Elaborate on new energy vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell rubber gaskets
Before talking about new energy vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell rubber gaskets, let's first think about the problems existing in various types of vehicles. Automobiles have been accompanied by the Industrial Revolution for more than 100 years. Various issues such as comfort, safety, and speed have been continuously improved. However, the energy problem has not been completely solved. What are the problems? The non-renewable and pollution of gasoline/diesel used in traditional fuel vehicles, and the short battery life and long charging time of pure electric vehicles. The fuel-electric hybrid type mainly uses fuel, but the energy consumption is slightly lower. With the global warming Intensified, more and more auto manufacturers are aware of the unsustainability of traditional fuel vehicles, and it is urgent to find new energy sources as power sources. It can be said that which manufacturer solves the energy problem will have an absolute advantage in the future competition.
In this context, the fuel cell has come into everyone’s field of vision. Unlike ordinary batteries, it is a generator, which is a device that converts the chemical energy of fuel (such as methanol/natural gas, etc.) into electrical energy. Instead of storing electricity before releasing it for use, hydrogen is used as a fuel cell, and the energy conversion rate is 60%-80%, which is 2-3 times that of traditional internal combustion engines, and there are abundant sources of hydrogen production, such as electrolysis of water, methanol, and ethanol. Natural gas, etc. can be used. It was actually used in the aerospace field very early. However, because of the immature technology of hydrogen production, storage and transportation, and application at that time, it was not widely used, especially for hydrogen fuel cell rubber gaskets. There was no particularly good solution at the time,
After decades of development, hydrogen fuel cells have made considerable progress. Toyota in particular has applied for more than 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell patents and released the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Mirai. With 5 kg of hydrogen, it can travel 500 kilometers.
Next, let’s talk about what requirements should be met by the hydrogen fuel cell rubber gasket, one of the core components in hydrogen fuel vehicles:
1. Insulation. The fuel cell stack is composed of multiple single cells. If a short circuit is caused, the consequences will be unimaginable.
2. The gas barrier property must ensure the airtightness of oxygen and hydrogen, and cannot leak.
3. The material must be able to absorb shock and vibration, because it works in a car, and bumps in driving are inevitable
4. It must have acid resistance and high temperature resistance, which is the most basic