Fuel cell platelet separators having coordinate features
First Claim
1. A polar fuel cell separator comprising in operative combination a plurality of platelets of sheet material;
- each platelet having features formed individually therein, said features being selected from at least one of metering orifices, channels, vias, and manifolds;
said features are coordinate from platelet to platelet to provide at least one active area microchannel field; and
said platelets are bonded together to form a monolithic separator for use in contact with an electrolyte membrane assembly in a fuel cell stack.
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Abstract
Fuel cell stacks comprising stacked separator/membrane electrode assembly fuel cells in which the separators comprise a series of thin sheet platelets, having individually configured serpentine micro-channel reactant gas humidification active areas and cooling fields therein. The individual platelets are stacked with coordinate features aligned in contact with adjacent platelets and bonded to form a monolithic separator. Post-bonding processing includes passivation, such as nitriding. Preferred platelet material is 4-25 mil Ti, in which the features, serpentine channels, tabs, lands, vias, manifolds and holes, are formed by chemical and laser etching, cutting, pressing or embossing, with combinations of depth and through etching preferred. The platelet manufacturing process is continuous and fast. By employing CAD based platelet design and photolithography, rapid change in feature design can accommodate a wide range of thermal management and humidification techniques. One hundred H2 --O2 /PEM fuel cell stacks of this IFMT platelet design will exhibit outputs on the order of 0.75 kW/kg, some 3-6 times greater than the current graphite plate PEM stacks.
130 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A polar fuel cell separator comprising in operative combination a plurality of platelets of sheet material;
- each platelet having features formed individually therein, said features being selected from at least one of metering orifices, channels, vias, and manifolds;
said features are coordinate from platelet to platelet to provide at least one active area microchannel field; and
said platelets are bonded together to form a monolithic separator for use in contact with an electrolyte membrane assembly in a fuel cell stack. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- each platelet having features formed individually therein, said features being selected from at least one of metering orifices, channels, vias, and manifolds;
Specification