Humidifier, plate, device, and motor vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017222235-A1
Application number	US-201515315607-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 27, 2015
Priority date	Jun 2, 2014
Publication date	Aug 3, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A humidifier, a device including a fuel cell, and a motor vehicle. The humidifier of the includes at least one humidifying duct and is designed in such a way that a first gas to be humidified can be conducted in the humidifying duct in a direction of flow and, separated by a water-permeable material, past a humidifying second gas so that water is transferred from the second gas to the first gas. The humidifier includes a cross-sectional area of the humidifying duct available to the first gas tapers in the direction of flow. The fact that the cross-sectional area tapers results in a drop in pressure along the humidifying duct, and the drop in pressure reduces, compensates or overcompensates an increase in pressure resulting from the increasing humidification, so the partial difference in pressure between the first gas and the second gas remains large over the distance of the humidifying duct in spite of the transfer of humidity.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 - 9 . (canceled)

10 . A humidifier comprising:
at least one humidification channel, a first gas to be humidified in the humidification channel being leadable in a flow direction and, separated by a water-permeable material, past a humidifying second gas so that water is transferred from the second gas into the first gas, a cross-sectional area of the humidification channel available to the first gas decreasing in the flow direction.

11 . The humidifier as recited in claim 11 further comprising a housing, the humidification channel being delimited via the housing, and a plurality of hollow fibers, made of the water-permeable material, for passing the second gas through, the hollow fibers in the housing extending perpendicularly with respect to the flow direction, a packing density of the hollow fibers being constant in the flow direction, and the housing tapering in the flow direction.

12 . A plate made of water-permeable material, the plate comprising:
webs on a flat side extending in a flow direction and delimiting a humidification channel, a distance between the webs decreasing monotonically in the flow direction.

13 . The plate as recited in claim 12 wherein a plurality of the webs delimit the humidification channel and at least one further mutually parallel humidification channel, widths of the webs monotonically increasing in the flow direction, so that cross-sectional areas of the humidification channel and the at least one further humidification channel decrease in the flow direction.

14 . The plate as recited in claim 13 wherein the plate includes further webs extending in the flow direction on an other flat side.

15 . The plate as recited in claim 14 wherein widths of the further webs on the other flat side increase monotonically in the flow direction.

16 . A humidifier comprising:
at least one plate as recited in claim 12 , a first gas to be humidified in the humidification channel being leadable in a flow direction and, separated by a water-permeable material, past a humidifying second gas so that water is transferred from the second gas into the first gas, a cross-sectional area of the humidification channel available to the first gas decreasing in the flow direction.

17 . A device comprising a fuel cell and a humidifier as recited in claim 10 for humidifying supply air for the fuel cell with the aid of exhaust gas of the fuel cell.

18 . A motor vehicle comprising the device as recited in claim 17 .

Assignees

• Volkswagen Ag

Inventors

• Brinkmeier Jan-Philipp

Classifications

• B01D2053/222

  with plates · CPC title

• H01M8/04149

  by diffusion, e.g. making use of membranes · CPC title

• B01D2053/224

  with hollow fibres · CPC title

• B01D2325/06

  Surface irregularities · CPC title

• H01M2250/20

  Fuel cells in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane · CPC title