Cetrifugal blower system and fuel cell incorporating same

摘要

A centrifugal blower system includes a series of blower units, each blower unit in the series comprising a casing having an axial inlet and a radial outlet, an impeller 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 for driving the impeller; and, a duct 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.

主权项

1. A centrifugal blower system comprising:
a) a series of blower units, each blower unit in the series of blower units comprising a casing having an axial inlet and a radial outlet, a substantially tangential wall of the casing extending to the outlet, an impeller disposed within the casing for drawing a gaseous medium at a first pressure into the axial inlet and expelling gaseous medium at a second higher pressure through the radial outlet along a trajectory inclined to the substantially tangential wall, and a motor for driving the impeller; b) a duct directly connecting the radial outlet of at least one upstream blower unit in the series of blower units with the axial inlet of at least one successive downstream blower unit in the series of blower units; and, c) at least one gaseous medium-directing structure selected from the group consisting of the duct having interior walls configured to be substantially parallel to the trajectory of the gaseous medium expelled from the radial outlet of a blower unit in the series of blower units to which the duct is connected, and a gas stream housing for receiving the gas stream from the radial outlet of a successive blower unit in the series of blower units, interior walls of the gas stream housing being configured to be substantially parallel to the trajectory of the gaseous medium expelled from the radial outlet.