Patent Description:
Centrifugal blowers, or centrifugal fans, are a well known type of device for providing a flow or movement of a gaseous medium. A common type of centrifugal blower includes a housing having an axially directed gas inlet and a radially directed gas outlet, an impeller disposed within the housing for drawing gas at a first pressure into the inlet and expelling gas at a second higher pressure through the outlet and a motor for driving, i.e., spinning, the impeller. Variations of this general type of centrifugal blower are disclosed in, e.g., <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>, and, <CIT>.

Centrifugal blowers in single unit and multiple independent unit configurations have been disclosed as components of cooling systems for computers, servers and other heat-generating electrical and electronic devices and equipment. See, e.g., <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT>;<CIT>;<CIT>; <CIT>;<CIT>; <CIT>; and, <CIT>.

The European application <CIT> discloses a multistage vacuum fan for drying hair, wherein the suction blower has at least two radial fans (<NUM>,3a,3b) with flywheels and connected together through a flow channel (<NUM>). The radial fans are mounted off-set relative to each other on separate drive shafts (<NUM>, 4a, 4b) so that the flow deflection is less than <NUM> degrees in the flow channel between the outlet opening (6a) of the first and the intake opening (7a) of the second fan. The drive shafts can be mounted floating at their ends mounted in the radial fans but each individual drive shaft does not project over the end side of the flywheel facing the intake opening.

The USA application <CIT> discloses a centrifugal multistage rotary fluid handling machine having at least two successive stages for imparting energy to the fluid handled thereby. However this application is directed to handle fluid but not gaseous media.

The European application <CIT> discloses a sheet feeding device having an air loosening mechanism for blowing air to placed sheets so as to loosen the sheets, the sheet feeding device comprising: a sheet containing portion which contains the sheets; an air blowing portion which blows air to ends of the sheets contained in the sheet containing portion; and an air supply unit which supplies air to the air blowing portion,wherein the air supply unit has a plurality of centrifugal fans and is constituted so that the centrifugal fans are connected serially by a spiral flow passage.

The international application <CIT> discloses a highpressure fan comprising a blade wheel (<NUM>, <NUM>), a fan housing (<NUM>, <NUM>) surrounding the blade wheel and an electric motor (<NUM>) to operate the blade wheel. To eliminate the problems related to the mounting of the blade wheel, the blade wheel (<NUM>, <NUM>) at least mainly consists of light carbon fiber based composite material and is directly mounted on the shaft (<NUM>) of the electric motor.

The European application <CIT> relates to a double-ended variable speed blower (<NUM>) for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) ventilation of patients includes two impellers (<NUM>,<NUM>) in the gas flow path that cooperatively pressurize gas to desired pressure and flow characteristics. Thus, the double-ended blower (<NUM>) can provide faster pressure response and desired flow characteristics over a narrower range of motor speeds, resulting in greater reliability and less acoustic noise.

The German utility model <CIT> is directed to a fan containing two blowers for the ventilation of rooms.

The international application <CIT> concerns a radon extraction fan system (<NUM>) for use in low flow applications, comprising at least two fans, and means for powering each of the fans, the fans being connected in series such that in operation a differential pressure is developed across the system which is the sum of differential pressures developed across each of the fans.

The German application <CIT> refers to a combination of centrifugal blowers connected by ducts, which can be opened and closed by controller.

The British application <CIT> discloses a two-stage fan or compressor, comprising two impeller wheels mounted in opposition on a common shaft, each wheel having on the periphery thereof a diffuser which rotates with the wheel, an <NUM> intake casing associated with each wheel, the two casings being between the two wheels and each wheel being rotatable in an associated housing of volute form, opposite axial sides of each wheel each being <NUM> spaced from an adjacent radially directed wall of the associated housing of volute form, such spacing being between one and two times the width of the outlet of the associated diffuser, there being a connecting <NUM> passage between the discharge orifice of the housing of the first stage and the intake orifice of the casing of the second stage. When the fan or compressor works, air enters the first-stage impeller <NUM> via an inlet casing <NUM> and, after leaving the first-stage volute <NUM>, passes by way of a duct <NUM>, right-angle bends <NUM>, <NUM> and a <NUM> degree bend <NUM> to the inlet casing <NUM> of the second stage. The air is discharged from the second-stage volute <NUM> through an outlet <NUM>.

The German utility model <CIT> refers to a device for increasing pressure in gas purification equipment by assembling four blowers in line.

Centrifugal blowers of the general type referred to above have been disclosed as components of fuel cells, of both the polyelectrolyte membrane (PEM) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) types, where they function in one or more capacities, e.g., providing a flow of an oxidizer-containing gas such as air to the cathode elements of the fuel cell assembly and/or a flow of gaseous or vaporized fuel to its anode elements, recycling unspent fuel to the anode elements of the fuel cell assembly, providing a stream of cool air for cooling the fuel cell assembly or providing a stream of hot gas for vaporizing a liquid fuel prior to the external or internal reforming of the fuel to provide hydrogen for the operation of the fuel cell assembly. Fuel cell-blower assemblies featuring one or more centrifugal blowers are described in, e.g., <CIT>; <CIT>; <CIT> and <CIT>.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a fuel cell according to claim <NUM> and a method of controlling gaseous flow in such a fuel cell according to claim <NUM>.

The multiple centrifugal blower system herein offers several advantages over a single centrifugal blower, particularly when incorporated in a fuel cell for managing the flow of gaseous media therein.

Single centrifugal blowers require suitable control of the full range of motor rpm in order to meet fluctuating gas flow demands. Depending on the pressure and flow requirements for a particular blower application, optimum performance of the blower may be achieved by employing an impeller of relatively small size driven at relatively high rpm, e.g., <NUM>,<NUM> rpm and above, or an impeller of relatively large size driven at relatively low rpm, e.g., below <NUM>,<NUM> and more commonly, below <NUM>,<NUM>. The first arrangement, i.e., the use of a relatively small impeller driven at relatively high rpm, requires a more powerful and specialized motor which of necessity will draw a correspondingly greater amount of power for its operation. The second arrangement, i.e., use of a relatively large impeller driven at relatively low rpm, makes control and fine tuning of the blower output more difficult due to the greater inertia of a large impeller.

In order to prevent overshoot of the target pressure and gas flow, a blower employing a relatively high inertia impeller must be overdamped when tuning the blower for its expected range of gas pressure and flow capability. The effect of this overdamping to compensate for the relatively high inertia of the impeller is to cause the blower to be slow in responding to changing, and often rapidly changing, gas flow requirements. This characteristically slow response of a single centrifugal blower possessing a relatively high inertia impeller requires a more complicated control system for quickly responding to fluctuations in gas flow demand.

Utilizing the multiple blower system of this invention for meeting the gas flow requirements of a fuel cell enables the system to benefit from both low inertia impellers for control as well as low drive motor rpm and power draw to provide required gas flow and pressure. Controlling one or more blower units in the system to provide a major portion of the target gas pressure and gas flow, e.g., <NUM>-<NUM>% of the target gas pressure and gas flow, enables the remainder of the target gas pressure and gas flow to be provided by one or more other blower units in the system. The result of splitting the task of providing target gas flows and pressures between at least two integrated, i.e., interconnected, centrifugal blowers in accordance with the invention results in such flows and pressures being reached in less time and with greater accuracy than is possible with a single centrifugal blower unit. Additionally, the power draw and noise level are low in the blower system of the invention since the blower impellers do not require high rpm for their operation.

Thus, in its integrated, or interconnected, arrangement of multiple centrifugal blowers inherently possessing smaller inertial forces than a single centrifugal blower of comparable gas flow capability, the centrifugal blower system herein provides improved response times and control over a broad range of gas pressure and gas flow requirements than that of a single centrifugal blower unit.

These and other novel features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Referring to <FIG>, in one embodiment of the centrifugal blower system of the invention, dual centrifugal blower system <NUM> includes a first centrifugal blower unit <NUM> connected to a second centrifugal blower unit <NUM> through duct <NUM>. First blower unit <NUM> includes a casing <NUM> having an axial inlet <NUM> and a radial outlet <NUM>, an impeller <NUM> disposed within casing <NUM> for drawing a gaseous medium at a first pressure into axial inlet <NUM> and expelling gaseous medium at a second higher pressure through radial outlet <NUM> and an electric motor <NUM> for driving impeller <NUM>. Second blower unit <NUM> includes a casing <NUM> and, as shown by the cutaway section of duct <NUM> in <FIG>, an impeller <NUM> disposed within casing <NUM> and driven by electrical motor <NUM> and an axial inlet <NUM> for receiving gas medium discharged from outlet <NUM> of first blower unit <NUM>. Second blower unit further includes a radial outlet <NUM> and outlet gas stream housing <NUM>.

The arrows in <FIG> and in the other embodiments of the invention illustrated in other figures herein indicate the general direction of the gas stream through the radial outlet of each blower unit in the series of blowers constituting the blower system. As shown, e.g., in <FIG>, the trajectory of the gas stream expelled through outlet <NUM> of first blower unit <NUM> and the trajectory of the gas stream expelled through outlet <NUM> of second blower unit <NUM> are not parallel to their respective outlets but are at some angle thereto. By arranging the geometry of duct <NUM> to receive the gas stream discharged through outlet <NUM> in such a manner that the stream remains approximately parallel to the interior walls of the duct, it is possible to prevent or reduce the turbulence that would otherwise occur were the stream to impinge upon these walls. Turbulence is advantageously minimized or avoided so as to reduce or eliminate it as a source of back pressure in the blower system. For this same reason, it is advantageous to arrange the angle of gas stream housing <NUM> so that its interior walls will be approximately parallel to the trajectory of the gas stream discharged through outlet <NUM> of second blower unit <NUM>. The optimum geometry of the interior walls of duct <NUM> relative to the trajectory of its gas stream and the angle of offset of gas stream housing <NUM> can be readily determined for a given gas blower system employing routine experimentation. In the gas blower system shown in <FIG>, interior, or guiding, surfaces of duct <NUM> and interior, or guiding, surfaces of gas stream housing <NUM> can be pitched at an angle α of from <NUM>° to <NUM>°, and preferably from <NUM>° to <NUM>°, relative to outlets <NUM> and <NUM>.

The embodiments of the dual blower systems of <FIG>, <FIG>, are similar in structure to the dual blower system illustrated in <FIG> except for the orientation of the outlet of second blower unit <NUM> relative to the outlet of first blower unit <NUM>. In the blower system of <FIG>, the angle of orientation is about <NUM>°. In the blower system of <FIG>, this angle is about <NUM>°, in the blower system of <FIG> the angle is about <NUM>° and in the blower system of <FIG> the angle is about <NUM>°. All orientation angles are, of course, contemplated with the optimum angle of orientation for a given centrifugal blower system being made to depend upon the specific use to which the blower system is to be put.

Another angle of significance in the centrifugal blower system of the invention is the angle of pitch of the outlet of the first blower relative to the inlet of the second blower. In the embodiments of blower systems illustrated in <FIG>, the approximate angle is <NUM>° in <FIG>, <NUM>° in <FIG>, <NUM>° in <FIG> and <NUM>° in <FIG>. As in the case of the blower unit orientation angles referred to above, these blower pitch angles can assume values throughout the entire range of <NUM>°-<NUM>°, again, with the optimum pitch value of a given blower system depending on specific application requirements.

Thus far, dual centrifugal blower systems have been disclosed with the output of the first blower being introduced into the inlet of the second blower and with each of the blowers having about the same range of gas pressure and gas flow output capability. The basic configuration of dual blower systems can be represented as "<NUM> into <NUM>" meaning that gas discharged from the first blower is introduced into the inlet of the second blower. However, as those skilled in the art will readily recognize, numerous other arrangements are within the scope of this invention.

Other embodiments of the centrifugal blower system herein include those with three, four and even a greater number of blower units, those in which the discharge from two or more blowers is introduced into the inlet of a single blower and those in which the discharge of a single blower is introduced into the inlets of two or more blowers. Blower systems of the foregoing kind can be designated, e.g., "<NUM> into <NUM> into <NUM>", etc., where the gas discharge stream of a preceding blower unit is ducted into the inlet of the following blower unit in the series, "<NUM> and <NUM> into <NUM>", etc., where the discharged streams of first and second blower units are commonly ducted into the inlet of a third blower unit and "<NUM> into <NUM> and <NUM>" where the discharge stream of a first blower unit is ducted into second and third blower units. In blower systems in which a gas stream of one blower is combined with the gas stream of another blower or a single blower stream is divided into two separate streams, valving may be provided to regulate the various gas flows in these systems.

In the centrifugal blower system <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, the gas discharged from each of blower units <NUM> and <NUM> is introduced via duct <NUM> into the inlet of blower unit <NUM>. Centrifugal blower system <NUM> is therefore an example of the "<NUM> and <NUM> into <NUM>" configuration referred to above. This configuration enables control to be achieved whereby the gas flow capability of a single relatively large blower is obtained with the quick response characteristics of several smaller blowers.

<FIG> show centrifugal blower system <NUM> with the output of single blower unit <NUM> being introduced into blower units <NUM> and <NUM> via common duct <NUM>, an example of a "<NUM> into <NUM> and <NUM>" arrangement of blower units. This configuration of blower units enables use of a single primary gas pressure and gas flow supply blower with individual blowers downstream to provide more accurate control of two separate gas discharge streams.

In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the discharge stream from first blower unit <NUM> of triple blower system <NUM> is introduced via duct <NUM> into second blower unit <NUM> with the discharge stream of blower unit <NUM> being introduced via duct <NUM> into third blower <NUM>, such illustrating the "<NUM> into <NUM> into <NUM>" configuration referred to above. This successive arrangement of three blowers permits blowers <NUM> and <NUM> to quickly and accurately respond to target gas pressure and gas flow requirements the greater part of which are provided by blower unit <NUM>.

Further included within the scope of this invention are those centrifugal blower systems in which one or more blower units differ from one or more others in the system in their range of gas pressure and gas flow output capability. Such an embodiment of gas blower system is illustrated in <FIG>. Dual centrifugal gas blower system <NUM> possesses a first blower unit <NUM> of relatively large gas pressure and gas flow capability with the gas stream expelled therefrom being introduced via duct <NUM> into smaller blower unit <NUM>. This arrangement of blowers of differing size enables fine adjustment of higher gas flow rates. Where gas flow requirements exceed that which can be achieved with a blower system in which the blower units are of approximately the same capability, the larger capacity blower unit can be supplemented by the lower capacity unit. This permits a greater range of gas flow while still realizing the quicker and more accurate flow control characteristics of the centrifugal blower system of this invention.

In all of the centrifugal blower systems of the invention, the individual blower units, their interconnecting duct(s) aside, need not be in direct contact with each other but can be separated by a distance. Placing one or more blowers in the blower system of the invention at a separate location can be of advantage when optimal packaging considerations for a particular application favor such an arrangement. An embodiment of a blower of this type is shown in <FIG> where, in dual centrifugal blower system <NUM>, first blower <NUM> is separated from second blower <NUM> by nearly the length of tubular duct <NUM>.

The dimensions, voltage, power draw, impeller speed, air flow, noise level as well as other characteristics of a particular blower unit utilized in the centrifugal blower system of the invention can vary widely depending on gas pressure and gas flow requirements and end-use application. The following table lists some typical characteristics for a range of useful blower units:.

It will, of course, be recognized that the invention is not limited to blower units possessing the forgoing characteristics but can utilize any centrifugal blower unit having lesser or greater dimensions, voltage and power requirements, impeller rpm, gas pressure and gas flow capabilities, etc., than those listed in the table.

10A and <FIG> illustrate, respectively, a blower control system of a centrifugal blower system of the invention and a diagrammatic representation of its control logic. As those skilled in the art will recognize, these blower control operations can be carried out by a suitably programmed microprocessor.

<FIG> compares the typical flow rate performance of independently controlled first and second blowers in a dual centrifugal blower system such as that shown in <FIG> with a conventional larger single centrifugal blower of approximately equivalent gas flow capability. As the data plots show, the overdamping of the single blower which is required to avoid or suppress overshooting target gas flows resulted in a longer period of time to reach both low target flow and high target flow in contrast to the considerably faster times for achieving these target flow levels employing the multiple interconnected centrifugal blower system of the invention.

<FIG> are graphical presentations of, respectively, gas flow rate and gas pressure performance characteristics for dual blower system configurations of the invention in which the pitch angles of the blower units are <NUM>°, <NUM>° and <NUM>° (as shown in <FIG>).

The centrifugal blower system of this invention can manage gas flow requirements for a variety of applications. <FIG>, <FIG> illustrate the use of the blower system of the invention to provide and mediate gas flows in an SOFC assembly of the tubular type (<FIG>) and planar type (<FIG>).

In tubular SOFC assembly, or stack, <NUM> of <FIG>, first blower system <NUM> provides a gaseous fuel, e.g., hydrogen, to manifold <NUM> for distribution to the interior array <NUM> of tubular SOFC elements. Each tube in array <NUM> can be of known or conventional construction and, as shown in <FIG>, possesses an innermost fuel-contacting anode layer, intermediate electrolyte layer and outer cathode layer. Second blower system <NUM> distributes air, initially at ambient temperature, to manifold <NUM> from which it is released to provide a source of oxygen for the cathode component of each tubular SOFC element. The air entering manifold <NUM> grains heat from the hot combustion gases exiting tail burner <NUM> into heat exchanger <NUM>. The dotted lines show the flow path of the heated air existing the outlets of manifold <NUM>, passing through the SOFC array <NUM> and into tail burner <NUM> where it provides oxygen to support combustion of unspent fuel present in the exhaust gas emerging from the tubular SOFC elements into exhaust manifold <NUM> and from there into the tail burner. Finally, the hot combustion gases enter heat exchanger <NUM> where they serve to preheat incoming air provided by first blower system <NUM> as previously indicated.

The construction and operation of the planar SOFC assembly shown in <FIG> is much the same as that described above for the tubular SOFC assembly of <FIG> the principal difference being the use of planar SOFC elements. As shown in <FIG>, each planar SOFC element in array <NUM> includes anode, electrolyte, cathode and interconnect components.

Claim 1:
. A fuel cell comprising:
(a) a fuel cell assembly comprising at least one fuel cell unit, the fuel cell unit having an intermediate electrolyte layer, an outer cathode layer and an innermost fuel-contacting anode layer;
characterized in that
(b) a first centrifugal blower system provides a flow of gaseous oxidizer to the cathode layer of the fuel cell unit and a second centrifugal blower system provides a flow of gaseous fuel to the anode layer of the fuel cell unit, each centrifugal blower system comprising:
(i) a series of blower units (<NUM>,<NUM>), each blower unit in the series comprising a casing (<NUM>,<NUM>) having an axial inlet (<NUM>,<NUM>) and a radial outlet (<NUM>, <NUM>), an impeller (<NUM>,<NUM>) disposed within the casing for drawing a gaseous medium at a first pressure into the inlet and expelling gaseous medium at a second higher pressure through the outlet and a motor (<NUM>,<NUM>) for driving the impeller; and,
(ii) a duct (<NUM>) connecting the outlet of at least one blower unit in the series with the inlet of at least one other blower unit in the series,
(c1) the interior walls of the duct (<NUM>) configured to be substantially parallel to the trajectory of the gaseous medium expelled from the outlet of a blower unit to which the duct (<NUM>) is connected, and
(c2) a gas stream housing (<NUM>) for receiving the gas stream from the outlet of a successive blower unit in the series, the walls of the gas stream housing being configured to be substantially parallel to the trajectory of the gaseous medium expelled from the outlet.