Membrane humidifier for fuel cell

Abstract

A membrane humidifier for a fuel cell, the membrane humidifier includes, a humidifier housing, and a bundle of hollow fiber membranes which has both ends potted by potting members and accommodated in the humidifier housing, wherein a bypass flow tube having a plurality of pores is also potted by the potting members in addition to the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, such that a part of dry air from an air blower is bypassed from the outside to the inside of the potting member through the bypass flow tube, and thereafter, the dry air is injected into an internal space of the humidifier housing where the bundle of hollow fiber membranes is present.

Claims

1. A membrane humidifier for a fuel cell, the membrane humidifier comprising: a humidifier housing; and a bundle of hollow fiber membranes which has both ends potted by potting members and accommodated in the humidifier housing, wherein a bypass flow tube having a plurality of pores is also potted by the potting members in addition to the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, such that a part of dry air from an air blower is bypassed from the outside to the inside of the potting member through the bypass flow tube, and thereafter, the dry air is injected into an internal space of the humidifier housing where the bundle of hollow fiber membranes is present.

2. The membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein a hollow fiber membrane having large pores is adopted as the bypass flow tube.

3. The membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein plastic tubing, which has a larger diameter than the hollow fiber membrane and has a plurality of pores, is adopted as the bypass flow tube.

4. The membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein disconnected hollow fiber membranes are adopted as the bypass flow tube.

5. The membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein the bypass flow tube is arranged to be biased to a bottom side of the humidifier housing.

6. The membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein the pores are formed over an overall length of the bypass flow tube.

7. A membrane humidifier for a fuel cell, the membrane humidifier comprising: a humidifier housing; and a bundle of hollow fiber membranes which has both ends potted by potting members and accommodated in the humidifier housing, wherein a plurality of bypass flow tubes having a plurality of pores are also potted by the potting members in addition to the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, such that a part of dry air from an air blower is bypassed from the outside to the inside of the potting member through the bypass flow tubes, and thereafter, the dry air is injected into an internal space of the humidifier housing where the bundle of hollow fiber membranes is present.

8. The membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein metal tubing, which has a larger diameter than the hollow fiber membrane and has a plurality of pores, is adopted as the bypass flow tube.

9. The membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein the pores are formed only in a front end portion of an overall length of the bypass flow tube.

10. The membrane humidifier of claim 1, wherein the pores are formed only in a rear end portion of an overall length of the bypass flow tube.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The above and other features of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings which are given hereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an air supply system of a fuel cell system;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell in the related art;

(4) FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic views illustrating a state in which condensate water is collected in the membrane humidifier for a fuel cell in the related art;

(5) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

(6) FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

(7) FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

(8) FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

(9) FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

(10) FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

(11) FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a seventh exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

(12) It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various preferred features illustrative of the basic principles of the disclosure. The specific design features of the present disclosure as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.

(13) In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present disclosure throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(14) Hereinafter, reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the disclosure will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the disclosure to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the disclosure is intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

(15) Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(16) The attached FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

(17) As illustrated in FIG. 5, a membrane humidifier 100 may include a housing 101 which has a supply port 102 formed at one end of the housing 101 and into which dry air flows from an air blower, and a discharge port 103 which is formed at the other end of the housing 101 and from which humidified dry air is discharged.

(18) In addition, an inlet 104 into which humid air discharged from the fuel cell stack flows may be formed in one circumferential portion of the housing 101, and an outlet 105 from which humid air from which moisture has been removed is discharged may be formed in the other circumferential portion.

(19) In addition, a bundle of hollow fiber membranes, in which a plurality of hollow fiber membranes 106 may be concentrated, are accommodated in the housing 101, and both ends of the bundle of hollow fiber membranes are accommodated by being potted by typical potting members 108.

(20) In particular, in addition to the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, one or two or more hollow fiber membrane 10, which serve as bypass flow tubes according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure and have a plurality of large pores, are also potted by the potting members 108, and arranged to be biased to the bottom side of the humidifier housing 101.

(21) In more detail, when both ends of the bundle of hollow fiber membranes are potted by the potting members 108, both ends of the hollow fiber membrane 10 having the large pores are also potted by the potting members 108. Thereafter, when the bundle of hollow fiber membranes and the hollow fiber membrane 10 having the large pores are accommodated in the humidifier housing 101, the hollow fiber membrane 10 having the large pores may be arranged to be biased to the bottom side of the humidifier housing 101.

(22) In this case, the hollow fiber membranes 106, which constitute the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, have characteristics in that outside humid air can permeate into the hollow fiber membranes 106 by a capillary action but dry air flowing in the hollow fiber membranes 106 cannot be discharged to the outside. As a result, the hollow fiber membrane 10, which has the plurality of large pores so as to be able to discharge air and water, is adopted as the bypass flow tube according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

(23) Therefore, each of the hollow fiber membranes 106, which constitute the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, has nano-scale pores and serves as a humidifier membrane, and the hollow fiber membrane 10 having the large pores serves to bypass air and water and discharge the air and water to the outside.

(24) Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 5, pressure in the respective portions of the humidifier housing 101 is decreased in the order of {circle around (1)}>{circle around (2)}>{circle around (3)}>{circle around (4)}.

(25) In more detail, because the supply port 102 of the humidifier housing 101 into which dry air flows is a portion into which air compressed by the air blower flows, pressure in the supply port 102 is greatest, and in consideration of pressure drop in accordance with an air flow, pressure is decreased in the order of the discharge port 103 from which humidified dry air is discharged, the inlet 104 into which humid air flows, and the outlet 105 for discharging humid air from which moisture has been removed.

(26) Therefore, in a case where a bypass flow path is formed from the supply port 102 and/or the discharge port 103 to the inlet 104 or the outlet 105, air flows and is discharged minutely through the bypass flow path, and thus the condensate water collected at the bottom side of the humidifier housing may also be discharged.

(27) Here, an operation of discharging the condensate water in the membrane humidifier according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.

(28) First, outside gas (dry air) is supplied through the supply port 102 of the housing 101 by the operation of the air blower.

(29) Then, a part of the dry air from the air blower is bypassed from the outside to the inside of the potting member 108 through the hollow fiber membrane 10, which has the large pores and is adopted as the bypass flow tube according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Thereafter, the dry air is injected through the large pores of the hollow fiber membrane 10 into the internal space of the humidifier housing 101 where the bundle of hollow fiber membranes are present.

(30) In this case, condensate water collected in a space (a deep valley) between an outer surface of the potting member 108 and both wall surfaces of the humidifier housing 101 is sucked, together with air from the air blower, along the hollow fiber membrane 10 having the large pores, and discharged through the large pores of the hollow fiber membrane 10 into the internal space of the humidifier housing 101 where the bundle of hollow fiber membranes are present.

(31) In addition, pressure of the flow of air, which is discharged through the large pores of the hollow fiber membrane 10 into the internal space of the humidifier housing 101 where the bundle of hollow fiber membranes are present, is applied to the condensate water collected at the bottom side of the humidifier housing 101.

(32) As described above, the air, which is injected through the large pores of the hollow fiber membrane 10 flows toward the outlet 105 where pressure is low (see the arrow in FIG. 5), and by the air flow, the condensate water is also easily discharged to the outside through the outlet 105 where pressure is lowest.

(33) The second and third exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have the same configuration as the above first exemplary embodiment, but there is a difference in that a half length of the hollow fiber membrane 10, which has the large pores and is adopted as the bypass flow tube, is adopted.

(34) As illustrated in FIG. 6, the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that only a length of the hollow fiber membrane 10, which corresponds to a front end portion of the hollow fiber membrane 10 having the large pores according to the first exemplary embodiment, is potted by one potting member 108, and as illustrated in FIG. 7, the third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that only a length of the hollow fiber membrane 10, which corresponds to a rear end portion of the hollow fiber membrane 10 having the large pores according to the first exemplary embodiment, is potted by the other potting member 108.

(35) As described above, the length and the number of hollow fiber membrane 10, which has the large pores and is adopted as the bypass flow path, may be appropriately adjusted in accordance with the type and the size of the humidifier.

(36) Because an operation of discharging the condensate water in the membrane humidifier according to the second and third exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is identical to that in the above first exemplary embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

(37) The attached FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

(38) The fourth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is configured identically to the above first exemplary embodiment, but differs from the above first exemplary embodiment in that tubing 12, which has a larger diameter than each of the hollow fiber membranes that constitute the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, has a plurality of pores, and is made of plastic or metal, is adopted as the bypass flow tube.

(39) The hollow fiber membrane 10, which has the large pores and is adopted in the first to third exemplary embodiments, has a small diameter, such that a plurality of hollow fiber membranes are potted together, but the tubing 12 according to the fourth exemplary embodiment, which is made of plastic or metal, has a large diameter, such that an effect of discharging water may be achieved even by using a single tubing 12.

(40) Because an operation of discharging the condensate water in the membrane humidifier according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is identical to that in the above first exemplary embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

(41) The fifth and sixth exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have the same configuration as the above fourth exemplary embodiment, but there is a difference in that a half length of the tubing 12, which is made of plastic or metal and adopted as the bypass flow tube, is adopted.

(42) As illustrated in FIG. 9, the fifth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that only a length of the tubing 12, which corresponds to a front end portion of the tubing 12 made of plastic or metal according to the fourth exemplary embodiment, is potted by one potting member 108. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the sixth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that only a length of the tubing 12, which corresponds to a rear end portion of the tubing 12 made of plastic or metal according to the fourth exemplary embodiment, is potted by the other potting member 108.

(43) As described above, the length and the number of tubing 12, which is made of plastic or metal and adopted as the bypass flow path, may be appropriately adjusted in accordance with the type and the size of the humidifier.

(44) As an operation of discharging the condensate water in the membrane humidifier according to the fifth and sixth exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is identical to that in the above first exemplary embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

(45) The attached FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to a seventh exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

(46) Unlike the above first to sixth exemplary embodiments, the seventh exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized in that the hollow fiber membrane, which constitutes the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, is utilized as the bypass flow tube.

(47) The hollow fiber membranes 106, which constitute the bundle of hollow fiber membranes, have characteristics in that outside humid air can permeate into the hollow fiber membranes 106 by a capillary action but dry air flowing in the hollow fiber membranes 106 cannot be discharged to the outside, and as a result, disconnected hollow fiber membranes 14 are adopted as the bypass flow tubes according to the seventh exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

(48) The disconnected hollow fiber membranes 14 are provided by dividing in advance the hollow fiber membranes into two pieces, which may be potted by one and the other potting members 108, respectively, or may be provided by potting a single hollow fiber membrane and disconnecting a middle portion of the single hollow fiber membrane.

(49) Therefore, a disconnected portion of the disconnected hollow fiber membranes 14 is present in an opened state in the humidifier housing 101.

(50) Therefore, a part of the dry air from the air blower is bypassed from the outside to the inside of the potting member 108 through the disconnected hollow fiber membranes 14 which are adopted as the bypass flow tube according to the seventh exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Thereafter, the dry air may be easily injected through the disconnected portion of the disconnected hollow fiber membranes 14 into the internal space of the humidifier housing 101 where the bundle of hollow fiber membranes is present.

(51) Unlike the first to sixth exemplary embodiments, the existing hollow fiber membranes can be utilized as the bypass flow tube according to the seventh exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and as a result, the seventh exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has an advantage in terms of manufacturing costs.

(52) Because an operation of discharging the condensate water in the membrane humidifier according to the seventh exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is identical to that in the above first exemplary embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

(53) The disclosure has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.