Heat exchanger for heating hydrogen
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsRonald Miller, Prafulla Bodke, Anna S. Bansode, Chandan AS
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heat exchanger may include a coolant cavity having a coolant flow path configured for fluidly communicating coolant and a hydrogen cavity having a hydrogen flow path configured for fluidly communicating hydrogen. The hydrogen cavity may include a plurality of fins dispersed in-line throughout. The heat exchanger may further include a housing configured for thermally coupling the coolant cavity with the hydrogen cavity, optionally with the thermal coupling providing conductive heat transfer between the coolant and the hydrogen based at least in part on a portion of the heat transfer occurring through the fins.
Claims20
A heat exchanger for a fuel cell system of an electric vehicle, comprising:
- a coolant cavity having a coolant flow path configured for fluidly communicating coolant between at least one coolant inlet and at least one coolant outlet;
- a hydrogen cavity having a hydrogen flow path configured for fluidly communicating hydrogen between at least one hydrogen inlet and at least one hydrogen outlet, the hydrogen cavity including a plurality of fins dispersed in-line throughout a serpentine section of the hydrogen flow path;
- and
- a housing configured for thermally coupling the coolant cavity with the hydrogen cavity, the thermal coupling providing conductive heat transfer between the coolant and the hydrogen with at least a portion of the heat transfer occurring through the fins.
A heat exchanger for a fuel cell system of an electric vehicle, comprising:
- a coolant cavity having a coolant flow path configured for fluidly communicating coolant;
- a hydrogen cavity having a hydrogen flow path configured for fluidly communicating hydrogen, the hydrogen cavity including a plurality of fins dispersed in-line throughout;
- and
- a housing configured for thermally coupling the coolant cavity with the hydrogen cavity, the thermal coupling providing conductive heat transfer between the coolant and the hydrogen with at least a portion of the heat transfer occurring through the fins.
A heat exchanger for a fuel cell system of an electric vehicle, comprising:
- a coolant cavity having a coolant flow path configured for fluidly circulating coolant at a first temperature;
- a hydrogen cavity having a hydrogen flow path configured for fluidly circulating hydrogen at a second temperature less than the first temperature, the hydrogen cavity including a plurality of arcuate shaped fins dispersed in-line throughout a serpentine section, the serpentine section configured for directing the hydrogen in a back-and-forth manner from a side-to-side widthwise through a plurality of channels layered vertically from top-to-bottom heightwise across the hydrogen cavity;
- and
- a housing for the coolant cavity and the hydrogen cavity, the housing including a dividing wall configured for fluidly isolating and thermally coupling the coolant cavity back-to-back with the hydrogen cavity, the fins being integrated with dividing wall to facilitate conductive heat transfer between the coolant and the hydrogen.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.