Method of designing fluid flow field structure for fuel cell bipolar plate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12423483-B2
Application number	US-202117472110-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2021
Priority date	Sep 10, 2021
Publication date	Sep 23, 2025
Grant date	Sep 23, 2025

Abstract

One or more methods of designing an FC bipolar plate that enhance the operational performance of FC. A first image analysis is conducted of image data of a fluid flow field structure having one or more dehomogenized microstructures to identify channels having a fluid flow blockage at a channel wall dead-end. The channel wall dead-end of each identified channel is selectively removed in a manner that fluidically connects each identified channel to an adjacent channel. Then, a second image analysis of the image data is conducted in response to selectively removing the channel wall dead-ends to measure a length of each channel wall. Channels walls having a length greater than a threshold channel wall length value are selectively cut, thereby providing reduced fluid flow resistance throughout the FC.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of designing a fluid flow field structure for a fuel cell bipolar plate, the method comprising, by one or more computing devices having one or more processors:
conducting image analysis of image data of a fluid flow field structure having one or more dehomogenized microstructures to identify channels having a fluid flow blockage at a channel wall dead-end; and
selectively removing, in response to the image analysis, the channel wall dead-end of each identified channel in a manner that fluidically connects each identified channel to an adjacent channel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dehomogenized microstructures comprise dehomogenized Turing-pattern microstructures.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein conducting the image analysis comprises identifying fluid flow blockage at dead-ends as a first end point and identifying channel wall branches as a second end point.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein conducting the image analysis comprises pairing each first endpoint with the second endpoint of an adjacent neighboring channel wall branch.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein selectively removing comprises applying one or more cuts to a channel wall between the paired first endpoint and the second endpoint.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, before conducting the image analysis, optimizing homogenized anisotropic porous media by iteratively executing a gradient-based algorithm that incorporates objective functions of reaction variation and flow resistance.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising generating the fluid flow field structure in response to optimizing homogenized anisotropic porous media.

8. A method of designing a fluid flow field structure for a fuel cell bipolar plate, the method comprising, by one or more computing devices having one or more processors:
conducting image analysis of image data of a fluid flow field structure having one or more dehomogenized microstructures to measure a length of each channel wall in the fluid flow field structure; and
selectively cutting, in response to the image analysis, channels walls having a length greater than a threshold channel wall length value.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the dehomogenized microstructures comprise dehomogenized Turing-pattern microstructures.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein selectively cutting comprises applying one or more cuts that are approximately perpendicular to the channel wall having a length greater than the threshold channel wall length value.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein selectively cutting comprises applying one or more cuts that are approximately oblique to the channel wall having a length greater than the threshold channel wall length value.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein conducting the image analysis comprises comparing the measured length value of each channel wall to the threshold channel wall length value.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising, before conducting the image analysis, optimizing homogenized anisotropic porous media by iteratively executing a gradient-based algorithm that incorporates objective functions of reaction variation and flow resistance.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising generating the fluid flow field structure in response to optimizing homogenized anisotropic porous media.

15. A method of designing a fluid flow field structure for a fuel cell bipolar plate, the method comprising, by one or more computing devices having one or more processors:
conducting a first image analysis of image data of a fluid flow field structure having one or more dehomogenized microstructures to identify channels having a fluid flow blockage at a channel wall dead-end;
selectively removing, in response to the image analysis, the channel wall dead-end of each identified channel in a manner that fluidically connects each identified channel to an adjacent channel;
conducting, in response to selectively removing the channel wall dead-end, a second image analysis of the image data to measure a length of each channel wall in the fluid flow field structure; and
selectively cutting, in response to the second image analysis, channels walls having a length greater than a threshold channel wall length value.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the dehomogenized microstructures comprise dehomogenized Turing-pattern microstructures.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein:
conducting the first image analysis comprises identifying fluid flow blockage at dead-ends as a first end point and identifying channel wall branches as a second end point, and pairing each first endpoint with the second endpoint of an adjacent neighboring channel wall branch; and
selectively removing comprises applying one or more cuts to a channel wall between the paired first endpoint and the second endpoint.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein conducting the second image analysis comprises comparing the measured length value of each channel wall to the threshold channel wall length value.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising, before conducting the first image analysis, optimizing homogenized anisotropic porous media by iteratively executing a gradient-based algorithm that incorporates objective functions of reaction variation and flow resistance.

20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising generating the fluid flow field structure in response to optimizing homogenized anisotropic porous media.

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• Lohan Danny J
• Zhou Yuqing
• Dede Ercan M
• Zhou Feng
• Ukegawa Hiroshi

Classifications

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• G06F30/17 Primary

  Mechanical parametric or variational design · CPC title

• G06F30/28

  using fluid dynamics, e.g. using Navier-Stokes equations or computational fluid dynamics [CFD] · CPC title

• H01M8/0258

  characterised by the configuration of channels, e.g. by the flow field of the reactant or coolant · CPC title

• G06F2113/08

  Fluids · CPC title