KR20240155548A - Hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for fuel cell membrane humidifier and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by including: a plurality of hollow fiber membrane bundles neatly aligned in one direction; a potting holder fitted at both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundles to secure the hollow fiber membrane bundles so that they do not become disordered; and a potting resin that is injected and cured between the potting holder and the hollow fiber membrane bundles to hermetically pott both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundles.

Description

{Hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for fuel cell membrane humidifier and manufacturing method thereof}

The present invention relates to a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier and a manufacturing method thereof, and more specifically, to a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier and a manufacturing method thereof, which effectively disperses the concentration of humid air flow rate without providing a cartridge inside the membrane humidifier, thereby preventing damage to hollow fiber membranes and increasing humidifying efficiency, and also reducing the overall volume and manufacturing cost of the membrane humidifier, and resolving serious problems such as static electricity problems occurring in hollow fiber membrane bundles and easy damage to thin hollow fiber membranes during the manufacturing process of the membrane humidifier, and improving quality control and productivity of the membrane humidifier by making manual work of aligning hollow fiber membrane bundles to a predetermined shape very easy.

In general, a fuel cell is a power generation cell that produces electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike general chemical cells such as batteries or accumulators, fuel cells can continuously produce electricity as long as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied, and have the advantage of being about twice as efficient as internal combustion engines because there is no heat loss.

In addition, since the chemical energy generated by the combination of hydrogen and oxygen is directly converted into electrical energy, the emission of pollutants is low. Therefore, fuel cells have the advantage of being not only environmentally friendly, but also reducing concerns about resource depletion due to increased energy consumption.

These fuel cells can be broadly classified into polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC), molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC), solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), and alkaline fuel cells (AFC) depending on the type of electrolyte used. Each of these fuel cells operates on the fundamentally same principles, but the type of fuel used, operating temperature, catalyst, electrolyte, etc. are different. Among these, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are known to be the most promising for small-scale stationary power generation equipment as well as transportation systems because they operate at lower temperatures than other fuel cells and have a high power density, allowing for miniaturization.

One of the most important factors in improving the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells is to maintain the moisture content of the polymer electrolyte membrane (or proton exchange membrane: PEM) of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by supplying a certain amount of moisture or more. This is because the power generation efficiency rapidly decreases when the polymer electrolyte membrane dries.

Representative methods for humidifying a polymer electrolyte membrane include a bubbler humidification method in which water is filled in a pressure vessel and the target gas is passed through a diffuser to supply moisture; a direct injection method in which the amount of moisture required for the fuel cell reaction is calculated and moisture is directly supplied to the gas flow pipe through a solenoid valve; and a humidifying membrane method in which moisture is supplied to a gas fluidized bed using a polymer membrane. Among these, a humidifying membrane method in which only water vapor contained in the exhaust gas is selectively transmitted to provide water vapor to the gas supplied to the polymer electrolyte membrane, thereby humidifying the polymer electrolyte membrane, is advantageous in that the humidifier can be made lighter and smaller.

This humidifying membrane method is typically divided into flat membrane humidifiers and hollow fiber membrane humidifiers.

First, in the case of a flat film humidifier, the exchange surface area per unit volume is small, which is disadvantageous for humidification performance, but spacers are formed between the flat films to strongly fix the middle part of the flat film, making it structurally stable. In addition, since the humidifier can be manufactured as a flat rectangular solid by stacking flat sheets, there is an advantage of easy packaging.

Meanwhile, in the case of a hollow fiber membrane humidifier, the penetration area per unit volume is large, and the high integration of a hollow fiber membrane with a large contact surface area is possible, so that sufficient humidification of a fuel cell can be achieved even with a small capacity, low-cost materials can be used, and moisture and heat contained in unreacted gas discharged at high temperature from a fuel cell can be recovered and reused through a humidifier.

However, in the case of a membrane humidifier using a hollow fiber membrane, there is a disadvantage in that the size of the product becomes unnecessarily large because the efficiency of using the hollow fiber membrane decreases rapidly when the number of strands of the hollow fiber membrane is increased to increase the capacity.

In particular, as the cross-section into which the hollow fiber membrane is injected widens, there is a problem that the fluid flowing into the hollow fiber membrane is biased due to the inlet effect, and the fluid flowing outside the hollow fiber membrane has difficulty flowing uniformly throughout the entire membrane by penetrating the thickened hollow fiber membrane bundle.

In addition, in the case of humidifying hollow fiber membranes used in general fuel cell membrane humidifiers, the tensile strength at break is weak at about 0.15 to 0.5 kg, so there was a problem that the humidifying performance was reduced when the hollow fiber membrane was broken by kinetic energy and turbulent energy generated by the strong flow rate of humid air.

Due to these problems, attempts have recently been made to structurally reinforce the hollow fiber membrane from the wet air path by densely inserting the hollow fiber membrane inside the cartridge using a separate cartridge.

For example, referring to Korean Patent No. 2447975 (“Membrane Humidifier for Fuel Cell”, hereinafter referred to as “Prior Patent 1”), a first housing (10) having a moisture intake port (12) for sucking moisture into the inside and a dry air outlet port (14) for discharging dry air; a second housing (80) correspondingly coupled to the first housing and having a moisture outlet port for discharging moisture and a dry air intake port for sucking dry air; And a cartridge (40) positioned inside the first housing (10) and the second housing (80); and a structure is disclosed for reducing vibration or external force applied to a hollow fiber membrane by selectively configuring either a first path in which moisture is sucked or discharged inside the cartridge (40) by moving straight from the upper side and then downward and then discharged toward a lower exit, or a second path in which moisture moves straight from the lower side and then upward and then discharged toward an upper exit.

However, since the hollow fiber membrane humidifier of the above-mentioned prior art patent 1 must additionally have a cartridge inside the first housing and the second housing that are separated into the left and right, not only does this increase the overall volume and manufacturing cost of the humidifier, but also since a moisture stream is formed along the first path or the second path that diagonally crosses the cartridge through the moisture intake and exhaust ports respectively provided at both ends of the first and second housings, there is still a possibility that turbulence will occur as the moisture passes through the perforations on the surface of the cartridge, and furthermore, there is a possibility that the moisture flow rate will be concentrated in the center of the hollow fiber membrane, so there are still questions about the possibility of damage to the hollow fiber membrane and the resulting deterioration of the humidifying performance.

In addition, in the case of a hollow fiber membrane humidifier, the exchange surface area per unit volume is large, which is advantageous for humidifying performance, but the hollow fiber membranes, which are hundreds to thousands of strands, are thin and easily damaged during the process of inserting and potting them into the cartridge. In addition, manual work to align them to a given shape is very cumbersome due to static electricity, etc., making quality control difficult.

Accordingly, hollow fiber membrane humidifiers have a disadvantage in that it is difficult to insert hundreds to thousands of hollow fiber membrane strands into a cartridge. As an alternative, Korean Patent No. 2471030 (“Humidifier for Fuel Cell”, hereinafter referred to as “prior patent 2”) discloses a method of splitting a cartridge in half, inserting a hollow fiber membrane bundle, assembling the remaining half of the cartridge, and then inserting it into a mid-case (housing) to pot the housing and the cartridge hollow fiber membrane bundle at the same time.

However, in the case of the above prior art patent 2, not only does the overall volume and manufacturing cost of the humidifier increase by using multiple cartridges, but there is still a possibility that the flow rate may decrease and turbulence may occur as moisture passes through the multiple cartridges, so there is still a concern that the humidifying performance may decrease.

Korean Patent Registration No. 2447975 (Registered on September 22, 2022)

Korean Patent Registration No. 2471030 (Registered on November 22, 2022)

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier of a miniaturized non-cartridge type, which effectively disperses the concentration of humid air flow without providing a cartridge inside the membrane humidifier, thereby preventing damage to the hollow fiber membrane and increasing humidifying efficiency, and reducing the overall volume and manufacturing cost of the membrane humidifier.

In addition, the present invention aims to provide a method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier, which not only solves the problem of static electricity occurring in a hollow fiber membrane bundle during the manufacturing process of a membrane humidifier and the serious problem of easy damage to thin hollow fiber membranes, but also makes it very easy to manually align the hollow fiber membrane bundle to a predetermined shape, thereby improving the quality control and productivity of the membrane humidifier.

In order to achieve the above-described purpose, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier comprises: a plurality of hollow fiber membrane bundles neatly aligned in one direction; a potting holder fitted at both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle to fix the hollow fiber membrane bundle so that the hollow fiber membrane bundle does not become disordered; and a potting resin that is injected and cured between the potting holder and the hollow fiber membrane bundle to hermetically pott both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle.

In addition, according to one embodiment, the potting holder has a tube-shaped body with left and right ends open, and a central portion of the tube shape has a reduced diameter to have a concave orifice shape.

Additionally, according to one embodiment, a plurality of potting resin penetration holes are further formed in the potting holder.

In addition, according to one embodiment, a sealing member fixing groove is further formed on the outer periphery of the potting holder for fitting and fixing a part of the sealing member.

Meanwhile, a method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to the present invention comprises, according to one embodiment, (S210) a step of preparing an appropriate number of hollow fiber membrane bundles; (S220) a step of aligning the hollow fiber membrane bundles neatly and then stacking them by inserting them one by one between vertically elongated grooves of a potting jig; (S230) a step of inserting a potting holder into both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundles stacked by being fitted into the potting jig; (S240) a step of assembling a potting gap so as to entirely cover both ends of the potting holder and the hollow fiber membrane bundle; (S250) a step of injecting a potting resin into the inside of a potting cap so as to penetrate and harden the potting resin between the potting holder and the hollow fiber membrane bundle; and (S260) a step of cutting and removing both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle protruding from the potting holder after removing the potting cap.

In addition, according to one embodiment, after the step S210, the method further includes the step of (S211) inserting the prepared hollow fiber membrane bundle into a cylindrical mesh of an elastic material and packing it tightly so as not to be disturbed.

In addition, according to one embodiment, the potting jig is formed with a first groove that is elongated in a vertical direction so that a bundle of hollow fiber membranes can be inserted from above, and second grooves are formed at both ends of the first groove so that a potting holder inserted from both sides of the bundle of hollow fiber membranes can be caught, the groove spacing of which is wider than that of the first groove.

In addition, according to one embodiment, a guide slope is further formed at the upper end of the first groove, the width of which gradually narrows downwards to prevent the hollow fiber membrane bundle from getting caught when it is inserted and stacked from above the first groove.

As described above, the present invention effectively disperses the concentration of the flow rate of humid air without providing a cartridge inside the membrane humidifier, thereby preventing damage to the hollow fiber membrane and increasing the humidification efficiency, and reducing the overall volume and manufacturing cost of the membrane humidifier.

In addition, it not only solves the problem of static electricity occurring in the hollow fiber membrane bundle during the manufacturing process of the membrane humidifier and the serious problem of easy damage to the thin hollow fiber membrane, but also improves the quality control and productivity of the membrane humidifier because the manual work of aligning the hollow fiber membrane bundle to a set shape is very easy.

Figure 1 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied according to one embodiment.
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line (a) AA of Figure 1, and a cross-sectional view taken along line (b) BB of Figure 1.
Figure 4 shows (a) a plan view, (b) a cross-sectional view along line CC, and (c) a perspective view of a potting holder, showing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal air flow path of a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied, (a) is a cross-sectional view, and (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view.
Figure 6 is a flow chart showing a method for manufacturing a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied according to one embodiment.
Figure 7 is a flow chart showing a method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 is a process flow diagram of Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a perspective view showing a potting jig according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 10 shows (a) a longitudinal cross-sectional view and (b) a DD line cross-sectional view of a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied according to another embodiment.

The terminology used herein is only used to describe particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprises" or "has" or "comprising" and the like are intended to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or combination thereof described in the present specification, but should be understood to not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly defined otherwise herein.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operational relationship of a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to one embodiment of the present invention will be specifically examined with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view (a) and a plan view (b) showing a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view (a) taken along line A-A and (b) taken along line B-B of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a plan view (a), a cross-sectional view (b) taken along line C-C, and a perspective view (c) of a potting holder showing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal air flow path of a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a cross-sectional view and (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view.

Referring to the above drawings 1 to 5, a configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention will be examined. A membrane humidifier (10) for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied largely includes a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) of the present invention and a housing assembly (no symbol).

Here, the housing assembly (no symbol) may be configured to include, according to one embodiment, a main housing (200), an upper cover housing (300), a lower cover housing (400), and first and second sealing members (510) (520).

First, referring to FIG. 4, the hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) of the present invention is composed of a plurality of hollow fiber membrane bundles (110) in which both ends are potted with the hollow fibers (H) of the densely packed hollow fibers (F) exposed.

According to one embodiment, the hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) includes: a plurality of hollow fiber membrane bundles (110) aligned in one direction; a potting holder (120) fitted at both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) to secure the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) so that the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) does not become disordered; and a potting resin (130) that is injected and cured between the potting holder (120) and the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) to hermetically pott both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110).

In addition, according to one embodiment, the potting holder (120) has a tube-shaped body (121) with left and right ends open, and the middle part (122) of the tube-shaped body (121) has a reduced diameter and a concave orifice shape. Therefore, the tube-shaped body (121) with a relatively large diameter facilitates the insertion of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110), and the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) is fitted into the middle part (122) of the orifice shape with a relatively small diameter and is fixed so as not to be disturbed while being pressed in.

In addition, according to one embodiment, a plurality of potting resin penetration holes (121a) are further formed in the tube-shaped body (121) of the potting holder (120). Accordingly, the liquid potting resin (130) penetrates between the potting holder (120) and the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) through the potting resin penetration holes (121a), and then cools, causing both ends of the potting resin (130) to shrink, whereby the potting resin (130) hardened into a solid state hermetically bonds the potting holder (120) and the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) without a gap.

In addition, according to one embodiment, a sealing member fixing groove (123) is further formed on the outer periphery of the potting holder (120). A portion (511) (521) of the first and second sealing members (510) (520) described below is fitted and joined into the sealing member fixing groove (123).

In addition, the main housing (200) has an overall flat hexahedral shape, and an assembly groove (210) having a plurality of communication holes (210b) is formed so that the hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) can be selectively inserted and received from above while the center area of the upper surface is open in a concave grill shape, and dry air intake and exhaust ports (220)(230) are formed integrally at diagonally staggered positions on the side edges, and the dry air intake and exhaust ports (220)(230) are connected to the hollow (H) of the hollow fibers (F) at both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) mounted on the assembly groove (210) and the dry air path (red arrow in FIG. 5) for supplying dry air, respectively.

At this time, since the main housing (200) has a flat hexahedral shape, for example, the membrane humidifier (10) of the present invention can be configured by placing it under a fuel cell stack (not shown) or erecting it at a specific site, thereby contributing to the compactness of the entire fuel cell system package.

In addition, between the dry air intake port (220) and the assembly groove (210) of the main housing (200) and between the dry air outlet port (230) and the assembly groove (210), first and second buffer space portions (241) (242) of a certain length are formed, respectively, in the connection section, in which the cross-sectional area of the dry air path (red arrow in FIG. 5) is expanded.

According to one embodiment, the length (L, see FIG. 5a) of the first and second buffer spaces (241)(242) is formed to be equal to or greater than the width (W, see FIG. 5a) of both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100).

Therefore, referring to FIGS. 5a and b, dry air introduced into the dry air intake (220) according to the configuration of the above-described dry air path (red arrow in FIG. 5) passes through the first buffer space (241) and then passes through the hollow fibers (H) of the hollow fibers (F) at both ends of the hollow fiber bundle assembly (100) assembled in the assembly groove (210), and then the dry air discharged to the second buffer space (242) is discharged through the dry air discharge port (230).

In addition, the upper cover housing (300) is mounted on the upper surface of the main housing (200) to hermetically seal the open upper portion of the assembly groove (210), and a humid air intake port (310) is integrally provided in the middle portion so as to be perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) mounted on the assembly groove (210), and the humid air intake port (310) is connected to the open upper portion of the assembly groove (210) and the humid air path (blue arrow in FIG. 5).

In addition, the lower cover housing (400) is mounted on the lower surface of the main housing (200) to hermetically seal the lower communication hole (210a) of the assembly groove (210), and a humid air discharge port (410) is integrally provided at the middle portion so as to be perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) mounted on the assembly groove (210), and the humid air discharge port (410) is connected to the lower communication hole (210a) of the assembly groove (210) and the humid air path (blue arrow in FIG. 5).

In addition, first and second sealing members (510)(520) are further provided between the main housing (200) and the upper and lower cover housings (300)(400) to hermetically seal the assembly groove (210) and the periphery of the first to fourth buffer spaces (241, 242, 243, 244).

In addition, third and fourth buffer space sections (243)(244) in which the cross-sectional area of the wet air path (blue arrows in FIGS. 5a and b) is expanded are formed on one side of the main housing (200) that is connected to the wet air intake port (310) and on one side of the main housing (200) that is connected to the wet air discharge port (410), respectively.

That is, the wet air having a high velocity of 10 to 30 m/s supplied to the wet air intake (310) by the third and fourth buffer spaces (243)(244) is prevented from being directly sprayed onto the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110). Accordingly, the third and fourth buffer spaces (243)(244) reduce the velocity of the wet air, thereby preventing damage to the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) that comes into contact with the wet air, and thereby buffering the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) from being disconnected.

Therefore, referring to FIGS. 5a and b, the moist air introduced into the moist air intake (310) according to the configuration of the above-described moist air path (blue arrow in FIG. 5) passes through the third buffer space (243) and is sprayed to the side of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) assembled in the assembly groove (210), and during this process, the moisture of the moist air penetrates into the hollow space (H) of the hollow fiber membrane (F, see FIG. 3). Thereafter, the moist air from which the moisture has been removed is discharged to the fourth buffer space (244) through the communication hole (210a) of the assembly groove (210) and then finally discharged to the outside of the membrane humidifier (10) through the moist air discharge port (410) of the lower cover housing (400).

That is, since the assembly groove (210) and the communication hole (210a) support the lower part of the hollow fiber membrane bundle, as seen in the problems of the cartridge method of the prior art, the flow of wet air sprayed into the hollow fiber membrane bundle is not obstructed or unnecessary turbulence is not generated.

In addition, since the moist air flow path is uniformly distributed downward by the communication holes (210a) uniformly formed throughout the lower surface of the assembly groove (210), not only is damage and short circuiting of the hollow fiber membrane (F) prevented due to the rapid flow of the moist air being concentrated in a specific part, but also the humidifying performance of the membrane humidifier (10) is improved because the moist air is uniformly distributed throughout the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110).

In addition, referring to Fig. 3, a pair of support protrusions (320)(420) are formed on the inner side of the upper and lower cover housings (300)(400) respectively to press and support the hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100). Accordingly, the pair of support protrusions (320)(420) press and fix the middle portion of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) from above and below, thereby preventing the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) from shaking or breaking due to the spraying of wet air.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a method for manufacturing a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a potting jig according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the above drawings 6 to 9, a method for manufacturing a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied will be described according to one embodiment.

The method for manufacturing a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied may be largely composed of a first step (S100): a step of forming a main housing (200), an upper cover housing (300), and a lower cover housing (400); a second step (S200): a step of manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100); and a third step (S300): a step of mounting the hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) on the main housing (200), and then assembling upper and lower cover housings (300) (400) on the upper and lower surfaces of the main housing (200), respectively, to seal the main housing.

Here, the first step (S100): the step of forming the main housing (200), the upper cover housing (300), and the lower cover housing (400) may be a process of forming a specific synthetic resin so that the main housing has an assembly groove (210) and a communication hole (210a) in which a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) is fitted and assembled hermetically. This forming process may be a plastic injection molding, extrusion, or other similar plastic processing process.

In addition, the third step (S300) may be a process of assembling the main housing (200), the upper cover housing (300), and the lower cover housing (400) formed in the first step by fitting them together. In this process, first and second sealing members (510) (520) are interposed between the main housing (200), the upper cover housing (300), and the lower cover housing (400), thereby forming a sealing force between the main housing (200), the upper cover housing (300), and the lower cover housing (400).

Meanwhile, according to one embodiment, the second step (S200), i.e., the method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier of the present invention, may be composed of the following detailed steps.

Step (S210): Prepare an appropriate number of hollow fiber bundles (110).

According to one embodiment, the hollow fiber membrane (F) of the present step may be a hollow fiber membrane (F) made of any one polymer material, such as PES (Polyethersulphone), PEI (Polyetherimide), or PS (Polystyrene), and the manufacturing process of the hollow fiber membrane involves a drying process at a certain temperature and humidity. Thereafter, the dried hollow fiber membrane (F) is divided into a specific quantity, one end is tied together, and then hung on a drying frame (not shown) for drying.

Thereafter, the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) with one end tied and dried is divided into hollow fiber membrane bundles (110) of a quantity and length that can be assembled with an appropriate packing density inside a membrane humidifier (10). At this time, according to one embodiment, the length of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) is cut to give a one-sided allowance of 20 to 150 mm for cutting the potting resin (130) later, and the hollow fiber membrane (F) is cut.

Step (S211): The hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) prepared in the above step (S210) is inserted into a cylindrical mesh (600, see Fig. 8) made of an elastic material and packed tightly so as not to be disturbed. For reference, this step may be selectively performed according to the process design of the site.

At this time, the cylindrical mesh (600) is a tool that functions to gather the hollow fiber membrane bundles (110) into a dense form. According to one embodiment, the cylindrical mesh (600) may be made of a plastic film made of an elastic hydrophobic material so that the hollow fiber membrane bundles (110) can be easily inserted in an open state.

Step (S220): After neatly aligning the hollow fiber bundles (110), they are laminated by inserting them in layers between the vertically elongated first grooves (701, see FIG. 9) of the potting jig (700).

In this step, according to one embodiment, the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) prepared as described above is inserted from top to bottom into a potting jig (700) having a U-shaped first groove (701) and is stacked and aligned layer by layer. At this time, the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) is inserted into a cylindrical mesh (600) and is densely packed, so it is touched by hand in this state to make the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) into a flat shape, and then it is inserted into the first groove (701) of the potting jig (700) and is stacked layer by layer.

Here, referring to FIG. 9, the potting jig (700) is formed with a first groove (701) that is elongated in a vertical direction so that a hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) can be inserted from above, and a second groove (702) is formed at both ends of the first groove (701) so that a potting holder (120) to be inserted from both sides of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) in a subsequent step (S230) can be caught, the groove spacing of which is wider than that of the first groove (701).

In addition, a guide slope (703) whose width gradually narrows downward is formed at the upper part of the first groove (701) to prevent the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) from getting caught when it is inserted and stacked from the upper part of the first groove (701).

Step (S230): A potting holder (120) is inserted into both ends of a hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) that is laminated and fitted into the potting jig (700).

At this stage, preferably, by tying the two ends of the hollow fiber bundle (110) with a string or the like so that they do not come apart and then inserting the potting holder (120), the insertion operation of the potting holder (120) can become easier.

Step (S240): Assemble the potting gap (800) to completely cover both ends of the potting holder (120) and the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110).

In this step, potting caps for injecting potting resin are inserted and fitted into both ends of the flatly laminated hollow fiber membrane bundle according to the shape of the first groove (701) of the potting jig (700).

Step (S241): In this step, as shown in Fig. 8, the potting gap (800) is strongly pressed and sealed with a fixing block (900) to maintain the airtightness between the potting cap (800) and the potting holder (120). For reference, this step may be selectively performed depending on the process design at the site.

Step (S250): Liquid potting resin (130) is injected into the potting cap (800) to penetrate and harden the potting resin (130) between the potting holder (120) and the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110).

In this step, according to one embodiment, the potting resin (130) may include at least one of an epoxy resin or a polyurethane resin. In addition, the potting resin (130) is penetrated and hardened between the potting holder (120) and the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) by either centrifugal forming using centrifugal force or dipping forming using gravity. Additionally, it is preferable that the potting resin (130) be injected into the potting cap (800) after removing all air bubbles during mixing of the resin material in a separate dispenser (not shown).

Accordingly, the potting resin (130) molded to fit the internal shape of the potting cap (800) as described above penetrates and fills the spaces between the hollow fiber membranes (F), and when the potting resin (130) hardens, the potting is completed so that the circumference of both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) is airtight.

Step (S260): After removing the potting cap (800), both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) protruding from the potting holder (120) are cut and removed.

In this step, according to one embodiment, a cutting machine (not shown) such as a rotary blade or a cutting blade is used to cut the potting resin (130) on which potting is completed to a set length, thereby opening up the hollow fiber membrane (F) at both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) (H).

Accordingly, since the hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) of the present invention manufactured as described above has an overall flat shape, the path for humid air to reach the center of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) is shortened, making it easier for humid air to reach the center, and thus improving the humidifying performance of the membrane humidifier (10).

FIG. 10 is a (a) longitudinal cross-sectional view and (b) D-D line cross-sectional view showing a membrane humidifier for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied according to another embodiment.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 10, the membrane humidifier for a fuel cell to which the present invention is applied can be configured with three components of a main housing (200), a cover housing (300), and a sealing member (500) according to another embodiment, and thus, compared to the previously described embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced and a more compact configuration can be achieved in terms of assembly mass production.

Looking at the differences from the following embodiment, the assembly home portion (210) according to another embodiment may be a gap space portion (210, see FIG. 10b) between the communicating protrusions (215) formed opposingly in the interior of the main housing (200) and the cover housing (300).

The above-mentioned communication protrusions (215) are formed perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) inside the main housing (200) and the cover housing (300) as shown in Fig. 10b. At this time, the communication protrusions (215) are formed at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110), and wet air is supplied upward of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) through the interspace (215a) between the communication protrusions (215), and then is sprayed downward so as to vertically cross the plane of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110). (See Fig. 10a)

In this process, the wet air comes into uniform contact with the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) through which the dry air flows, and the moisture contained in the wet air permeates into the hollow fiber membrane (F) (H).

Additionally, a single sealing member (500) is further provided between the main housing (200) and the cover housing (300).

Accordingly, the moist air supplied to the moist air intake (310) according to the moist air path of the above-described configuration is supplied to the space between the communicating projections (215) (215a, see FIG. 10b) through the third buffer space and the side hole (213) on the upper left, and then is sprayed downward in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber membrane bundle (110) mounted on the assembly groove (210), and then passes through the side hole (214) on the lower right and the fourth buffer space (244) and finally escapes to the moist air outlet (410).

In this process, the moist air supplied to the above-mentioned moist air path is uniformly sprayed on the entire plane of the flat and thin hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly (100) to form a continuous vertical airflow, thereby obtaining the effect of improving moisture penetration ability and reliability, and further, humidifying performance.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to only the above-described embodiment, and the same effect can be created even when the detailed configuration, number, and arrangement structure of the device are changed. Therefore, it is stated that those with ordinary skill in the art can add, delete, and modify various configurations within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

10: Membrane humidifier for fuel cell
100: (The present invention) hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly
110: Hollow Desert Bundle
120 : Potting Holder
121: (Tube shape of potting holder) Body
121a: Potting resin penetration hole
122: (Orifice shape of potting holder) Interruption
130 : Potting Resin
200 : Main Housing
210 : Assembly Home Section
210a: chimney
213, 214: Side hole
215 : chimney protrusion
215a: (Interspace between the connecting projections)
220 : Dry air intake
230 : Dry air exhaust port
241, 242, 243, 244: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th buffer space
300 : Top cover housing
310 : Wet air intake
320, 420 : Supporting protrusion
400 : Lower cover housing
410 : Wet air exhaust port
500: Sealing member
510, 520: 1st and 2nd sealing members
600 : Cylindrical mesh
700 : Potting Jig
800 : Porting Cap
900 : Fixed block
F: Hollow Desert
H: (of the hollow desert) hollow

Claims (8)

A large number of hollow fiber bundles neatly aligned in one direction;
A potting holder fitted at both ends of the above hollow fiber bundle to secure the hollow fiber bundle so that it does not become loose; and
A potting resin, which is injected and cured between the potting holder and the hollow fiber membrane bundle to hermetically pott both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle;
Hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for fuel cell membrane humidifier. In paragraph 1,
The above potting holder has a tube-shaped body with both left and right ends open, and the center part of the tube shape has a reduced diameter and a concave orifice shape.
Hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for fuel cell membrane humidifier. In paragraph 1,
The above potting holder further has a number of potting resin penetration holes formed therein.
Hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for fuel cell membrane humidifier. In paragraph 1,
A sealing member fixing groove is further formed on the outer periphery of the above potting holder to fit and fix a part of the sealing member.
Hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for fuel cell membrane humidifier. (S210) A step of preparing an appropriate number of hollow fiber bundles;
(S220) A step of aligning the hollow fiber bundles neatly and then laminating them by inserting them one by one between the vertically elongated grooves of the potting jig;
(S230) A step of inserting a potting holder into both ends of a hollow fiber membrane bundle that is laminated and fitted into a potting jig;
(S240) A step of assembling a potting gap to completely cover both ends of the potting holder and the hollow fiber membrane bundle;
(S250) A step of injecting potting resin into the potting cap to penetrate and harden the potting resin between the potting holder and the hollow fiber membrane bundle; and
(S260) A step of cutting and removing both ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle protruding from the potting holder after removing the potting cap;
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier. In paragraph 5,
After the above step S210,
(S211) A step of inserting the prepared hollow fiber bundle into a cylindrical mesh of an elastic material and packing it tightly so that it does not become loose; further comprising;
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier. In paragraph 5,
The above potting jig has a first groove that is elongated in a vertical direction so that a bundle of hollow fiber membranes can be inserted from above, and a second groove that has a wider groove spacing than the first groove is formed at both ends of the first groove so that a potting holder inserted from both sides of the bundle of hollow fiber membranes can be caught.
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier. In paragraph 7,
At the upper part of the first groove, a guide slope is formed whose width gradually narrows downwards to prevent the hollow fiber bundle from getting caught when it is inserted and stacked from the upper part of the first groove.
A method for manufacturing a hollow fiber membrane bundle assembly for a fuel cell membrane humidifier.