JP2008151283A - Gas storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to suppress an increase in temperature when a gas containing a gas storage / adsorption material is filled with a gas.
In a container 12 constituting a gas storage container 10, a long gas distribution pipe 30 extending in the longitudinal direction of the container 12 is accommodated. The discharge port 32 for discharging the gas is provided only on the side peripheral wall of the gas distribution pipe 30, and thus the discharged gas travels toward the side inner wall side of the container 12. A plurality of heat radiating members 21 are installed on the inner side wall of the container 12. Further, a gas storage / adsorption material 14 is accommodated in the container 12.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas storage container, and more particularly to a gas storage container including a container having an inner wall made of metal at least in contact with gas.

  As is well known, a fuel cell generates electricity by supplying a fuel gas such as hydrogen to the anode and an oxidant gas such as oxygen to the cathode. Therefore, for example, a fuel cell vehicle equipped with a fuel cell is equipped with a gas storage container filled with hydrogen. The fuel cell vehicle travels using the atmosphere as an oxidant gas and hydrogen supplied from the gas storage container as a reaction gas.

  As can be understood from this, the fuel cell vehicle can be run for a longer distance as the hydrogen storage capacity of the gas storage container increases. However, mounting an excessively large gas storage container increases the weight of the fuel cell vehicle, resulting in a problem that the load on the fuel cell increases. From this point of view, various attempts have been made to improve the hydrogen storage capacity while keeping the volume of the gas storage container small. As one of the techniques, for example, a substance that occludes or adsorbs a gas such as a hydrogen occlusion alloy (hereinafter referred to as a gas occlusion / adsorption material) is contained in a container.

  By the way, in this kind of gas storage container, the powdered hydrogen storage alloy is accommodated in the container as it is. In general, the reaction in which a gas storage / adsorption material absorbs or adsorbs a gas is an exothermic reaction, and it is accompanied by adiabatic compression of the gas when the gas is filled in the container. Therefore, when hydrogen gas is filled in this type of gas storage container, if the temperature in the container rises excessively, gas storage / adsorption on the gas storage / adsorption material is inhibited. Of course, when such a state occurs, the amount of gas contained becomes small.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, it is proposed to insert a hydrogen storage unit having a heat exchange function at a substantially central portion of the container in order to suppress an increase in temperature in the container. That is, in this case, a plurality of disk-like fins are fixed to the heat medium pipe, and a powdered hydrogen storage alloy is accommodated between the fins.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-270861 (particularly paragraph [0019])

  In the gas storage container described in Patent Document 1, the internal structure is complicated. In addition, the gas storage container is enlarged and the weight is also increased. That is, in order to avoid a high temperature during gas filling, a problem that the volume and weight of the container must be increased has become apparent.

  Further, when the gas is introduced from the filling port provided above the container, the gas starts to be occluded or adsorbed from the upper gas occlusion / adsorption material. For this reason, it cannot avoid that the site | part which becomes high temperature locally in a container generate | occur | produces. When such a situation occurs, there may be a portion where the thermal expansion amounts are different from each other in the container, and in some cases, there is a concern that the outer shell and the liner constituting the container may be separated.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and is capable of suppressing a rise in temperature during gas filling while being small and light, and has a large gas storage density per unit volume or unit weight. The object is to provide a gas storage container.

To achieve the above object, the present invention is a gas storage container comprising a long container whose inner wall is made of metal.
The gas distribution pipe is provided inside the container, extends along the longitudinal direction of the container, and is provided with a discharge port capable of discharging gas toward the side inner wall side of the container,
A heat radiating member extending along a longitudinal direction of the gas distribution pipe is provided on the side inner wall.

  In the present invention configured as described above, since the long gas distribution pipe extends along the longitudinal direction of the container, the temperature can be increased substantially evenly along the longitudinal direction of the container. In other words, temperature unevenness can be avoided.

  In addition, since the gas is discharged toward the side inner wall side of the container, the generated heat is quickly transmitted to the heat radiating member provided on the side inner wall, and further, the heat radiating member and the container are Through the system. That is, according to the present invention, the heat generated at the time of gas filling can be quickly removed, so that an increase in the temperature in the container can be suppressed. For this reason, the amount of gas that can be filled in the container, in other words, the amount of gas accommodated becomes large.

  In addition, you may make it accommodate a gas storage / adsorption material inside a container. In this case, the part surrounding the gas distribution pipe in the gas storage / adsorption material is cooled by the low-temperature gas discharged from the gas distribution pipe when the gas is filled. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the side inner wall of the container, the generated heat is quickly removed out of the system through the heat radiating member as described above. For this reason, since temperature rise is suppressed, it is suppressed that gas occlusion thru | or adsorption | suction of a gas occlusion / adsorbent are inhibited. Eventually, gas is efficiently occluded or adsorbed by the gas occlusion / adsorption material near the side wall of the container, so gas can be accommodated without enlarging the volume of the container to accommodate a large amount of gas occlusion / adsorption material. The amount can be improved. As a result, it is possible to construct a gas storage container that is small and lightweight and has a large gas storage density per unit volume or unit weight.

  And in order to suppress a temperature rise over the whole longitudinal direction of a container, it is preferable that the longitudinal direction dimension of a heat radiating member is small compared with the longitudinal direction dimension of gas distribution piping. For the same reason, it is preferable to extend the gas distribution pipe over the entire cylindrical portion of the container.

  According to the present invention, heat generated at the time of gas filling is absorbed by the heat radiating member and quickly removed from the system through the inner wall of the container, so that the temperature inside the container is prevented from rising. Is done. For this reason, a gas accommodation amount becomes large.

  Further, when the gas storage / adsorption material is accommodated, the temperature rise is suppressed, so that it is possible to avoid a decrease in gas storage capacity or gas adsorption capacity. That is, since the gas storage / adsorption material can store or absorb a sufficient amount of gas, the gas storage capacity can be increased without increasing the volume of the container.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a gas storage container having a large gas storage density per unit volume or unit weight is configured.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a gas storage container according to the present invention will be described and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall schematic cross-sectional view along the longitudinal direction of a gas storage container 10 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. In the present embodiment, the gas storage container 10 is configured such that the gas storage / adsorption material 14 is accommodated inside the container 12.

  In this case, the container 12 is a long body having a substantially circular cross section (see FIG. 2). Both end portions are curved by being gradually reduced in diameter (see FIG. 1). Hereinafter, this curved portion is referred to as an end plate portion, and the reference numerals thereof are 15 and 16, respectively. Further, a portion that linearly extends from the end plate portion 15 to the end plate portion 16 is referred to as a cylindrical portion, and its reference numeral is 17.

  The container 12 has an outer shell 18 and a liner 20 attached to the inner wall of the outer shell 18, and the outer shell 18 therein is made of, for example, a fiber reinforced resin. One liner 20 is made of a metal having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

  The liner 20 is provided with a flat plate-shaped heat radiation member 21 so as to protrude toward the center of the container 12. The heat radiating member 21 is joined to the liner 20 by a known method such as welding, adhesion, or bolting.

  The material of the heat dissipation member 21 is preferably the same as that of the liner 20. This is because the thermal expansion amounts of the liner 20 and the heat radiating member 21 are equal to each other, so that the occurrence of distortion due to thermal expansion is avoided.

  An opening 22 is formed at one end of the container 12, and the opening 22 is closed by a closing member 24. Then, one end of a gas supply pipe 28 is passed through the through hole 26 provided at the approximate center of the closing member 24. On the other hand, the other end of the gas supply pipe 28 is connected to a gas supply source (not shown).

  Further, a gas distribution pipe 30 having a hollow cylindrical shape is connected to the distal end portion of the gas supply pipe 28. As understood from FIG. 1, the gas distribution pipe 30 extends over substantially the entire area of the cylindrical portion 17 along the longitudinal direction of the container 12, and the diameter center thereof substantially coincides with the diameter center of the container 12. (See FIG. 2). That is, the gas distribution pipe 30 and the container 12 form concentric circles in the cross-sectional shape.

  A plurality of discharge ports 32 are formed through the side peripheral wall of the gas distribution pipe 30. Therefore, the gas that has reached the inside of the gas distribution pipe 30 through the gas supply pipe 28 is discharged from the discharge port 32 toward the side inner wall of the container 12 as indicated by arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2. The Note that the bottom of the gas distribution pipe 30 is closed, so that the gas is not discharged toward the bottom inner wall side of the container 12.

  The gas distribution pipe 30 having such a structure is, for example, closed by joining a metal plate such as stainless steel or aluminum alloy into a cylindrical shape and joining a closing plate to one end of the opening by a predetermined joining method such as welding, or It can be produced by filling a plug into one end of a hollow ceramic sintered body. The material of the gas distribution pipe 30 may be a resin material such as polytetrafluoroethylene.

  The gas storage / adsorption material 14 is accommodated in the container 12 so as to surround the gas distribution pipe 30 from the outside. In the present embodiment, the gas storage / adsorption material 14 is powder.

  The gas storage / adsorption material 14 may be any material as long as it is a material capable of storing or adsorbing gas. For example, a hydrogen storage alloy or an organometallic complex may be used.

  The gas storage / adsorption material 14 is not limited to a material capable of storing or adsorbing hydrogen, and may be a material capable of storing or adsorbing other gases such as carbon dioxide.

  The gas storage container 10 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above. Next, the function and effect will be described.

  The gas that has reached the inside of the gas distribution pipe 30 from the gas supply source through the gas supply pipe 28 is discharged from a discharge port 32 formed through the side peripheral wall of the gas distribution pipe 30. Since the side peripheral wall of the gas distribution pipe 30 faces the side inner wall of the cylindrical portion 17, the discharged gas is directed to the side inner wall side of the cylindrical portion 17 as indicated by arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the meantime, the gas is absorbed or adsorbed by the gas occlusion / adsorption material 14 surrounding the gas distribution pipe 30.

  As the gas is absorbed or absorbed, the gas storage / adsorption material 14 generates heat and the gas undergoes adiabatic compression, whereby the temperature in the container 12 rises. As described above, since the gas distribution pipe 30 extends over substantially the entire region of the cylindrical portion 17 in the longitudinal direction, the temperature rises substantially uniformly in the longitudinal direction.

  Heat is transported in this direction as the gas travels toward the side inner wall of the cylindrical portion 17. On the other hand, in the gas storage / adsorption material 14, the temperature rises from the gas distribution pipe 30 side toward the side inner wall side of the cylindrical portion 17, but the gas storage / adsorption material 14 located in the vicinity of the gas distribution pipe 30 Cooled by the low temperature gas discharged from the gas distribution pipe 30. Accordingly, in the gas storage / adsorption material 14, the temperature rise in the vicinity of the gas distribution pipe 30 is slight.

  On the other hand, in the gas storage / adsorption material 14, heat is generated in the vicinity of the inner side wall of the cylindrical portion 17 along with the storage or adsorption. However, this heat is quickly absorbed by the plurality of heat radiating members 21 in contact with the gas storage / adsorption material 14. The absorbed heat is quickly transmitted to the outer shell 18 because the heat dissipating member 21 and the liner 20 are metals exhibiting high thermal conductivity, and finally removed from the system.

  In this way, heat from the gas storage / adsorption material 14 is quickly transmitted to the outer shell 18 by transporting heat to the side inner wall side of the cylindrical portion 17 (container 12) and providing the heat dissipation member 21. Heat generated during gas filling can be easily removed. Thereby, since the temperature rise in the container 12 is suppressed, the gas occlusion / adsorption material 14 can sufficiently occlude or adsorb the gas, and the gas storage capacity can be increased.

  That is, the capacity of the gas can be increased without increasing the volume of the container 12 and increasing the amount of the gas storage / adsorption material 14 used, and without increasing the volume and weight of the gas storage container 10. Eventually, the gas storage container 10 has a large gas storage density per unit volume or unit weight.

  Moreover, since the heat dissipating member 21 is installed over substantially the entire region of the container 12 in the longitudinal direction, the absorption and removal proceed substantially evenly over the longitudinal direction of the container. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of temperature unevenness inside the container 12.

  In the embodiment described above, the gas storage / adsorption material 14 is accommodated in the container 12, but it is not particularly necessary to accommodate the gas storage / adsorption material 14.

  In this embodiment, the gas distribution pipe 30 is extended over substantially the entire area of the cylindrical portion 17, but the lengthwise dimension of the gas distribution pipe 30 may be further increased. That is, for example, the left end portion in FIG. 1 of the gas distribution pipe 30 may be extended to about the curve center of the end plate portion 15, or the right end portion may be extended to about the curve center of the end plate portion 16. Also good. Of course, both ends can be extended as such.

  Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the container 12 does not need to be a perfect circle, and may be an ellipse or a polygon. In any case, it is preferable that the center of the container 12 and the center of the gas distribution pipe 30 are substantially coincided with each other in a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.

  Furthermore, the gas distribution pipe 30 does not need to have a cylindrical shape, and may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, for example.

  Furthermore, it is not particularly necessary to provide the outer shell 18 of the container 12.

  A container made of an aluminum alloy having the shape shown in FIG. 1 and an inner diameter of 164 mm and an internal capacity of 8.2 liters was produced. Eight aluminum alloy heat dissipating members along the circumferential direction were joined to the inner side wall of the container at regular intervals.

  Furthermore, one end of a cylindrical hollow sintered body made of stainless steel was sealed to form a gas distribution pipe. This gas distribution pipe was connected to a gas supply pipe passed through the through-hole of the closing member, and the opening of the container was closed with the closing member, so that the container was accommodated inside the container.

  Carbon dioxide gas supplied from a carbon dioxide gas supply source and decompressed to a pressure of 1 MPa under the action of a pressure reducing valve is supplied into the gas storage container configured as described above, and the gas supply pipe and the gas distribution pipe. Filled through. A gas flow meter is interposed between the carbon dioxide gas supply source and the gas storage container to continuously measure the flow rate change, and the gas stored in the gas storage container by integrating the flow rate value. The capacity was determined. This is an example.

  For comparison, carbon dioxide gas was filled in accordance with the example except that carbon dioxide was introduced from the opening of the container having the same shape. This is a comparative example.

  In the above Examples and Comparative Examples, the amounts of carbon dioxide gas introduced 15 minutes after the start of supply were 497 liters and 442 liters (both converted values at 0 ° C. and 1 atm), respectively. From this result, it is clear that a larger amount of gas can be filled by providing a gas distribution pipe and a heat radiating member capable of discharging gas toward the side inner wall of the container.

It is the whole schematic sectional drawing in alignment with the longitudinal direction of the container for gas storage concerning this Embodiment. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Gas storage container 12 ... Container 14 ... Gas storage / adsorption material 21 ... Radiation member 28 ... Gas supply pipe 30 ... Gas distribution pipe 32 ... Outlet

Claims (4)

A gas storage container comprising a long container whose inner wall material is metal,
The gas distribution pipe is provided inside the container, extends along the longitudinal direction of the container, and is provided with a discharge port capable of discharging gas toward the side inner wall side of the container,
A gas storage container, wherein a heat radiating member extending along a longitudinal direction of the gas distribution pipe is provided on the side inner wall.   The gas storage container according to claim 1, wherein a gas storage / adsorption material is accommodated in the container.   3. The gas storage container according to claim 1, wherein a longitudinal dimension of the heat radiating member is smaller than a longitudinal dimension of the gas distribution pipe.   The gas storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gas distribution pipe extends at least over the entire cylindrical portion of the container.

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