The Newly Developed Components for the Fuel Cell Vehicle, Mirai 2015-01-1174
Toyota Boshoku developed two completely new components for the fuel cell vehicle (FCV), Mirai. These are the fuel cell (FC) Separator, and Stack manifold.
The separators are made from stamped metal plates. The anode and cathode separators sandwich the MEA(Membrane Electrode Assembly) between them. It has flow paths for the hydrogen, air and FC coolant. The Anode Separator has hydrogen flow paths on one side, and cooling liquid flow paths on the other side. The pitch used in the flow paths is very fine and it improves both the uniformity of the gas flow and of the surface pressure on the MEA. Therefore, it has contributes to improve the electric power generation performance.
The FC Stack manifold is a component that attaches to the end of one side of the FC stack. It is a component that integrates end plate and pipes. The end plate is a portion of the FC stack which holds the fastening load of stack and is made of cast aluminum casting alloy. Pipes are for supplying hydrogen, air, coolant are made from resin for electrical insulation.
The FC Stack manifold that Toyota Boshoku developed is a product which integrates these components through injection molding the resin into the end plate. By integrating the pipes, it was possible to significantly reduce the component dimensions.
