Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

University of Michigan

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

The State University of New York

University of Colorado

Yuqing Zhou

Ercan Mehmet Dede

Tsuyoshi Nomura

Feng Zhou

Danny J Lohan

Hiroshi Ukegawa

Kazuhiro Saitou

Tomoki Tambo

Sean P Rodrigues

Debasish Banerjee

Paul Donald Schmalenberg

Hongfei Jia

Ercan Mehment Dede

Dragan Maksimovic

Yuyang Song

Robert Warren Erickson

Gaohua Zhu

Vivek Sankaranarayanan

Xianfeng David Gu

Yucheng Gao

Liang Wang

Masato Tanaka

Zhou Zhao

Lingfeng Gao

Shikui Chen

A bipolar plate-gas diffusion layer (GDL) assembly for a polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel cell includes a flat metallic bipolar plate and a porous metal GDL adjacent to and in direct contact with the flat metallic bipolar plate. The porous metal GDL includes flow channels defined by flow channel walls with flow channel surfaces. The flow channel walls and flow channel surfaces have an average porosity generally equal to an average porosity of an interior of the porous metal GDL.

Metal foam gas diffusion layers and polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel cells with metal foam gas diffusion layers

A fuel cell system includes: a first fuel cell; a second fuel cell; a cathode configured to receive a positive charge from the first fuel cell and the second fuel cell; an anode disposed apart from the cathode and configured to receive a negative charge from the first fuel cell and the second fuel cell; a manifold enclosing the anode and the cathode; coolant disposed within the manifold and surrounding the cathode and the anode; and a seal disposed between the cathode and the anode so as to prevent the coolant from leaking into the first fuel cell, wherein the cathode includes a seal portion disposed adjacent to the seal and a remaining portion separated from the seal by the seal portion, and wherein the remaining portion of the cathode is configured to be non-parallel with the anode so as to reduce shunt current at the seal portion.

Fuel cell bipolar plate design for reduced corrosion potential

Systems, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to multiple three-dimensional (3D) structures formation from a network of circularly-packed structural elements. In one embodiment, a system includes a circularly-packed network of structural elements that form multiple 3D structures. Diameters of the structural elements define a shape of the 3D structures. The circularly-packed network is adaptable to form 1) a first 3D structure and 2) a second 3D structure with a different shape than the first 3D structure. The system also includes a set of joints that connect adjacent structural elements.

Systems and methods for forming multiple 3D structures from a circularly-packed network of structural elements

A fuel cell that includes an air fuel cell bipolar plate and a hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plate respectively having a Turing-pattern microstructure configuration. The spatial arrangement of the air fuel cell bipolar plate and the hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plate is such that the air layer of the air fuel cell bipolar plate and the hydrogen layer of the hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plate are opposed to each other to define a microstructure configuration for a coolant layer.

Fuel cell having bipolar plates with multi-layered dehomogenized turing-pattern microstructure configuration

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.

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

A fuel cell may include a first fuel cell bipolar plate defining an air layer, a second fuel cell bipolar plate defining a hydrogen layer, and a coolant layer defined by the air layer and the hydrogen layer. The coolant layer includes a plurality of coolant microchannels that facilitate flow of a coolant. A permeable support layer is arranged between the air layer and the hydrogen layer to define a gap therebetween to prevent flow blockage of the coolant microchannels while facilitating coolant flow therethrough.

Permeable support layer for fuel cell fluid flow networks

A bipolar plate for a fuel cell, a fuel cell, and a method of designing a bipolar plate for a fuel cell having a hybrid flow field structure that includes a plurality of parallel feed flow channels fluidically connected to an inlet bipolar plate region, a plurality of parallel exit flow channels fluidically connected to an outlet bipolar plate region, and an interwoven pattern formed by a plurality of simplified periodic array flow field structure generated based on flow patterns generated by homogenized anisotropic porous media optimization. The flow field structure enhances fuel cell performance by facilitating lower pressure drop via minimized fluid flow resistance, and removal of accumulated water in the oxygen channel and the gas diffusion layer (GDL) under the ribs of the bipolar plate.

Fuel cell bipolar plate flow field having hybrid interwoven channel pattern

A method of designing a fuel cell includes executing one or more programs on one or more computing devices having one or more processors to predict a location of one or more liquid regions and one or more vapor regions in microchannels at an air layer of a plate of the fuel cell. Based on the prediction, fluid flow networks for the air layer, a hydrogen layer, and a coolant layer of the fuel cell are simultaneously optimized via homogenized flow optimization. In response to the results of the homogenized flow optimization, one or more multi-scale Turing-patterned microstructures are generated for the air layer and the hydrogen layer. One or more multi-scale Turing-patterned microstructures are generated for the coolant layer by stacking the air layer and the hydrogen layer.

Method of predicting liquid regions and vapor regions in bipolar plates of a fuel cell

A fuel cell may include a first fuel cell bipolar plate defining an air layer, a second fuel cell bipolar plate defining a hydrogen layer, and a coolant layer defined by the air layer and the hydrogen layer. The coolant layer includes a plurality of coolant microchannels that facilitate flow of a coolant. One or more support members are to extend between the air layer and the hydrogen layer to define one or more additional coolant flow paths between the air layer and the hydrogen layer.

Support members for fuel cell fluid flow networks

A bipolar plate for a fuel cell, a fuel cell, and a method of designing a bipolar plate for a fuel cell having a flow field structure that includes a plurality of Representative Elementary Volumes (REVs) generated based on flow patterns generated by homogenized anisotropic porous media optimization. The flow field structure enhances fuel cell performance by facilitating lower pressure drop via minimized fluid flow resistance, and removal of accumulated water in the oxygen channel and the gas diffusion layer (GDL) under the ribs of the bipolar plate.

Fuel cell bipolar plate flow field having regular representative elementary volumes

Inflatable structures, or aeromorphs, are provided with reinforcing member shape controlling features. The inflatable structure includes a bladder formed of a programmable substrate and defining an outer perimeter. The bladder includes a plurality of seams and a plurality of foldable segments defined by the plurality of seams. At least one hinge is provided, located adjacent each foldable segment. The hinge is configured to permit a folding movement of the respective foldable segment. At least one reinforcing member is provided, secured to the bladder and configured to guide a directional movement of at least one of the plurality of foldable segments, control a shape of the inflatable structure, and determine a sequence of folding. In various aspects, the reinforcing member includes a thermoplastic polyurethane, and is secured to a surface of the bladder with additive manufacturing techniques, such as 3-D printing.

Aeromorph shape management

One or more methods of designing microchannel fluid flow networks in a fuel cell bipolar plate includes executing one or more programs on one or more computing devices having one or more processors to optimize the spatially varying orientations of homogenized anisotropic porous media by iteratively executing a gradient-based algorithm that incorporates objective functions of reaction uniformity and flow resistance, and then generate, in response to the homogenized anisotropic porous media optimization, one or more microchannel fluid flow networks by dehomogenizing the optimized anisotropic porous media.

Inverse design of fuel cell bipolar plate flow fields through anisotropic porous media optimization

A fuel cell may include a first fuel cell bipolar plate defining an air layer, a second fuel cell bipolar plate defining a hydrogen layer, and a coolant layer defined by the air layer and the hydrogen layer. A permeable support infill structure, composed of sintered thermally conductive powder particles, is arranged at the cooling layer to prevent flow blockage at the coolant layer, define a thermally conductive path between the air layer and the hydrogen layer, and facilitate coolant flow through the permeable support infill structure.

Permeable support infill structure for fuel cell fluid flow networks

A silicon on insulator (SOI) photonic device having a waveguide is provided that includes a mode overlap portion with a topology optimized structure situated below an electrode of the capacitance structure. The device can significantly change a refractive index in a volume of mode overlap depending upon the applied potential to the capacitor and allows for a π phase shift in a modest mode overlap volume. The topology optimized structure has a waveguide and substrate that are partitioned in three dimensions using an extruded projection design. The electrode is a transition metal di-chalcogenide monolayer sheet (2D TMD). The enhanced mode overlay from the topology optimized waveguide portion allows a large reduction in the length of the waveguide with the mode overlap to achieve the needed phase shift for a photonic device.

Integrated photonic component for enhanced mode overlap of a 2D phase shifter

Disclosed herein are an apparatus and method fluid flow measurements which include a pressure transducer and a flexible tube. The pressure transducer is tuned to measure flow speeds having a Reynolds number less than 100 and include an inlet. The flexible tube has a first end fluidly coupled to the inlet and a second end positioned adjacent to and in fluid communication with a plurality of fluid outlets of a microchannel flow structure. Each of the plurality of fluid outlets has a cross section defining an outlet area. The second end has a cross section defining a flexible tube area that is larger than the outlet area.

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

Yuqing Zhou