CN116470099A - Method and apparatus for controlling drainage of fuel cell system - Google Patents
Method and apparatus for controlling drainage of fuel cell system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CN116470099A CN116470099A CN202310478966.5A CN202310478966A CN116470099A CN 116470099 A CN116470099 A CN 116470099A CN 202310478966 A CN202310478966 A CN 202310478966A CN 116470099 A CN116470099 A CN 116470099A
- Authority
- CN
- China
- Prior art keywords
- fuel cell
- anode
- parameter
- gas
- water
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Pending
Links
- 239000000446 fuel Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 154
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 40
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 164
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 117
- UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrogen Chemical compound [H][H] UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 94
- 229910052739 hydrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 92
- 239000001257 hydrogen Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 92
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 67
- 230000007613 environmental effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 12
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 238000011217 control strategy Methods 0.000 claims description 59
- 238000012937 correction Methods 0.000 claims description 36
- 238000009825 accumulation Methods 0.000 claims description 21
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 claims description 11
- 238000003487 electrochemical reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 9
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000013507 mapping Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000004590 computer program Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 abstract description 2
- 230000001276 controlling effect Effects 0.000 description 19
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000013178 mathematical model Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000002699 waste material Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000005494 condensation Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000009833 condensation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000000110 cooling liquid Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000012528 membrane Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000012466 permeate Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000000047 product Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000000243 solution Substances 0.000 description 2
- OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon Chemical compound [C] OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 206010063385 Intellectualisation Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 230000004075 alteration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000033228 biological regulation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004364 calculation method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000003054 catalyst Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005260 corrosion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007797 corrosion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008030 elimination Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000003379 elimination reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005265 energy consumption Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000011156 evaluation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004927 fusion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000005431 greenhouse gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000017525 heat dissipation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 150000002431 hydrogen Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000010801 machine learning Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010248 power generation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000006467 substitution reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001960 triggered effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003936 working memory Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04082—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration
- H01M8/04089—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants
- H01M8/04119—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants with simultaneous supply or evacuation of electrolyte; Humidifying or dehumidifying
- H01M8/04156—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants with simultaneous supply or evacuation of electrolyte; Humidifying or dehumidifying with product water removal
- H01M8/04164—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants with simultaneous supply or evacuation of electrolyte; Humidifying or dehumidifying with product water removal by condensers, gas-liquid separators or filters
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0432—Temperature; Ambient temperature
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0432—Temperature; Ambient temperature
- H01M8/04365—Temperature; Ambient temperature of other components of a fuel cell or fuel cell stacks
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0444—Concentration; Density
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
- Y02E60/50—Fuel cells
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Sustainable Development (AREA)
- Sustainable Energy (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Electrochemistry (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Fuel Cell (AREA)
Abstract
The present invention relates to the field of fuel cell systems. The present invention relates to a method for controlling drainage of a fuel cell system, the fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell stack; an anode loop for receiving anode exhaust from an anode outlet of the fuel cell stack and providing the treated anode exhaust together with an anode supply from a hydrogen source to an anode inlet; the gas-liquid separator is used for carrying out gas-liquid separation on the anode exhaust gas of the electric pile and collecting separated water; a drain valve for draining water collected in the gas-liquid separator in an opened state; the method comprises the following steps: acquiring a first parameter related to an environmental condition in which liquid water is produced in the anode loop and/or a second parameter related to an effect of removing liquid water in the anode loop; and controlling the working state of the drain valve based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter. The invention also relates to an apparatus for controlling the drainage of a fuel cell system, a fuel cell system and a machine readable storage medium.
Description
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for controlling the drainage of a fuel cell system, and also relates to an apparatus for controlling the drainage of a fuel cell system, a fuel cell system and a machine readable storage medium.
Background
Fuel cells are widely used in the field of electric vehicles as a clean energy source capable of reducing emission of greenhouse gases. However, in the practical use process, water is generated by the electrochemical reaction inside the pile, part of the generated water permeates from the cathode to the anode and enters the pile anode again through circulation after being discharged, so that a phenomenon of flooding is caused (i.e. the accumulated liquid water can prevent the anode hydrogen from being supplied to the membrane electrode), the pile performance is represented as a voltage reversal (negative voltage), and carbon corrosion generated during the reversal can bring about catalyst falling and even physical failure of membrane perforation.
In order to avoid the above situation, at present, a gas-liquid separator and a drain valve are usually arranged at the outlet end of the anode of the electric pile, and accumulated water can be periodically drained by periodically opening the drain valve according to the working power or output current of the system. However, the existing solution only considers the power or current factor, in practical application, the vehicle-mounted operation conditions are variable, the condensation and accumulation conditions of the water vapor in the anode loop are greatly different under different conditions, and if the opening timing of the drain valve is controlled only according to the system operation parameters, the liquid water may be discharged untimely or too frequently, so that the stability of the fuel cell is damaged or the hydrogen is wasted.
Under such circumstances, it is desirable to provide an improved fuel cell drain control scheme that enables the operating state of the fuel cell drain valve to be dynamically adapted to constantly fluctuating operating conditions, and that can be quickly adjusted to an optimum state under any operating conditions, to improve the operational stability of the fuel cell system.
Disclosure of Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling drainage of a fuel cell system, an apparatus for controlling drainage of a fuel cell system, a fuel cell system and a machine readable storage medium to solve at least some of the problems of the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling drainage of a fuel cell system, the fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell stack; an anode loop for receiving anode exhaust gas from an anode outlet of the fuel cell stack and providing the treated anode exhaust gas together with an anode supply gas from a hydrogen source to an anode inlet of the fuel cell stack; a gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separating anode off-gas of the fuel cell stack and collecting the separated water; a drain valve for draining water collected in the gas-liquid separator in an opened state;
Wherein the method comprises the steps of:
acquiring a first parameter related to an environmental condition for producing liquid water in an anode loop of the fuel cell system and/or acquiring a second parameter related to an effect of removing the liquid water in the anode loop of the fuel cell system; and
and controlling the working state of the drain valve based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter.
The invention comprises the following technical conception: on one hand, the invention considers the environmental factors which have important influence on the liquid water in the anode loop, and on the other hand, the invention also considers the evaluation index which reflects whether the current drainage control strategy is matched with the actual condition of the liquid water, thereby realizing the intellectualization and the robustness of the drainage valve control. Through the more accurate control to drain valve operating condition, avoid liquid water to discharge not timely entering the water logging problem that the positive pole entry brought through circulation loop, also prevent hydrogen too much and escape along with the liquid water that separates moreover to lead to the fact hydrogen waste and fuel cell utilization ratio to decline.
Optionally, the first parameter includes: a temperature difference between an anode outlet and an anode inlet of the fuel cell stack, a temperature gradient in an anode loop of the fuel cell system, and/or an ambient temperature of the fuel cell stack.
It is presently recognized that under certain operating powers of fuel cell systems, when there is a large temperature differential upstream and downstream of the anode circuit, the water vapor containing anode exhaust gas mixes with the lower temperature anode supply gas and condenses to produce a significant amount of liquid water. Further, by knowing the temperature gradient along a certain direction and the ambient temperature outside the fuel cell, the amount of liquid water produced can be estimated more accurately. By considering the temperature characteristic parameters, the drainage control can be automatically regulated according to the actual operation condition of the fuel cell, and the drainage accuracy is improved.
Optionally, the fuel cell system further includes a hydrogen circulation pump disposed in the anode loop, the hydrogen circulation pump for pumping the gas-liquid separated anode exhaust gas to mix with the anode supply gas, the second parameter includes: the hydrogen concentration in the line of the fuel cell system downstream of the drain valve and/or the driving parameters of the hydrogen circulation pump.
By knowing the tail-gas concentration and the load of the hydrogen circulation pump, it can be more reliably determined whether the currently applied drainage scheme can fully meet the actual drainage requirements.
Optionally, the hydrogen concentration is measured during a period of time associated with the opening action of the drain valve, and/or only the hydrogen concentration measured during a period of time associated with the opening action of the drain valve is determined as the second parameter.
By limiting the acquisition time interval of the second parameter, whether the working state of the drain valve is in a proper range can be more intuitively seen through analyzing the second parameter, and the working state of the drain valve is adaptively adjusted, so that the working state of the drain valve can be dynamically changed along with the environmental condition which changes in real time.
Optionally, controlling the operating state of the drain valve based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter comprises:
and calculating the accumulated water amount in the gas-liquid separator based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter, and controlling the drain valve to be opened when the accumulated water amount is larger than a preset water amount threshold value.
Therefore, through the real-time monitoring of the accumulated water quantity, the opening time of the drain valve can be controlled more flexibly, so that the opening frequency of the drain valve is dynamically changed along with the change of the working environment.
Optionally, a control strategy for the water discharge valve is determined on the basis of the first parameter and/or the second parameter, and the operating state of the water discharge valve is controlled in accordance with the determined control strategy, wherein the different control strategies differ at least in terms of the opening frequency, the opening duration and/or the valve opening.
Therefore, the control strategy of the real-time system working condition and the control strategy of the water draining valve can be correspondingly set, and the control difficulty is reduced on the basis of intelligent water draining.
Optionally, a feed-forward control is performed on an operation state of the drain valve based on the first parameter, wherein:
establishing and storing mapping relations between different values of the first parameter and the water accumulation amount in the gas-liquid separator and/or the control strategy of the water discharge valve by means of a pre-calibration process; and
and calculating the water accumulation amount in the gas-liquid separator and/or the control strategy of the drain valve corresponding to the measured value of the first parameter according to the pre-calibrated mapping relation, and controlling the working state of the drain valve based on the calculated water accumulation amount and/or the control strategy.
Therefore, reasonable drainage operation can be triggered at an earlier time based on the open loop model, so that flooding caused by untimely drainage is avoided.
Optionally, feedback control is performed on an operation state of the drain valve based on the second parameter, wherein:
acquiring the current water accumulation amount in the gas-liquid separator and/or the current adopted control strategy of the drain valve;
calculating the deviation between the measured value of the second parameter and the preset value of the second parameter; and
and calculating a correction factor from the deviation, and correcting the current water accumulation amount in the gas-liquid separator and/or the current adopted control strategy of the drain valve by means of the correction factor.
From the liquid water removal effect, whether the current drainage strategy is applicable or not can be reversely explored, and the deviation which is not accurately controlled in other undetectable environmental disturbance and feedforward links can be quickly corrected by means of closed-loop control, so that intelligent dynamic adjustment is realized.
Optionally, a threshold range of the deviation is preset, in which case the second parameter relates to the hydrogen concentration in the line of the fuel cell system downstream of the drain valve:
in response to the measured value of the second parameter being greater than a preset value and the deviation exceeding the threshold range, reducing the current amount of accumulated water in the gas-liquid separator by a predetermined correction amount, and/or reducing the opening frequency, the opening duration, and/or the valve opening of the drain valve set in the currently employed control strategy by a predetermined correction amount;
in response to the measured value of the second parameter being less than a preset value and the deviation exceeding the threshold range, increasing the current amount of accumulated water in the gas-liquid separator by a predetermined correction amount, and/or increasing the opening frequency, the opening duration and/or the valve opening of the drain valve set in the currently employed control strategy by a predetermined correction amount;
wherein the magnitude of the predetermined correction amount is determined by the degree to which the second parameter deviates from the preset value.
Therefore, when the drainage scheme of the system deviates from the actual water accumulation condition, the working state of the drainage valve can be quickly adapted to the fluctuating working environment through reasonable correction direction and correction degree, the working state of the drainage valve is always ensured to be in the optimal state, and the influence of the too high liquid water content or too frequent drainage on the pile performance is effectively avoided.
Optionally, the method further comprises the steps of:
acquiring a base parameter related to electrochemical reaction conditions for producing liquid water in an anode loop of a fuel cell system; and
and determining a basic control strategy of the basic water volume and/or the working state of the drain valve in the gas-liquid separator based on the basic parameters, and adjusting the basic water volume and/or the basic control strategy by means of the first parameter and/or the second parameter.
Because the electrochemical reaction plays a decisive role in the output of liquid water, in order to more quickly establish an open-loop control frame, the drainage regulation and control of the electrochemical reaction can be taken as a basis, and then the basis frame is finely adjusted by utilizing the real-time working condition reflected by the first parameter and/or the second parameter, so that the working state of the drainage valve is more quickly approaching to the expected state, and the drainage control difficulty is simplified.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for controlling the drainage of a fuel cell system, the apparatus being for performing a method according to the first aspect of the present invention, the apparatus comprising:
an acquisition module configured to be able to acquire a first parameter related to an environmental condition in which liquid water is generated in an anode loop of the fuel cell system, and/or to acquire a second parameter related to an effect of removing the liquid water in the anode loop of the fuel cell system; and
And a control module configured to control an operating state of the drain valve based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fuel cell system comprising:
a fuel cell stack;
an anode loop for receiving anode exhaust gas from an anode outlet of the fuel cell stack and providing the treated anode exhaust gas together with an anode supply gas from a hydrogen source to an anode inlet of the fuel cell stack;
a gas-liquid separator for gas-liquid separating anode off-gas of the fuel cell stack and collecting the separated water;
a drain valve for draining water collected in the gas-liquid separator in an opened state; and
the apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention.
Optionally, the fuel cell system further comprises:
a first temperature sensor disposed in the anode loop and configured to detect a first temperature at an anode inlet of the fuel cell stack;
a second temperature sensor disposed in the anode loop and configured to detect a second temperature at an anode outlet of the fuel cell stack;
wherein the acquisition module of the device is configured to acquire the first parameter based on a difference between the second temperature and the first temperature.
Optionally, the fuel cell system further comprises:
an exhaust gas line connected to the gas-liquid separator via a drain valve and for guiding water collected in the gas-liquid separator to an external environment;
a hydrogen concentration sensor for detecting a hydrogen concentration in a section of the exhaust gas line downstream of the drain valve;
wherein the acquisition module of the apparatus is configured to acquire the second parameter based on a hydrogen concentration in a section of the exhaust gas conduit downstream of the drain valve.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a machine readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for performing the method according to the first aspect of the present invention when run on a computer.
Drawings
The principles, features and advantages of the present invention may be better understood by describing the present invention in more detail with reference to the drawings. The drawings include:
fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a fuel cell system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 2 is a control block diagram showing a drain control process of the fuel cell system shown in fig. 1;
fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for controlling drainage of a fuel cell system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a graph showing the operating power of the fuel cell system, the temperature difference between the anode outlet and the anode inlet of the fuel cell stack, and the change in the operating state of the drain valve with time according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
fig. 5 shows graphs of driving current of a hydrogen circulation pump, tail gas concentration, and a drain valve operating state of a fuel cell system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as a function of time.
Detailed Description
In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and advantageous technical effects to be solved by the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and a plurality of exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a fuel cell system 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
The fuel cell system 1 includes a fuel cell stack 20, and an anode gas line 21 and a cathode gas line 22 extending inside the fuel cell stack 20 are schematically shown in fig. 1. An anode gas line 21 extends within the fuel cell stack 20 from an anode inlet 23 to an anode outlet 24. The anode outlet 24 is connected to the gas-liquid separator 45 via an anode discharge line 62. The upper outlet of the gas-liquid separator 45 is connected to an anode supply line 61 via a circulation line 63, and the anode supply line 61 is connected to the anode inlet 23 of the fuel cell stack 20. The lower outlet of the gas-liquid separator 45 is connected to the cathode discharge line 52 via a drain line 64. In addition, a hydrogen circulation pump 44 for returning the treated anode off-gas to the anode supply line 61 is provided in the circulation line 63. An electromagnetic drain valve 46 is provided in the drain line 64. In this embodiment, the anode supply line 61, the anode exhaust line 62 and the circulation line 63 are also collectively referred to as an anode loop, which is used in general to receive anode exhaust gas from the anode outlet 24 of the fuel cell stack 20 and to supply the treated anode exhaust gas together with anode supply gas from the hydrogen source 41 to the anode inlet 23 of the fuel cell stack 20. In addition, the drain line 64 and the cathode discharge line 52 are also collectively referred to as an exhaust line for guiding water collected in the gas-liquid separator 45 to the external environment as a whole.
The anode supply line 61 is connected to the hydrogen source 41. In the anode supply line 61, a hydrogen injection valve 42 and an ejector pump 43 are provided in this order from the upstream to the downstream, and the hydrogen injection valve 42 is used to supply hydrogen gas to the ejector pump 43. Thereby, the ejector pump 43 mixes the treated anode off-gas fed from the circulation line 63 with the anode supply gas from the hydrogen source 41 to form a mixed gas, and guides the mixed gas to the downstream side of the anode supply line 61 (i.e., to the anode inlet 23 of the fuel cell stack 20).
In the anode discharge pipe 62, anode off-gas containing hydrogen gas, water vapor, liquid water, and the like, which are not consumed by the anode, flows into the gas-liquid separator 45 via the anode discharge pipe 62, and the gas-liquid separator 45 performs gas-liquid separation of the anode off-gas. Then, the separated liquid water is collected in the gas-liquid separator 45, and is discharged to the cathode discharge line 52 via the drain line 64 during the opening of the drain valve 46, and then released to the external environment. In addition, the gas component is separated from the anode off-gas by the gas-liquid separator 45, and the gas component is returned to the anode supply line 61 through the circulation line 64 by the hydrogen circulation pump 44.
On the cathode side of the fuel cell stack 20, an air line 22 extends inside the fuel cell stack 20 from a cathode inlet 25 to a cathode outlet 26. The cathode inlet 25 is connected to a cathode supply line 51, the cathode outlet 26 is connected to a cathode discharge line 52, and the cathode supply line 51 is connected to the cathode discharge line 52 through a bypass line 53. In the cathode supply line 51, an air pump 31, a humidifier 32, and a shut-off valve 33 are provided in this order from upstream to downstream. A shut-off valve 35 is provided in the cathode discharge line 52. In addition, a bypass valve 34 is provided in the bypass passage 53. When the shut-off valves 33, 35 are opened, air is pumped from the atmosphere to the cathode supply pipe 61 by driving the air pump 31, and the pumped air is supplied to the humidifier 32. The humidifier 32 is used to humidify the air in the cathode supply line 51 prior to providing air to the cathodes of the fuel cell stack 20. On the other hand, the cathode off-gas discharged through the cathode outlet 26 of the fuel cell stack 20 is released from the cathode discharge pipe 52 to the atmosphere.
During actual use of the fuel cell system 1, it was found that water produced by the electrochemical reaction is produced inside the fuel cell stack 20 and is discharged as water vapor and liquid water with unconsumed anode gas to the outside of the fuel cell stack 20 and then enters the anode circuit. When liquid water condensed from water vapor in the anode circuit is not properly discharged by means of the drain valve 46, flooding of the fuel cell stack 20 or waste of hydrogen gas may be caused. This may not only deteriorate the power generation performance of the fuel cell stack 20, but may also cause a safety hazard.
To this end, the fuel cell system 1 shown in fig. 1 further comprises a device 10 for controlling the drainage of the fuel cell system 1, the device 10 comprising an acquisition module 11 and a control module 12. The acquisition module 11 is used for acquiring a first parameter related to an environmental condition in which liquid water is generated in the anode loop of the fuel cell system 1 and/or a second parameter related to an effect of removing liquid water in the anode loop of the fuel cell system 1. In order to obtain the first parameter and/or the second parameter, the acquisition module 11 is, for example, communicatively connected to a plurality of sensors of the fuel cell system 1 to receive detection signals from these sensors. In this embodiment, the fuel cell system 1 further includes, for example, a first temperature sensor 91, a second temperature sensor 92, and a hydrogen concentration sensor 93. The first temperature sensor 91 is arranged in the anode supply loop 61 and is used for detecting a first temperature at the anode inlet 23 of the fuel cell stack 20. A second temperature sensor 92 is disposed in the anode exhaust line 62 and is configured to detect a second temperature at the anode outlet 24 of the fuel cell stack 20. The hydrogen concentration sensor 93 is arranged in the cathode discharge line 52, but may also be arranged in the discharge line 64 downstream of the discharge valve 46 and serves to detect the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas line section downstream of the discharge valve 46, which is also referred to as the tail gas concentration. By collecting the detection signals of the first temperature sensor 91 and the second temperature sensor 92, the acquisition module 11 can calculate the temperature difference between the anode outlet 24 and the anode inlet 23 of the fuel cell stack 20 and determine the first parameter based thereon. In addition, the acquisition module 11 may also determine the second parameter based on the detection signal of the hydrogen concentration sensor 93. Additionally or alternatively, the acquisition module 11 may also be communicatively connected to, for example, the hydrogen circulation pump 44 of the fuel cell system 1, in order to receive therefrom drive parameters (e.g., drive current, drive power, energy consumption, etc.) of the hydrogen circulation pump 44, in order to determine the second parameter in combination with the drive parameters of the hydrogen circulation pump 44.
The control module 12 is configured to control an operating state of the drain valve based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter. For example, the control module 12 can not only output a control signal such as a valve opening instruction, a valve closing instruction, or the like to the drain valve 46 based on the acquired first parameter and/or second parameter, but also adjust the opening duration, the opening frequency, and/or the valve opening of the drain valve 46, thereby controlling the timing, the flow rate, or the flow rate of the liquid water discharge.
It should be noted that although only one temperature sensor is shown in fig. 1 for each of the anode inlet 23 and the anode outlet 24, it is equally contemplated that a plurality of temperature sensors are arranged in other sections of the anode loop. In this way, for example, a temperature gradient change in the anode circuit can also be detected and information about the first parameter can be derived on the basis of this. In addition, although only one hydrogen concentration sensor 93 is shown in fig. 1 as being disposed in the exhaust gas line section after the water discharge line 64 meets the cathode discharge line 52, it is likewise possible to provide other numbers of hydrogen concentration sensors or to directly dispose the hydrogen concentration sensor 93 in the water discharge line 64.
Fig. 2 shows a control block diagram of a drain control process of the fuel cell system shown in fig. 1.
Referring to fig. 2, control of the operating state of the drain valve of the fuel cell system is achieved by means of a feed-forward control link 201 and a feedback control link 202.
In this embodiment, the feed forward control link 201 takes as input the output current I of the fuel cell system and the temperature difference Δt between the anode outlet and the anode inlet of the fuel cell stack. The output current I is regarded as a base parameter which is related to the electrochemical reaction conditions for producing liquid water in the anode circuit, and additionally or alternatively the operating power of the fuel cell system can also be selected as the base parameter. The temperature difference Δt is regarded as a first parameter which is related to the environmental conditions in which liquid water is produced in the anode circuit.
In the feedforward control section 201, a mathematical model or calibration database is built and stored with a large amount of a priori data, established rules or machine learning models. The mathematical model describes the mapping relationship between different values of the output current I and the temperature difference DeltaT and the control strategy of the water accumulation amount and/or the drain valve in the gas-liquid separator. In the calibration data base, the water accumulation in the gas-liquid separator and/or the control strategy of the water draining valve are stored in a binding way for different levels of the output current I and the temperature difference delta T. Each of the drainage control strategies corresponds to, for example, an operation state of the drainage valve Different drainage control strategies differ at least in terms of the opening frequency, the opening duration and/or the valve opening of the drainage valve. In practical application, the feedforward control link 201 receives the output current I of the fuel cell system and the actual measurement value of the anode-side temperature difference Δt, and then calculates or selects the water accumulation amount or the drain valve control strategy M matching with the actual measurement value from the calibration database based on a pre-established mathematical model 1 。
For undetectable disturbances and deviations that are not precisely controlled by the feedforward control section 201, feedback control may be performed with the feedback control section 202 with the objective of eliminating the deviation. In particular, the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas line section downstream of the drain valve and/or the drive parameter of the hydrogen circulation pump is selected as a second parameter which is related to the effect of removing liquid water in the anode circuit. First, preset values C are preset for the second parameters set 、ARB_I set The preset value may reflect, for example, the corresponding hydrogen concentration and hydrogen circulation pump operating state when the operating state of the drain valve corresponds to the actual production of liquid water, which may be determined by means of an experimental or pre-calibration process. In this embodiment, the current water volume in the gas-liquid separator and/or the current control strategy M employed by the drain valve has been calculated by means of the feed-forward control link 201 1 And controls the drain valve based thereon. Then, the measured value C of the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas line section downstream of the drain valve is measured in a period of time associated with the opening action of the drain valve act Or continuously measuring the actual measurement value ARB_I of the driving parameter of the hydrogen circulation pump act . Deviations deltac, deltaarb_i between the measured values and the preset values of these parameters are then calculated in real time and provided as input to the feedback control link 202. In the feedback control step 202, a correction factor M for correcting the current water volume or the current control strategy of the drain valve is calculated from the deviation by means of a suitable feedback controller 2 . The usual feedback controllers include proportional controllers, proportional integral controllers, proportional differential controllers, proportional integral differential controllers, and the like, depending on the actual fuel cell systemThe use condition and the precision requirement for controlling the drain valve can select the controllers which follow different action rules.
At the fusion link 203, the output signals M from the feedforward control link 201 and the feedback control link 202 1 、M 2 Fused according to a certain law, thereby obtaining a corrected water accumulation amount and/or a corrected control strategy M 3 And applied to the drain valve 46 of the fuel cell system. For example, the output M of the feedforward control link 201 may be preferentially followed 1 Determining basic frame of operation parameters of the drain valve 46, and then based on the output result M of the feedback control link 202 2 Fine tuning is performed, and specific details regarding the correction process are further described below in conjunction with fig. 3. By means of a corrected water quantity or a corrected control strategy M 3 While controlling the drain valve 46, an actual measurement value C of the hydrogen concentration in the downstream exhaust gas line section during a period of time associated with the opening action of the drain valve is monitored act And/or continuously monitoring the actual value ARB_I of the driving parameter of the hydrogen circulation pump act And feeds them back to the feedback control link 202.
By means of the joint control of feedforward and feedback, the timeliness advantage of feedforward control is fully utilized, the advantage of reliable elimination of deviation of feedback control is exerted, and good control effect is achieved.
Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a method for controlling drainage of a fuel cell system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The method illustratively includes steps 301-308 and may be implemented, for example, using the apparatus 10 shown in fig. 1.
In step 301, the output current or operating power of the fuel cell system is obtained and considered as a base parameter related to the electrochemical reaction conditions that produce liquid water in the anode loop of the fuel cell system.
In step 302, a temperature difference between an anode outlet and an anode inlet of a fuel cell stack is obtained and considered as a first parameter related to an environmental condition for producing liquid water in an anode loop of a fuel cell system. In another embodiment, the outside air temperature of the fuel cell stack may also be detected by means of a temperature sensor arranged outside the fuel cell stack, and then a plausibility check may be performed on the temperature difference between the anode outlet and the inlet that is determined in conjunction with the detection result of the outside air temperature. For example, in the case where the outside air temperature is lower than a predetermined threshold value and the fuel cell is started up after a long shutdown, it is not logical if only a small temperature difference between the anode outlet and the inlet is found, in which case it may be requested to re-detect the temperature difference or infer that there is a failure of the relevant temperature sensor. In a further embodiment, it is also possible to detect temperature values at different points in the anode circuit of the fuel cell system by means of a plurality of temperature sensors and to determine therefrom the temperature gradient in a defined direction in the anode circuit. By knowing this temperature gradient information, the amount of liquid water that may be generated in the anode loop can be estimated more accurately.
In step 303, the control strategy of the water accumulation amount and/or the drain valve in the gas-liquid separator is calculated by means of the feedforward control link, and the operating state of the drain valve is controlled by means of the calculated water accumulation amount and/or the control strategy.
In one specific example, the water generation rate in the fuel cell stack may be first calculated by the following formula based on the basic parameters in the form of the output current of the fuel cell system acquired in step 301:
N＝i/2F (1)
where N is the rate of water generation, i is the current density, and F is the faraday constant. It is known that water produced by an electrochemical reaction permeates from the cathode to the anode in a proportion and is discharged from the anode outlet into the anode circuit in the form of liquid water and gaseous water vapor, whereby by integrating over a certain time, a basic model F (I) of the water yield in the gas-liquid separator can be deduced from the total water yield N. In this basic model F (I), only the case where the system is completely warmed up or the ambient temperature is high is considered, and at this time, there is no significant temperature difference between the anode outlet and the anode inlet, and the liquid water discharged from the anode outlet is directly accumulated in the gas-liquid separator.
In the case of introducing the first parameter reflecting the ambient conditions, it is additionally considered that during the actual warming-up process, the heat capacity of the anode supply line and the heat dissipation to the environment, etc., affect the condensation of the water vapor discharged from the anode outlet in the anode circuit, so that the following may occur: under the preheating condition, the cooling liquid is heated to enable the fuel cell stack to reach the working temperature, the anode outlet is heated along with the cooling liquid, and the anode inlet is heated slowly, so that a large temperature difference exists in different sections of the anode loop. Thus, after the anode exhaust gas containing a large amount of water vapor is mixed in the anode loop with the anode supply gas having a lower temperature from the hydrogen source, the water vapor will condense to some extent in the anode loop, which increases the amount of liquid water in the gas-liquid separator. It will be appreciated that in the case of a certain output current of the fuel cell system, the temperature difference between the anode outlet and the inlet may directly reflect the amount of liquid water condensed from water vapor, and that the larger the temperature difference, the more liquid water is generated in the anode circuit, thus requiring more frequent or longer opening of the drain valve.
It is therefore expedient to adjust the base model F (I) of the water product by means of the first parameter acquired in step 302 to obtain an adjusted base model F (I, Δt). The adjusted base model F (I, Δt) is then used to calculate the current water product in the gas-liquid separator. Under the condition that the current water yield is calculated, the current water yield and a preset water yield threshold value can be compared in real time, and the drain valve is controlled to be opened when the current water yield is larger than the preset water yield threshold value. After each opening of the drain valve, the accumulated time for integrating the water generation rate in the model F (I, Δt) may be cleared, and the calculation of the water accumulation amount may be restarted with the time zero as a starting point.
After each opening of the drain valve, it may be assumed that the amount of water and the flow rate during each opening of the valve are constant, and the entire amount of water collected in the gas-liquid separator is discharged during the opening of the drain valve. For simplicity, it is therefore possible to provide for the opening duration of the drain valve to be a fixed value each time and to automatically close the drain valve after the expiration of this opening duration. In addition, the flow rate of the fluid through the drain valve may be monitored or estimated in real time, and the duration of each control of the drain valve opening may be calculated from the flow rate.
In a further specific example, a basic control strategy for the drain valve can also be determined from basic parameters in the form of output currents or operating powers, in which basic control strategy the operating power of each gear corresponds to a parameter configuration of the drain valve. For example, at a first operating power P of the fuel cell 1 At a first turn-on frequency f 1 First on duration t 1 And a first valve opening degree Q 1 The combined first control strategy controls the working state of the drain valve. At the second operating power P of the fuel cell 2 At a second turn-on frequency f 2 Second on duration t 2 And a second valve opening degree Q 2 The combined second control strategy controls the working state of the drain valve. The basic control strategy may be adjusted in case the first parameter is introduced. For example, at a first operating power P 1 One or several parameter configurations in the first control strategy may be adjusted for different levels of the temperature difference between the anode outlet and inlet. Illustratively, during implementation of the first control strategy, a first opening frequency f of the drain valve is increased as the temperature differential increases 1 Or a first on-duration t 1 And appropriately increased.
In step 304, the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust line section of the fuel cell system downstream of the water discharge valve and/or the drive parameters of the hydrogen circulation pump are determined and are regarded as second parameters which are relevant to the effect of removing liquid water in the anode circuit of the fuel cell system, if the water discharge valve is controlled using the currently calculated water volume or control strategy. In collecting the hydrogen concentration, the hydrogen concentration may be continuously detected and recorded by means of the relevant sensor, and then only the hydrogen concentration during the period of time associated with the opening action of the drain valve is selected as the second parameter. Here, the "period of time associated with the opening action of the drain valve" may directly refer to the opening duration of the drain valve without considering the time delay caused by the length of the piping from the drain valve to the hydrogen concentration sensor and the fluid speed. In the case where it is considered that there is a delay in the opening action of the drain valve and the concentration value detected by the hydrogen concentration sensor, the "period of time associated with the opening action of the drain valve" may refer to the opening duration of the drain valve plus a predetermined delay time (about 0.5 seconds to 1 second). Further, the acquisition of the hydrogen concentration signal may be performed by controlling the relevant sensor only in the period of time associated with the drain valve opening operation. For the hydrogen circulation pump, the driving parameters of the hydrogen circulation pump may be recorded continuously (i.e., both during closing of the valve and during opening of the valve).
Next, how to feedback control the operation state of the drain valve based on the second parameter is described in connection with steps 305-308.
Specifically, the acquired actual value of the hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas line section downstream of the drain valve is compared with a preset value of the hydrogen concentration in step 305, and it is checked whether the deviation between the actual value and the preset value exceeds a threshold range.
Here, the "preset value" is not necessarily a numerical value, but may also be a range of numerical values. For example, a reasonable range of tail gas concentration for a fuel cell system is 1-3%, below 1% indicating undischarged liquid water, above 3% indicating too frequent or too long an opening duration of the drain valve. In the latter case, part of the unconsumed hydrogen escapes with the drain line to the outside environment in addition to the liquid separated from the gas and liquid, which not only causes hydrogen waste, but also may create safety hazards when discharged to the atmosphere.
If it is determined in step 305 that the measured tail gas concentration is equal to the preset value or if the deviation between the two is not outside the threshold range, this means that the current drainage control strategy adopted at present meets the drainage requirements or that the current water accumulation in the gas-liquid separator is estimated more accurately, in which case it is possible to continue to keep the check in step 305 for such deviation and continue to calculate the water accumulation using the current control strategy of the drain valve or along with the current mathematical model.
If the deviation found in step 305 is outside the threshold range, the magnitude relation between the measured value of the second parameter and the preset value is further checked in step 306, for example, it may be determined in this step whether the measured value of the hydrogen concentration is larger than the preset value.
For the case where the measured value of the hydrogen concentration is greater than or less than the preset value, correction factors are calculated in steps 307 and 308, respectively, and the current water accumulation amount in the gas-liquid separator and/or the current control strategy adopted by the drain valve are corrected by means of the correction factors.
Specifically, in response to the measured value of the hydrogen concentration being greater than the preset value and the deviation exceeding the threshold range, the current amount of accumulated water in the gas-liquid separator is reduced by a predetermined correction amount and/or the opening frequency, the opening duration, and/or the valve opening of the drain valve set in the currently employed control strategy is reduced by a predetermined correction amount in step 307. In response to the measured value of the hydrogen concentration being less than a preset value and the deviation exceeding the threshold range, the current amount of accumulated water in the gas-liquid separator is increased by a predetermined correction amount and/or the opening frequency, the opening duration, and/or the valve opening of the drain valve set in the currently employed control strategy is increased by a predetermined correction amount in step 308.
In one particular example, correction factors may be calculated and corresponding degrees of correction determined based on correction relationships shown in the following table.
TABLE 1
As shown in table 1, the magnitude of the correction factor (i.e., the magnitude of the predetermined correction amount) is determined by the degree to which the hydrogen concentration peak value deviates from the preset value. When the peak value of the hydrogen concentration is smaller than 1%, the larger the correction factor is, the smaller the accumulated water amount calculated by the feedforward control link is, and the more serious the accumulated water amount calculated by the feedforward control link is, so that the calculated current accumulated water amount is correspondingly increased, and the increasing amplitude is in a certain proportional relation with the value of the correction factor. Similarly, in the case that the hydrogen concentration is greater than 3%, the smaller the correction factor, the greater the currently calculated accumulated water amount, and therefore, the corresponding decrease should be performed, and the magnitude of the decrease can be reflected by the magnitude of the correction factor.
In an embodiment not shown, the driving current of the hydrogen circulation pump may also be compared with a preset value in step 305. If a large amount of water is contained in the gas component separated from the gas and liquid, the load of the pump increases, and therefore the power consumption and the driving current of the hydrogen circulation pump are greater. When the driving parameter of the hydrogen circulation pump deviates from the preset value, the current adopted drainage control strategy is judged to be incapable of fully meeting the drainage requirement. For example, when the driving current of the hydrogen circulation pump is greater than a preset value and the deviation exceeds a threshold range, it means that the water in the gas-liquid separator is not drained, at which time the calculated current accumulated water amount in the gas-liquid separator needs to be increased by a predetermined correction amount, and/or the opening frequency, the opening duration, and/or the valve opening of the drain valve set in the currently employed control strategy needs to be increased by a predetermined correction amount. In contrast, when the driving current of the hydrogen circulation pump is smaller than the preset value and the deviation exceeds the threshold range, it means that the water discharge is too frequent, and therefore it is necessary to reduce the current amount of accumulated water in the gas-liquid separator by a predetermined correction amount, and/or to reduce the opening frequency, the opening duration, and/or the valve opening of the drain valve set in the currently employed control strategy by a predetermined correction amount.
Fig. 4 shows graphs of the operating power of the fuel cell system, the temperature difference between the anode outlet and the anode inlet of the fuel cell stack, and the change in the operating state of the drain valve with time according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to fig. 4, a time course of the operating power 410 of the fuel cell system is shown in the uppermost layer, a time course of the anode outlet temperature 420 and the anode inlet temperature 421 of the fuel cell stack is shown in the middle layer, and a time course of the operating state 430 of the drain valve of the fuel cell system is shown in contrast in the lowermost layer. Illustratively, the drain valve is controlled to switchably operate between an ON state "ON" and an OFF state "OFF".
In this embodiment, the drain valve operating state 430 in the case of performing the drain control by means of the method of the present invention is shown in three time intervals 401, 402, 403, respectively. It can be seen that the operating power of the fuel cell system is maintained at a level of 30kW during time intervals 401 and 403 and is significantly lower than 30kW during time interval 402. It is noted that although the corresponding power levels in the time intervals 401 and 403 are the same, the opening frequencies of the drain valve of the fuel cell system in these two time intervals are different. The drain valve is controlled to open at a higher frequency in time interval 401 than in time interval 403. This is because a significantly larger temperature difference Δt between the anode outlet temperature 420 and the anode outlet temperature 421 of the fuel cell stack can be observed in the time interval 401, which may result in more condensate water generation in the anode loop of the fuel cell system. Thus, in order to adapt the drain control strategy to such environmental factors, the drain valve is controlled to open at a higher frequency of opening during time interval 401, thereby allowing the generated large amount of liquid water to be drained in time. Over time, the fuel cell system is being heated up sufficiently, and the temperature difference between the anode outlet temperature 420 and the anode inlet temperature 421 is gradually reduced during time interval 402, while the power level is at a lower level, thus controlling the drain valve to operate at a lower opening frequency.
Fig. 5 shows graphs of driving current of a hydrogen circulation pump, tail gas concentration, and a drain valve operating state of a fuel cell system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as a function of time.
Referring to fig. 5, a time course of a driving current 510 of a hydrogen circulation pump of the fuel cell system is shown in an uppermost layer, a time course of a hydrogen concentration 520 in a section of an exhaust gas line downstream of a drain valve is shown in an intermediate layer, and a time course of an operation state 530 of the drain valve is shown in a lowermost layer.
In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, it is assumed that the operating power of the fuel cell system and the temperature difference between the anode outlet and inlet are at a substantially steady level, and therefore based thereon a control strategy for the drain valve is derived, under which control strategy the operation of the drain valve is controlled, for example at a certain opening frequency.
At time t 0 Before, the concentration of hydrogen in the pipeline downstream of the drain valve is in the preset range (1-3%), and the driving current of the hydrogen circulating pump is lower than the preset value ARB_I 1 . It can then be deduced that: during this time, the control strategy of the water drain valve substantially satisfies the liquid water production conditions in the anode loop.
At time t 0 After that, it was observed that the peak value of the hydrogen concentration downstream of the drain valve was reduced to less than 1%, and the driving current of the hydrogen circulation pump exceeded the preset value arb_i 1 And further rises over time. This means that from time t 0 Since then, the currently employed drain valve control strategies have failed to meet the immediate drain needs. It is possible that excessive liquid water is generated in the anode circuit but not discharged in time, resulting in an increase in power consumption of the hydrogen circulation pump, while the concentration of hydrogen discharged with the liquid water is very low because the water in the gas-liquid separator is not discharged. In this case, for example, the opening frequency of the drain valve may be appropriately increased so that the drain speed is increased, thereby enabling the liquid water accumulated in the gas-liquid separator to be drained in time.
It will be appreciated that the methods of the various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by a computer program/software. Such software can be loaded into the working memory of a processor, when executed, for performing methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
According to further embodiments of the present disclosure, a machine readable storage medium, such as a CD-ROM, is provided, comprising a computer program which, when executed, causes a computer or processor to perform a method according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The machine-readable storage medium is, for example, an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware.
Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein, they are presented for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Various substitutions, alterations, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims (15)
1. A method for controlling drainage of a fuel cell system (1), the fuel cell system (1) comprising: a fuel cell stack (20); an anode loop for receiving anode exhaust gas from an anode outlet (24) of the fuel cell stack (20) and providing the treated anode exhaust gas together with an anode supply gas from a hydrogen source (41) to an anode inlet (23) of the fuel cell stack (20); a gas-liquid separator (45) for separating gas from liquid of anode off-gas of the fuel cell stack (20) and collecting the separated water; a drain valve (46) for draining water collected in the gas-liquid separator (45) in an open state;
wherein the method comprises the steps of:
acquiring a first parameter related to an environmental condition for producing liquid water in an anode loop of the fuel cell system (1) and/or acquiring a second parameter related to an effect of removing liquid water in the anode loop of the fuel cell system (1); and
The operating state of the drain valve (46) is controlled on the basis of the first parameter and/or the second parameter.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first parameter comprises: a temperature difference between an anode outlet (24) and an anode inlet (23) of the fuel cell stack (20), a temperature gradient in an anode loop of the fuel cell system (1) and/or an ambient temperature of the fuel cell stack (20).
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fuel cell system (1) further comprises a hydrogen circulation pump (44) arranged in the anode loop, the hydrogen circulation pump (44) being for pumping the gas-liquid separated anode exhaust gas to be mixed with the anode supply gas, the second parameter comprising: the hydrogen concentration in the line of the fuel cell system (1) downstream of the water discharge valve (46) and/or the drive parameters of the hydrogen circulation pump (44).
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the hydrogen concentration is measured during a time period associated with the opening action of the water discharge valve (46) and/or only the hydrogen concentration measured during a time period associated with the opening action of the water discharge valve (46) is determined as the second parameter.
5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein controlling the operating state of the drain valve (46) based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter comprises:
And calculating the accumulated water amount in the gas-liquid separator (45) based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter, and controlling the water discharge valve (46) to be opened when the accumulated water amount is larger than a preset water amount threshold value.
6. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a control strategy for the water drain valve (46) is determined on the basis of the first parameter and/or the second parameter, and the operating state of the water drain valve (46) is controlled in accordance with the determined control strategy, wherein the different control strategies differ at least in terms of the opening frequency, the opening duration and/or the valve opening of the water drain valve (46).
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a feed-forward control of an operating state of the drain valve (46) is performed based on a first parameter, wherein:
establishing and storing a mapping relation between different values of the first parameter and the water accumulation amount in the gas-liquid separator (45) and/or the control strategy of the drain valve (46) by means of a pre-calibration process; and
and (3) obtaining a control strategy of the water accumulation amount and/or the drain valve (46) in the gas-liquid separator (45) corresponding to the actual measurement value of the first parameter by the pre-calibrated mapping relation, and controlling the working state of the drain valve (46) based on the obtained water accumulation amount and/or the control strategy.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein feedback control is performed on an operating state of the drain valve (46) based on a second parameter, wherein:
Acquiring the current water accumulation amount in the gas-liquid separator (45) and/or the current adopted control strategy of the drain valve (46);
calculating the deviation between the measured value of the second parameter and the preset value of the second parameter; and
a correction factor is calculated from the deviation, by means of which the current water volume in the gas-liquid separator (45) and/or the current control strategy adopted by the drain valve (46) is corrected.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein a threshold range of the deviation is preset, in case the second parameter relates to the hydrogen concentration in the line of the fuel cell system (1) downstream of the drain valve (46):
in response to the measured value of the second parameter being greater than a preset value and the deviation exceeding the threshold range, reducing the current amount of accumulated water in the gas-liquid separator (45) by a predetermined correction amount, and/or reducing the opening frequency, the opening duration, and/or the valve opening of the drain valve (46) set in the currently employed control strategy by a predetermined correction amount;
in response to the measured value of the second parameter being less than a preset value and the deviation exceeding the threshold range, increasing the current amount of accumulated water in the gas-liquid separator (45) by a predetermined correction amount, and/or increasing the opening frequency, the opening duration, and/or the valve opening of the drain valve (46) set in the currently employed control strategy by a predetermined correction amount;
Wherein the magnitude of the predetermined correction amount is determined by the degree to which the second parameter deviates from the preset value.
10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
acquiring a base parameter related to an electrochemical reaction condition for producing liquid water in an anode loop of the fuel cell system (1); and
a basic control strategy for the basic water volume in the gas-liquid separator (45) and/or the operating state of the water discharge valve (46) is determined on the basis of the basic parameters, and the basic water volume and/or the basic control strategy is adjusted by means of the first and/or the second parameters.
11. An apparatus (10) for controlling drainage of a fuel cell system (1), the apparatus (10) being for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the apparatus (10) comprising:
an acquisition module (11) configured to be able to acquire a first parameter related to an environmental condition of liquid water produced in an anode loop of the fuel cell system (1) and/or to acquire a second parameter related to an effect of liquid water removal in the anode loop of the fuel cell system (1); and
a control module (12) configured to control an operating state of the drain valve (46) based on the first parameter and/or the second parameter.
12. A fuel cell system (1), the fuel cell system (1) comprising:
a fuel cell stack (20);
an anode loop for receiving anode exhaust gas from an anode outlet (24) of the fuel cell stack (20) and providing the treated anode exhaust gas together with an anode supply gas from a hydrogen source (41) to an anode inlet (23) of the fuel cell stack (20);
a gas-liquid separator (45) for separating gas from liquid of anode off-gas of the fuel cell stack (20) and collecting the separated water;
a drain valve (46) for draining water collected in the gas-liquid separator (45) in an open state; and
the device (10) according to claim 11.
13. The fuel cell system (1) according to claim 12, the fuel cell system (1) further comprising:
a first temperature sensor (91) arranged in the anode loop and adapted to detect a first temperature at an anode inlet (23) of the fuel cell stack (20);
a second temperature sensor (92) arranged in the anode loop and adapted to detect a second temperature at an anode outlet (24) of the fuel cell stack (20);
wherein the acquisition module (11) of the device (10) is configured to acquire the first parameter based on a difference between the second temperature and the first temperature.
14. The fuel cell system (1) according to claim 12 or 13, the fuel cell system (1) further comprising:
an exhaust gas line connected to the gas-liquid separator (45) via a drain valve (46) and for guiding water collected in the gas-liquid separator (45) to an external environment;
a hydrogen concentration sensor (93) for detecting the hydrogen concentration in a section of the exhaust gas line downstream of the drain valve (46);
wherein the acquisition module (11) of the device (10) is configured to acquire the second parameter based on the hydrogen concentration in a section of the exhaust gas line downstream of the drain valve (46).
15. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for performing the method according to any of claims 1 to 10 when run on a computer.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202310478966.5A CN116470099A (en) | 2023-04-28 | 2023-04-28 | Method and apparatus for controlling drainage of fuel cell system |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202310478966.5A CN116470099A (en) | 2023-04-28 | 2023-04-28 | Method and apparatus for controlling drainage of fuel cell system |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CN116470099A true CN116470099A (en) | 2023-07-21 |
Family
ID=87173365
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202310478966.5A Pending CN116470099A (en) | 2023-04-28 | 2023-04-28 | Method and apparatus for controlling drainage of fuel cell system |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CN (1) | CN116470099A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN117954656A (en) * | 2024-02-01 | 2024-04-30 | 佛山市清极能源科技有限公司 | Tail hydrogen discharge concentration control method and system for fuel cell system |
-
2023
- 2023-04-28 CN CN202310478966.5A patent/CN116470099A/en active Pending
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN117954656A (en) * | 2024-02-01 | 2024-04-30 | 佛山市清极能源科技有限公司 | Tail hydrogen discharge concentration control method and system for fuel cell system |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| JP6598784B2 (en) | Anode / bleed control in fuel cell stack | |
| US10340540B2 (en) | Fuel cell system and method thereof | |
| EP1678773B1 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| JP4945912B2 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| US20090035612A1 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| CA2695609C (en) | Fuel cell with timed impurity discharge | |
| JP2006196432A (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| US11139494B2 (en) | Fuel cell system and method of controlling the same | |
| CN116470099A (en) | Method and apparatus for controlling drainage of fuel cell system | |
| EP2804246B1 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| JPWO2016067781A1 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| JP5109611B2 (en) | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD FOR FUEL CELL SYSTEM | |
| CN103582970A (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| JP7241280B2 (en) | fuel cell system | |
| JP5304863B2 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| KR101134475B1 (en) | Method for controlling fuel cell in low temperature | |
| JP5303904B2 (en) | FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD FOR FUEL CELL SYSTEM | |
| US10714774B2 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| JP2016134348A (en) | Fuel battery system | |
| JP4982977B2 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| JP6222191B2 (en) | Fuel cell system | |
| JP2007227160A (en) | Fuel cell system, and insufficient humidification determination method of fuel cell stack | |
| JP3915569B2 (en) | Fuel cell failure determination apparatus and method | |
| JP2006310182A (en) | Fuel cell system and purge valve control method | |
| JP2005150025A (en) | Fuel cell system |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PB01 | Publication | ||
| PB01 | Publication | ||
| SE01 | Entry into force of request for substantive examination | ||
| SE01 | Entry into force of request for substantive examination |