SOLID STATE HYDROGEN STORAGE DEVICE INCLUDING PLATE TYPE HEAT EXCHANGER

Abstract

A solid state hydrogen storage device includes: a solid state hydrogen storage material in which hydrogen is stored; a heat exchanger in a plate shape that is inserted into the solid state hydrogen storage material and exchanges heat with the solid state hydrogen storage material through contact with the solid state hydrogen storage material; a storage container in which the solid state hydrogen storage material and the heat exchanger are accommodated; and a cap connected to an upper portion of the storage container and configured to seal the interior of the storage container.

Claims

1. A solid state hydrogen storage device comprising: a solid state hydrogen storage material in which hydrogen is stored; a heat exchanger forming a plate shape and configured to: be inserted into the solid state hydrogen storage material and exchange heat with the solid state hydrogen storage material through contact with the solid state hydrogen storage material; a storage container configured to accommodate the solid state hydrogen storage material and the heat exchanger; and a cap connected to an upper portion of the storage container and configured to seal an interior of the storage container.

2. The solid state hydrogen storage device of claim 1, wherein: the heat exchanger comprises a plurality of plate type heaters, plate type heaters of the plurality of plate type heaters are disposed upwards and downwards at a regular interval, and the solid state hydrogen material is inserted between the plate type heaters.

3. The solid state hydrogen storage device of claim 2, wherein: each of the plate type heaters is provided with metal plates respectively disposed on an upper side and a lower side thereof, each of the plate type heaters comprises a heat radiating part configured to radiate heat in an interior thereof, and the heat radiating part has a constant length per unit area.

4. The solid state hydrogen storage device of claim 3, wherein a surface of each of the metal plates is configured to contact the heat radiating part and be coated with copper or aluminum.

5. The solid state hydrogen storage device of claim 3, wherein the heat radiating part comprises a plurality of circular heat radiating parts coaxially arranged around a center of the heat exchanger with irregular intervals such that among the plurality of circular heat radiating parts, a diameter of an outer circular heat radiating part is larger than a diameter of an inner circular heat radiating part.

6. The solid state hydrogen storage device of claim 3, wherein the heat radiating part comprises heating wires having bent shapes, in which polygonal shapes are repeated while a center of the heat exchanger is taken as centers of the heating wires.

7. The solid state hydrogen storage device of claim 1, wherein: the solid state hydrogen storage material comprises a plurality of disks and disks of the plurality of disks are stacked on one another, and the heat exchanger is inserted between the disks to exchange heat with the disks.

8. The solid state hydrogen storage device of claim 7, wherein the solid state hydrogen storage material comprises a compression member inserted between the stacked disks and a sealing member that is configured to seal opposite ends of the compression member and press the disks upwards and downwards.

9. The solid state hydrogen storage device of claim 1, wherein the solid state hydrogen storage material is configured to store hydrogen in a form of at least one of LaNi.sub.5H.sub.6, sodium aluminum hydride (NaAlH.sub.4), or magnesium amide (Mg(NH.sub.2).sub.2).

Description

DRAWINGS

[0027] In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a solid state hydrogen storage device including a plate type heat exchanger in one form of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 2 is a view of a solid state hydrogen storage device including another plate type heat exchanger in one form of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the solid state hydrogen storage device including a plate type heat exchanger according to one form of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIGS. 4 and 5 are views of a heat radiating part of the solid state hydrogen storage device including a plate type heat exchanger in some forms of the present disclosure; and

[0032] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a solid state hydrogen storage material of the solid state hydrogen storage device including a plate type heat exchanger in another form of the present disclosure.

[0033] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

[0035] A specific structural or functional description of some forms of the present disclosure is given merely for the purpose of describing exemplary forms according to the present disclosure.

[0036] Various changes and modifications may be made to the forms according to the present disclosure, and therefore particular forms will be illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification or application. However, it should be understood that forms according to the concept of the present disclosure are not limited to the particular disclosed forms, but the present disclosure includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0037] In the case where an element is referred to as being “connected” or “accessed” to other elements, it should be understood that not only the element is directly connected or accessed to the other elements, but also another element may exist between them. Contrarily, in the case where a component is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly accessed” to other component, it should be understood that there is no component therebetween. The other expressions of describing a relation between structural elements, i.e. “between” and “merely between” or “neighboring” and “directly neighboring”, should be interpreted similarly to the above description.

[0038] Hereinafter, some exemplary forms of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] A conventional solid state hydrogen storage device exchanges heat by inserting heaters in the form of a cartridge into a solid state hydrogen storage material 100. Contact areas of the cartridge heaters with the slid state hydrogen storage material 100 are limited, and thus a heating time is long. Accordingly, power consumption is high, causing heat exchange loss.

[0040] Further, the conventional cartridge heaters are inserted in the form of a rod, heat is locally transferred, and the heat transfer is unbalanced. Because the temperature distribution of portions contacting surfaces of the heaters and other portions is not uniform, the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 deteriorates.

[0041] Further, if tolerances are generated when the heaters are assembled in the form of a rod or a tube, gaps are present on the contact surfaces, deteriorating thermal conductivity, and the assembling process for the heaters is difficult if there is no tolerance.

[0042] The present disclosure provides a solid state hydrogen storage device that may store and transport hydrogen by using a solid state hydrogen storage material 100, to which hydrogen is adsorbed or occluded, and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the solid state hydrogen storage material has a plate shape.

[0043] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a solid state hydrogen storage device including a plate type heat exchanger 200 according to one form of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a solid state hydrogen storage device including another plate type heat exchanger 200 according to another form of the present disclosure.

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the solid state hydrogen storage device may include a solid state hydrogen storage material 100, a heat exchanger 200, a storage container 300, and a cap 400.

[0045] The solid state hydrogen storage material 100 is a material that adsorbs or occludes hydrogen in the form of a metal hydride by pressing hydrogen and desorbs or unblocks hydrogen with pressure or heat. The solid state hydrogen storage material 100 may reversibly react with hydrogen to receive hydrogen atoms in grids of crystals and form a metal hydride. The formation and decomposition of a hydride is as in Formula 1.

M+n/2H.sub.2⇔MH.sub.n  [Formula 1] [0046] (M: solid state hydrogen storage material 100)

[0047] The solid state hydrogen storage material may be any one of LaNi5H.sub.6, sodium aluminum hydride (NaAlH.sub.4), and magnesium amide (Mg(NH.sub.2).sub.2). The solid state hydrogen storage material 100 may store hydrogen more compactly than liquid state hydrogen.

[0048] A process of occluding or adsorbing hydrogen in the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 is an exothermic reaction, and a process of unblocking or desorbing hydrogen is an endothermic reaction. Accordingly, a reaction of absorbing or emitting hydrogen may be controlled by heating or cooling the solid state hydrogen storage material 100. The heat exchanger 200 is a device that controls storage or emission of hydrogen through heat exchange with the solid state hydrogen storage material 100.

[0049] The heat exchanger 200 may have a plate shape. Unlike the conventional technology, the heat exchanger 200 may have a plate shape such that the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 is inserted into the heat exchanger 200. The insertion form corresponds to a structure in which the plate type heat exchanger 200 is inserted between the solid state hydrogen storage materials 100, and this expression has the same meaning if it is expressed that the heat exchanger 200 is inserted into the solid state hydrogen storage material 100. Through this, a contact area of the heat exchanger 200 with the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 can be secured maximally, and the heat exchanger 200 can exchange heat in a conduction scheme due to the contact surface.

[0050] Since the heat exchanger 200 has a plate shape, heat can be transferred uniformly as a whole. The entire surface of the heat exchanger 200 is heated at a uniform temperature, and the heat exchanger 200 exchanges heat with the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 whereby deterioration of the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 can be prevented.

[0051] Although a plurality of heaters 201 are provided for heat transfer in the conventional technology, the present disclosure allows uniform heating, and thus a compact device having a simple overall configuration and having a light weight and a small volume can be manufactured.

[0052] Further, because the vertical thickness for heat transfer is smaller than the horizontal thickness for heat transfer, a time for emission of hydrogen can be shortened.

[0053] The solid state hydrogen storage material 100 and the heat exchanger 200 may be accommodated in the storage container 300, and the cap 400 may be connected to an upper portion of the storage container 300 to seal the interior of the storage container 300. The storage container 300 may have a cylinder shape.

[0054] Further, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat exchanger 200 according to one form of the present disclosure may be configured such that a plurality of heaters 201 are disposed vertically at a regular interval. The heaters 201 may be inserted into the sold state hydrogen storage material 100.

[0055] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a heater 201 of the solid state hydrogen storage device including a plate type heat exchanger 200 according to another form of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 3, the heater 201 may include a metal plate 220 and a heat radiating part 210.

[0056] The heat radiating part 210 may be included in the interior of the metal plate 220. The metal plate 220 may be provided at upper and lower portions of the heater 201, and the heat radiating part 210 may be included in the interior of the metal plate 220. The heater 201 may be vertically pressed while being inserted between the sold state hydrogen storage material 100.

[0057] The heat radiating part 210 is a heat emitting body such as a coil or a heating wire, and may generate heat to heat the solid state hydrogen storage material 100.

[0058] A contact surface of the metal plate 220 with the heat radiating part 210 may be coated with a metal of a high thermal conductivity such as copper or aluminum whereby the heat generated by the heat radiating part 210 may be effectively transferred to the solid state hydrogen storage material 100. Further, the contact surface may be coated with varnish or powder of a high thermal conductivity.

[0059] FIGS. 4 and 5 are views of a heat radiating part 210 of the solid state hydrogen storage device including a plate type heat exchanger 200 in one form of the present disclosure.

[0060] The heat radiating part 210 may be configured such that heat may be uniformly transferred to the entire area of the heater 201. In detail, the heat radiating part 210 may include a constant length per unit area of the solid state hydrogen storage material 100. The plate type heaters 201 that constitute the plate type heat exchanger 200 are desired to uniformly apply heat to the contact surface with the solid state hydrogen storage material 100. Accordingly, the heat radiating part 210 that is a heat radiating body include a constant length per unit area to uniformly provide thermal energy to the solid state hydrogen storage material 100, whereby the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 may maintain a uniform temperature.

[0061] Here, a unit area refers to a square area obtained by arbitrarily setting the length of an edge of the heat radiating part 210, and this will be understood clearly with reference to FIG. 4.

[0062] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate heat radiating parts 210 having different shapes.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of circular heat radiating parts 210 may be provided. The plurality of circular heat radiating parts 210 draw concentric circles while the center of the heat exchanger 200 is taken as the centers thereof. In one form, the circular heat radiating parts are coaxially arranged around the center of the heat exchanger 200 with intervals such that among the plurality of circular heat radiating parts, a diameter of an outer circular heat radiating part is larger than a diameter of an inner circular heat radiating part.

[0064] The heat exchanger parts 210 may be disposed at irregular intervals. Since the lengths of the heat radiating parts 210 included in a unit area are different whereby heat cannot be uniformly transferred if the heat radiating parts 210 are disposed at a regular interval, the heat exchanger parts 210 may be disposed at irregular intervals to include a constant length per unit area.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 5, the heat radiating part 210 may include a bent heating wire such that polygons are repeated while the center of the heat exchanger 200 is taken as centers thereof. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the heating wire may be bent such that the rectangular shapes are repeated. In this case, the intervals of the polygons may be irregular such that the polygons include a constant length per unit area. The polygons are not limited to rectangular shapes.

[0066] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a solid state hydrogen storage material 100 of the solid state hydrogen storage device including a plate type heat exchanger 200 according to one form of the present disclosure.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 6, the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 may has a stack structure in which a plurality of disks 110 are stacked. Heat exchangers 200 may be inserted between the plurality of disks 110 such that heat may be exchanged by the mutual contact surfaces.

[0068] The cross-sections of the heat exchangers 200 and the disks 110 may be configured to be the same. Since the cross-sections are the same, the contact surfaces coincide with each other, and heat can be effectively exchanged. The heat conductivity of the heat exchanger 200 may become higher as the area becomes wider and the thickness becomes smaller. Accordingly, the contact surfaces can be made maximal by making the cross-section of the plate type heat exchanger 200 the same as that of the solid state hydrogen storage material 100, and the thermal conductivity can be improved by making the thickness smaller.

[0069] Further, as illustrated in FIG. 6, compression members 120 may be inserted between the stacked disks 110. The compression members 120 may be inserted upwards and downwards between the disks and the heat exchangers 200, which have been stacked, and opposite ends of the compression members 120 may be provided with sealing members 130. The compression members 120 and the sealing members 130 are coupled to each other through screw-couplings such that the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 can be compactly compressed while the sealing members 130 press the disks 110 upwards and downwards. A plurality of compression members 120 may be provided.

[0070] The solid state hydrogen storage material 100 may be contracted or expanded in volume as the hydrogen is stored or discharged. In the conventional technology, the device should be assembled with tolerances in preparation for a case of a changed volume. However, in the present disclosure, the shape of the device can be maintained and heat can be uniformly exchanged as the plate-shaped heat exchanger 200 is inserted and the solid state hydrogen storage material 100 is pressed by the compression members 120.

[0071] Although the present disclosure has been described and illustrated in conjunction with particular forms thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various improvements and modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the technical idea of the present disclosure.