JP4420445B2 - Hydrogen storage alloy container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hydrogen storage alloy container, and in particular, an expansion buffer material is provided between each hydrogen storage alloy unit inserted in a storage container to prevent damage or the like during expansion of the hydrogen storage alloy and improve reliability. For new improvements.

Conventionally, examples of this type of hydrogen storage alloy container include the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 and the configuration shown in FIGS. 11 to 13.
That is, what is indicated by reference numeral 1 in FIG. 9 is a cold / hot water jacket whose overall shape forms a container shape, and a plurality of plate fins supported by a tube 2 are provided in the cold / hot water jacket 1. A hydrogen storage alloy (not shown) is provided between the fins 3b.

  In FIG. 10, reference numeral 1 denotes a heat medium pipe provided on the outer periphery of the container body 4, and the tube 2 and the plate fins 3 b are combined in the container body 4.

In addition, in FIG. 11 to FIG. 13, a plurality of hydrogen storage alloy units 7 are inserted in series along the longitudinal direction A in the container body 4 whose overall shape is long.
Each of the hydrogen storage alloy units 7 is provided with a plurality of fins 3a via tubes.
A cylindrical heat transfer unit 8 having a heat medium pipe 1 is provided at the outer peripheral position of each hydrogen storage alloy unit 7.

  9 to 13, the hydrogen storage alloy 5 is filled between the fins 3a and the plate fins 3b, and hydrogen is introduced and released through the tube 2 in any configuration. Therefore, heating / cooling is performed by the heat medium pipe 1.

JP 2003-130292 A

Since the conventional hydrogen storage alloy container is configured as described above, the following problems exist.
That is, the amount of expansion of the alloy varies depending on the type of alloy filled in the container, so the filling rate of the alloy powder can be changed according to the type of alloy, or an expansion absorption structure inside the container can be adopted. The container filled with the expansion of the alloy is designed and filled so as not to be loaded by the expansion of the alloy. In this case, it has been a problem at the time of mounting on the moving body due to the problem that the filling rate of the alloy cannot be increased and the volume and weight of the container increase due to the addition of a structural member inside the container.
In addition, when the alloy filling rate is increased or the internal structure material is omitted, the alloy filling rate is uneven due to the expansion of the alloy or the uneven distribution of the alloy powder, and the local deformation of the container from the portion where the density is increased. In addition, the progress of the deformation due to repeated use occurred, and the damage due to the deformation occurred during the use period of the container.

The hydrogen storage alloy container according to the present invention, a multiple of the hydrogen storage alloy unit the hydrogen storage alloy is filled with a et Re plastically deformable alloy filling portion provided along the longitudinal direction in a container forming a vessel shape A hydrogen introduction / discharge pipe provided through each of the hydrogen storage alloy units; an expansion buffer located between the hydrogen storage alloy units; and a heat transfer unit provided on the outer periphery of the storage container. , after filling the hydrogen storage alloy inside the hydrogen storage alloy unit, it said insert each hydrogen storage alloy unit to the storage container, expansion of the pre-Symbol hydrogen storage alloy unit the hydrogen absorbing alloy provided in the hydrogen absorbing alloy container which is adapted to absorb the expansion buffer material, the expandable cushioning material is made of foam material of the honeycomb material or Ni using aluminum, the hydrogen storage case Processing by slits or cuts on the outer periphery of the unit is formed, the unit inner surface of the heat transfer unit is in contact with the outer periphery of the container, wherein a ratio of the plate thickness and the container diameter of the container (t / D) is 0.01 0.2 and the construction, also, a configuration in which an outer shell container for located outside the front Kiden'netsu unit housing the container.

Since the hydrogen storage alloy container according to the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
In other words, since an expansion buffer material is provided between each hydrogen storage alloy unit provided in the storage container, even if the expansion coefficient of the alloy changes depending on the type of alloy filled in the container, it can be sufficiently absorbed. The filling rate of the alloy can be greatly increased, and the safety and reliability at the time of designing and manufacturing the container and at the time of operation are greatly improved. In addition, by controlling the deformation and the like, the system, safety, and reliability in mounting the hydrogen storage container on the system are improved.
In addition, since the initial hydrogen storage process by the storage container is possible at the time of manufacture, there are effects such as improvement in trouble during manufacture and workability at the time of loading. In addition, securing heat transfer performance for the hydrogen storage alloy is improved as compared with the conventional high-density filled container.
Further, since the outer shell container is provided outside the heat transfer unit of the storage container, the safety for the storage container can be greatly improved.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an expansion buffer material between each hydrogen storage alloy unit inserted into a storage container to prevent damage or the like during expansion of the hydrogen storage alloy and improve reliability.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a hydrogen storage alloy container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Note that the same or equivalent parts as in the conventional example will be described using the same reference numerals.
In FIG. 1, what is indicated by reference numeral 4 is a storage container having a longitudinal shape as a whole, and a plurality of hydrogen storage alloy units 7 having a plurality of fins 3 a are arranged along the longitudinal direction A in the storage container 4. Has been inserted.

An expansion buffer material 20 is disposed between the hydrogen storage alloy units 7, and a hydrogen introduction / discharge pipe 2 is provided so as to penetrate the expansion buffer material 20 and the inner hole 7 a of each hydrogen storage alloy unit 7. It has been.
The expansion buffer material 20 is made of, for example, a honeycomb material using aluminum or a Ni foam material.
The distal end 2a of the hydrogen introduction / discharge pipe 2 is open toward the inside of the storage container 4, and is configured to introduce hydrogen into the storage container 4 and to release the internal hydrogen. .

Next, FIG. 2 shows a case where the storage container 4 shown in FIG. 1 is actually mounted in the outer shell container 21.
That is, each hydrogen storage alloy unit 7 is inserted into the storage container 4. As the hydrogen storage alloy unit 7, in order to ensure adhesion with the storage container 4, a unit having a processed structure such as a slit or a cut is adopted on the outer periphery. In some cases, spot welding or the like is performed. For this reason, each hydrogen storage alloy unit 7 and the storage container 4 are integrally connected.

Container 4 has completed welding of the foregoing, the which heat transfer unit 8 having a heating medium pipe 1 outside periphery 4a is provided, this container 4 is mounted to the outer shell container 21, connection 22 is Fastened with bolts 23. It is also possible to attach the lid by welding after mounting in the outer shell container 21 having no flange . Accordingly, the unit inner surface 8 a of the heat transfer unit 8 is in contact with the outer periphery 4 a of the storage container 4.

  3 and 4 show the case where the expansion amount of the alloy is assumed to be large depending on the type and filling rate of the alloy, etc. This shows a state in which the unit 7 is filled with an alloy and the storage container 4 is expanded by the expansion of the alloy by first storing hydrogen in the alloy before being inserted into the outer shell container 21. By making it possible to perform the processing in the state of being loaded in the storage container 4, it is possible to prevent problems due to damage of the storage container 4, damage due to expansion of the heat transfer unit 8, and reduction in heat transfer. The expanded state is indicated by a dotted line in FIGS.

5 to 7 experimentally investigated that the amount of expansion accompanying the plastic deformation of the container during the hydrogen storage process increases as the alloy filling rate of the alloy loaded in the storage container 4 increases. An example of the result of time is shown conceptually.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the experimental result shows that the relationship between the shape of the container 4 (t / D = plate thickness / container diameter) and the amount of expansion of the alloy storage container with the alloy filling rate is obtained. It becomes possible to design and manufacture an alloy-filled container with an improved rate. That is, the allowable expansion amount of the container 4 is set by the allowable plastic deformation amount of the material used for the container 4. In addition, by filling an aluminum container having a t / D of about 0.1 in an experiment with a filling rate of about 45% to 55% with a BCC alloy, the expansion rate of the container is broken about several to about 10%. It has been confirmed that it can be used without swelling, and the validity of this patent has been confirmed. As the material of the storage container 4, a material having high strength and elongation is suitable, and examples thereof include SUS304 and AL6000 series.

As a result of various experiments, the present invention is effective in the range of t / D = 0.01 to 0.2, which is a practical container size, and a length of ˜tens of meters.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8 for the container structural material and the alloy system, it is only necessary to obtain the relationship of the amount of expansion of the container containing the container with the shape of the container (t / D = plate thickness / container diameter) alloy filling rate. It is effective without restriction by alloy and container material.
The heat transfer unit 8 attached to the storage container 4 is such that the hydrogen storage alloy filled in the hydrogen storage alloy unit 7 expands and contracts during hydrogen storage, and the type and filling rate of the hydrogen storage alloy. Under such conditions, the alloy filling part and the storage container 4 attached with the number of times of hydrogen storage are considered to expand or contract with the number of times according to the expansion / contraction and pulverization behavior of this hydrogen storage alloy, As a function of the heat transfer unit 8, not only the supply of the heat transfer medium but also an optimal material or device that follows this expansion / contraction behavior is provided.
Next, the operation will be described. The storage container 4 according to the present invention uses the expansion buffer material 20 between the hydrogen storage alloy units 7 and sets the ratio between the plate thickness and the container diameter, so that the amount of expansion associated with the type of alloy and the filling rate of the alloy is as described above. By controlling the expansion of the storage container 4 by adding a restraint accompanied by plastic deformation of the storage container 4, the expansion of the alloy that occurs when hydrogen gas is added to the hydrogen storage alloy and hydrogen storage and release is added. The amount is reduced to a possible amount, and the reliability and safety of the structure due to deformation of the storage container 4 and the heat transfer unit 8 are improved.

Therefore, after each hydrogen storage alloy unit 7, which is an alloy filling portion capable of plastic deformation, is filled with hydrogen storage alloy at a high density, a plurality of these hydrogen storage alloy units 7 are directly inserted into the storage container 4. . Next, the heat transfer unit 8 necessary for heat generation accompanying hydrogen storage / release and heat supply accompanying heat absorption is mounted outside the storage container 4. The storage container 4 loaded with the heat transfer unit 8 is inserted into an outer shell container 21 that can cope with the environment such as external and internal pressure and temperature. Next, hydrogen gas is sealed inside the storage container 4 in which the hydrogen storage alloy unit 7 is inserted, and hydrogen is stored in the hydrogen storage alloy so that hydrogen can be stored and released in the alloy. At this time, since the hydrogen storage alloy storing the hydrogen gas expands, the storage container 4 in which the hydrogen storage alloy unit 7 is inserted and the heat transfer unit 8 loaded in the storage container 4 are controlled by the storage container 4 together with the alloy expansion. Therefore, the outer shell container 21 that accommodates the hydrogen storage alloy unit 7 and the heat transfer unit 8 will not be damaged during the period of use, so that the types of hydrogen storage alloys and the alloy filling rate can be increased, Highly reliable operation is possible.
Accordingly, when the amount of expansion of the alloy is large due to the type and filling rate of the alloy, the storage container 4 can take a structure in which the hydrogen storage alloy unit 7 expands in addition to the control of the expansion of the alloy, and the expandable expansion. Optimal expansion control can be performed by arranging the buffer material 20 and the like.

  The present invention is not limited to hydrogen storage alloy containers but can be applied to a hull having a multi-block type air chamber or water chamber.

It is sectional drawing which shows the hydrogen storage alloy unit of the hydrogen storage alloy container by this invention. It is process drawing which shows the process (AC) of mounting | wearing an outer shell container with the hydrogen storage alloy container of FIG. It is a sectional side view which shows the expansion state of the storage container of FIG. It is front sectional drawing which shows the expansion state of the storage container of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the expansion | swelling state in the case of the alloy filling rate A of the storage container of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the expansion | swelling state in the case of the alloy filling rate B of the storage container of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the expansion | swelling state in the case of the alloy filling rate C of the storage container of FIG. It is a characteristic view which shows the amount of expansion | swelling of the alloy filling rates A, B, and C of the storage container of FIGS. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional hydrogen storage alloy container. It is sectional drawing which shows the other form of the conventional hydrogen storage alloy container. It is sectional drawing which shows the other form of the conventional hydrogen storage alloy container. It is an enlarged block diagram which shows the principal part of FIG. It is a side view of the hydrogen storage alloy unit of FIG.

2 Hydrogen introduction / discharge piping 3a Fin 3b Plate fin 4 Storage container
4a outer circumference 5 hydrogen storage alloy 7 hydrogen storage alloy unit 8 heat transfer unit
8a unit inner surface 10 hydrogen storage alloy container 20 expansion buffer material

Claims (2)

Container (4) longitudinal direction (A) is filled with hydrogen absorbing alloy (5) with a provided et Re plastically deformable alloy filling portion along the multiple hydrogen storage alloy units in forming a container-like ( 7), a hydrogen introduction / discharge pipe (2) provided through each of the hydrogen storage alloy units (7), and an expansion buffer (20) positioned between the hydrogen storage alloy units (7), A heat transfer unit (8) provided on the outer periphery of the storage container (4), and after filling the hydrogen storage alloy unit (7) with the hydrogen storage alloy (5), each of the hydrogen storage alloys unit (7) is inserted into said container (4) in the configuration of the expansion of the hydrogen-absorbing alloy which is provided in front Symbol hydrogen storage alloy unit (7) to absorb the by inflation absorbing material (20) in the hydrogen absorbing alloy container, the inflation absorbing material (20) is made of foam material of the honeycomb material or Ni using aluminum, the water Processing by the outer periphery to the slits or notches of the storage alloy unit (7) is formed, the unit inner surface (8a) of the heat transfer unit (8) is in contact with the outer periphery (4a) of the container (4), the receiving container ( the ratio of the thickness (t) and container diameter (D) of 4) (t / D) is hydrogen absorbing alloy container you characterized in that 0.01 to 0.2.   2. The hydrogen storage alloy container according to claim 1, further comprising an outer shell container (21) positioned outside the heat transfer unit (8) for storing the storage container (4).

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