Flow field designs for tailored permeability fuel cell bipolar plates
US11569514B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 14, 2019 |
| Grant date | Jan 31, 2023 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 17, 2041 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E60/50
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A bipolar plate with an enhanced fluid flow field design is provided for a fuel cell. The bipolar plate includes an inlet, an outlet, and a flow field having a pattern defining a plurality of microchannels configured to provide fluid communication between the inlet and the outlet. The pattern is designed using an inverse permeability field, and is based on a reaction-diffusion algorithm to model channel spacing, thereby providing a variable pitch microchannel pattern to direct fluid from the inlet to the outlet. In various aspects, the reaction-diffusion algorithm utilize Gray-Scott reaction-diffusion equations, which may be used to obtain an anisotropic microchannel layout. The variable pitch microchannel pattern may include a channel spacing based on effective medium theory.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.