along the edge of the upper plate and are coupled to the lower plate to guide the alignment and assembly of the stack; a plurality of compression springs installed such that one end is supported on the upper plate while penetrating through the protrusions of the guide bars protruding from the upper plate; and a pressure member screw-fastened to the protrusions to press the other end of the compression springs, thereby compressing the stack at a constant rate and maintaining the alignment of the stack. A transport hook portion coupled to the upper plate for movement or transport and detachably coupled to a heavy object transport means; and A solid oxide stack assembly capable of safe transfer, characterized by including a plurality of plate-type pressure sensors installed to be located in the central part of adjacent guide bars in contact with the lower surface of the upper plate and the upper surface of the stack, and measuring the compressive force applied from the upper plate to the stack.
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  4. In paragraph 1, The above-mentioned pressurizing unit is, A solid oxide stack assembly capable of safe transport, characterized by including a receiving groove formed inwardly by wrapping around and accommodating the outer surface of the other end of the compression spring so that the other end of the compression spring can be firmly supported and consistently pressed.
  5. In paragraph 4, The above upper plate is, A solid oxide stack assembly capable of safe transport, characterized by including a support groove formed inwardly by wrapping around and accommodating the outer surface of one end of the compression spring so that one end of the compression spring can be firmly supported and consistently pressed.
  6. A method for manufacturing the solid oxide stack assembly of claim 1, A step of placing a lower plate on a work surface and joining a plurality of guide bars at equal intervals along the edge of the lower plate; A step of repeatedly stacking unit bodies that are penetrated and aligned by the above guide bar to form a stack; A step of positioning an upper plate penetrated by the guide bar to support the upper surface of the stack, and installing a compression spring such that one end of the upper plate is supported in a state penetrated by a protrusion of the guide bar protruding from the upper plate; and A method for manufacturing a solid oxide stack assembly characterized by including the step of screwing a pressure member to the protrusion to press the other end of the compression spring, thereby compressing the stack at a constant rate and maintaining the alignment of the stack.
  7. A method for fixing and installing the solid oxide stack assembly of claim 1 by placing it at the installation site, A step of placing the above solid oxide stack assembly at an installation site using a heavy-duty transport means; A step of positioning a heavy pressing jig on the upper plate of the solid oxide stack assembly seated at the installation site using the transport means; Step of separating the pressurized portion of the solid oxide stack assembly and removing the compression spring and guide bar while the pressurizing force by the above-mentioned pressing jig is applied; and A method for installing a solid oxide stack assembly, characterized by including the step of penetrating the upper plate and the stack and connecting a fixing bar to the lower plate to compress and fix the stack, and removing the pressing jig.

Description

Solid Oxide Stack Assembly Capable of Safe Transport The present invention relates to a solid oxide stack assembly capable of safe transport, and more specifically, to a solid oxide stack assembly capable of safely transporting a large-scale stacked stack to an installation site and being quickly fixedly installed and operated at the installation site. As conventional fossil fuels such as oil and coal become depleted, interest in alternative energy sources is growing. Among these, solid oxide unit cells and fuel cells and water electrolyzers based on them are attracting attention for their high energy efficiency and the use of abundant fuel sources in nature, as well as for their ability to operate in an environmentally friendly manner without emitting pollutants. Generally, a unit cell is structured such that the cathode of the air electrode and the anode of the fuel electrode are stacked on opposite sides of the electrolyte, respectively, and fuel such as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied to the fuel electrode and air electrode, respectively. At this time, the supplied fuel releases electrons to the external circuit through oxidation, and the supplied oxygen receives electrons from the external circuit and generates a certain amount of electricity in the process of being reduced to oxygen ions, then moves to the fuel electrode through the electrolyte and reacts with the oxidized fuel to finally produce water. Although there are various types of such unit cells, including applied carbonate unit cells (MCFC), phosphoric acid unit cells (PAFC), and polymeric unit cells (PEFC), solid oxide unit cells that operate at high temperatures of about 600°C to 850°C using stabilized zirconia are being actively researched because they have the highest efficiency, produce less pollution, and do not require electrolyte replenishment due to the absence of electrolyte loss. However, rather than being used as a single cell structure, solid oxide unit cells are used in the form of a stack in which multiple units are stacked together with current collectors, cell frames, sealing materials, and separators to form a high-output solid oxide fuel cell or electrolyzer cell. In particular, solid oxide fuel cells are manufactured through essential processes such as an assembly process for dozens to hundreds of stacks, as dozens of unit cells are used per 1 kW, depending on the size or scale of the stack, and a pretreatment process (sealing material fusion) that prevents leakage of oxygen or fuel from inside the stack by heating and pressurizing the sealing material interposed inside the assembled stack. In this case, a solid oxide fuel cell or water electrolyzer composed of stacks with a small stacking scale has a short length of stacks, so even if it is manufactured in advance as a finished product through assembly and pretreatment processes at a manufacturing plant and then transported to an installation site, there is less risk of damage to the stack alignment or fused sealing material due to vibration or shock during transport. However, solid oxide fuel cells or water electrolysis devices composed of stacks with a large stacking scale, such as Korean Patent No. 10-1826821 (Registration Date: February 1, 2018), have a problem in that the stack alignment or fused sealing material is damaged by vibration or shock during the process of transporting the finished product from the manufacturing plant to the installation site, as the longer the length of the stack, the more vulnerable it is to external shocks. As described above, solid oxide fuel cells or water electrolyzers in which stack alignment is misaligned or fused sealing material is damaged due to transport not only fail to produce electricity or hydrogen as designed but also cause safety accidents, so the assembly process and pretreatment process for solid oxide fuel cells or water electrolyzers composed of large stacks are not carried out at the manufacturing plant but are instead carried out sequentially at the installation site after the stack components are moved there. As assembly and pre-processing processes for stacks carried out at the installation site are mostly performed manually by workers rather than accurately and precisely by the equipment prepared at the manufacturing plant, the following problems frequently occur. First, regarding the assembly process for stacks, the alignment of the stacks may not be consistent depending on the skill level of the workers, and if it is difficult to apply a constant high load to the entire stacked stack depending on the site conditions at the installation location, there is a problem that the pressure on the entire stack is assembled in an uneven state. In addition, regarding the pretreatment process (sealing material fusion) for the stack, if the sealing material is fused by heating the stack assembled under non-uniform pressure, there is a problem that the sealing power of the stack is reduced. Furthermore, since the process o