Background
The vehicle-mounted fuel cell system generally comprises an air subsystem, a hydrogen subsystem, a thermal management system and a control system, wherein the air subsystem mainly comprises an air filter, an air compressor, an intercooler, a humidifier, a back pressure valve and the like, and the air supply requirement of the fuel cell stack during power generation is met.
The principle of the existing fuel cell system is shown in fig. 1, when the air subsystem works, external air is driven by an air compressor after impurities are filtered by an air filter, and then is sequentially cooled by an intercooler and humidified by a humidifier to reach the states of temperature, pressure, humidity and the like required by the operation of a fuel cell stack, and then enters the fuel cell stack for electrochemical reaction. After the air reacts in the galvanic pile flow channel, part of water generated by the reaction is carried out, and then enters the humidifier again, the air is humidified by the carried-out moisture, and finally, the air is discharged out.
However, when the air subsystem works, the humidity of air entering the galvanic pile cannot be adjusted, and when the system works at high power, the moisture generated by the cathode of the galvanic pile is large, so that the moisture carried out by the air is large, and therefore, the humidification quantity of the air entering the galvanic pile is too large, and a flooding phenomenon may occur. When the system runs at low power, the rotating speed of the air compressor is low, the surge phenomenon is easy to occur, if the rotating speed of the air compressor is increased and the idling state is kept, the air flow is too large, the membrane electrode is too dry, and the performance of the galvanic pile is attenuated; and when the air humidifier is stopped and purged, because the water content of the membrane electrode of the electric pile needs to be controlled preferentially, the air entering the electric pile needs to keep a certain water content, and the water content of the humidifier is higher.
In order to adjust the temperature of the inlet air, a tee joint is commonly arranged between an intercooler and a humidifier, and the tee joint is connected to an air inlet pipeline of the humidifier and a galvanic pile in a bypass mode, as shown in fig. 2, the humidity of the inlet air can be adjusted by controlling the flow of the bypass gas, but the system still has a surge phenomenon during low-power operation, the galvanic pile performance is attenuated during high-power operation, and the water amount of the humidifier is higher during purging.
Disclosure of Invention
The purpose of the invention is: the air subsystem of the air fuel cell is provided to control the humidity of stack entering air, avoid the surge phenomenon of an air compressor in an idling state, reduce the content of liquid water in a humidifier and keep the humidity of an electric stack; the invention also provides a control method of the air subsystem of the air fuel cell.
In order to achieve the purpose, the invention provides an air fuel cell air subsystem, which comprises an air filter, an air compressor, an intercooler, a humidifier and an electric pile, wherein the air filter, the air compressor, the intercooler and the humidifier are sequentially connected, an exhaust pipeline is connected between the electric pile and the humidifier, the fuel cell air subsystem further comprises a four-way valve, the four-way valve comprises a first air inlet end, a second air inlet end, a first air outlet end and a second air outlet end, a moisture outlet of the humidifier is communicated with the first air inlet end, the first air outlet end is communicated with the electric pile, a first bypass is connected between an air outlet of the intercooler and the second air inlet end, a second bypass is connected between the second air outlet end and the exhaust pipeline, and the four-way valve comprises a low-power working condition, a high-power working condition, The four-way valve is in a low-power working condition when the second air inlet end and the second air outlet end are closed; the second air inlet end is communicated with the first air outlet end, and the four-way valve is in a high-power working condition when the first air inlet end and the second air outlet end are closed; the first air inlet end, the first air outlet end and the second air outlet end are communicated, and the four-way valve is in an idling working condition when the second air inlet end is closed; the first air inlet end, the second air inlet end and the first air outlet end are communicated, and the four-way valve is in a humidity adjusting working condition when the second air outlet end is closed; the second air inlet end is communicated with the second air outlet end, and the four-way valve is in a blowing working condition when the first air inlet end and the first air outlet end are closed.
Preferably, a throttle valve is further arranged on the exhaust pipeline.
A control method of a fuel cell air subsystem adopts the fuel cell air subsystem of the technical scheme, and comprises the following steps that firstly, an acquisition unit acquires the state of a vehicle and transmits a state signal to a control unit; step two, the control unit judges the working condition of the fuel cell air subsystem according to the state signal and transmits an action signal to a four-way valve of the fuel cell air subsystem; and step three, the four-way valve adjusts the on-off states of the first air inlet end, the second air inlet end, the first air outlet end and the second air outlet end according to the action signal, so that the working condition of the four-way valve is adjusted to be matched with the state of the vehicle.
Preferably, in the third step, when the fuel cell air subsystem is in a humidity adjusting condition, the four-way valve adjusts the humidity of the stack air by controlling the opening degrees of the first air inlet end and the second air inlet end.
Preferably, the vehicle is at a standstill when the fuel cell air subsystem is in the purge condition.
Compared with the prior art, the fuel cell air subsystem and the control method thereof have the advantages that: the fuel cell air subsystem can change the working condition of the four-way valve by changing the on-off state of the first air inlet end, the second air inlet end, the first air outlet end and the second air outlet end on the four-way valve, when the four-way valve is in a low-power working condition, the humid gas humidified by the humidifier directly enters the galvanic pile through the first air inlet end and the first air outlet end, the water yield of the galvanic pile is less, the humidity of the humid gas added into the air of the galvanic pile is rapidly increased, and the system efficiency is improved; when the four-way valve is in a high-power working condition, the gas cooled by the intercooler directly enters the galvanic pile through the second air inlet end and the first air outlet end, so that the humidity in the galvanic pile is quickly reduced, and the galvanic pile is prevented from being flooded due to more water production; when the four-way valve is in an idling working condition, because the air compressor has a requirement on take-off rotating speed, one part of gas humidified by the humidifier directly enters the galvanic pile through the first air inlet end and the first air outlet end, and the other part of gas enters the exhaust pipeline through the first air inlet end and the second air outlet end, so that the air quantity entering the galvanic pile is reduced, the membrane electrode is prevented from being dried, meanwhile, the rotating speed of the air compressor is not required to be reduced, and the surge phenomenon cannot occur under the idling working condition; when the four-way valve is in a working condition of adjusting humidity, humid gas humidified by the humidifier enters the electric pile through the first air inlet end and the first air outlet end, gas cooled by the intercooler enters the electric pile through the second air inlet end and the first air outlet end, and the humidity of air entering the electric pile can be adjusted by controlling the gas proportion of the first air inlet end and the second air inlet end; when the four-way valve is in a purging working condition, gas cooled by the intercooler enters the exhaust pipeline through the second gas inlet end and the second gas outlet end, the liquid water content in the humidifier and the valve is reduced, meanwhile, the cooled gas cannot enter the electric pile, the humidity of the electric pile is kept, the problem of air compressor surge in an idling state is avoided while the humidity of the gas entering the pile is controlled, and the humidity of the electric pile is kept while the liquid water content in the humidifier and the valve is reduced.
Detailed Description
The following detailed description of embodiments of the present invention is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are intended to illustrate the invention but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the fuel cell air subsystem according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an air filter 1, an air compressor 2, an intercooler 3, a humidifier 4, and an electric pile 5, where the air filter 1, the air compressor 2, the intercooler 3, and the humidifier 4 are connected in sequence, the air filter 1 is used to filter and purify air entering the fuel cell air subsystem, the air compressor 2 is used to drive air to flow, the intercooler 3 is used to cool air, the humidifier 4 is used to humidify air, and meet the conditions of temperature, humidity, etc. required by the operation of the electric pile 5 of the fuel cell, and the specific structures of the air filter 1, the air compressor 2, the intercooler 3, and the humidifier 4 are the prior art, and will not be described in detail herein.
Still be connected with exhaust pipe 10 between galvanic pile 5 and humidifier 4, exhaust pipe 10 and galvanic pile 5's negative pole interface connection for gas discharge galvanic pile 5 after will reacting, can produce moisture behind galvanic pile 5's the cathodic reaction, gaseous moisture takes moisture out galvanic pile 5 back into humidifier 4, is used for carrying out the humidification to the air that gets into galvanic pile 5, improves the utilization ratio of moisture, the energy saving. The tail end of the exhaust line 10 is in communication with the atmosphere for discharging the humidified gas to the atmosphere.
The fuel cell air subsystem further comprises a four-way valve 6, the four-way valve 6 comprises a first air inlet end 61, a second air inlet end 62, a first air outlet end 63 and a second air outlet end 64, a moisture outlet of the humidifier 4 is communicated with the first air inlet end 61, the first air outlet end 63 is communicated with the electric pile 5, a first bypass 7 is connected between an air outlet of the intercooler 3 and the second air inlet end 62, and a second bypass 8 is connected between the second air outlet end 64 and the exhaust pipeline 10. In this embodiment, one end of the first bypass 7 is connected to the gas line between the intercooler 3 and the humidifier 4, so as to be connected to the gas outlet of the intercooler 3.
The first air inlet end 61, the second air inlet end 62, the first air outlet end 63 and the second air outlet end 64 of the four-way valve 6 are independently switched on and off respectively, and the working condition of the four-way valve 6 can be changed by controlling the on-off states of the first air inlet end 61, the second air inlet end 62, the first air outlet end 63 and the second air outlet end 64, so that the working condition is adapted to the state of a vehicle.
The four-way valve 6 comprises a low-power working condition, a high-power working condition, an idling working condition, a humidity adjusting working condition and a purging working condition, the first air inlet end 61 is communicated with the first air outlet end 63, and the four-way valve 6 is in the low-power working condition when the second air inlet end 62 and the second air outlet end 64 are closed; the second air inlet end 62 is communicated with the first air outlet end 63, and the four-way valve 6 is in a high-power working condition when the first air inlet end 61 and the second air outlet end 64 are closed; the first air inlet end 61, the first air outlet end 63 and the second air outlet end 64 are communicated, and the four-way valve 6 is in an idling working condition when the second air inlet end 62 is closed; the first air inlet end 61, the second air inlet end 62 and the first air outlet end 63 are communicated, and the four-way valve 6 is in a humidity adjusting working condition when the second air outlet end 64 is closed; the second air inlet 62 and the second air outlet 64 are communicated, and the four-way valve 6 is in a purging condition when the first air inlet 61 and the first air outlet 63 are closed.
When the four-way valve 6 is in a low-power working condition, the water yield of the galvanic pile 5 is low under the low-power working condition, and the humidity of the membrane electrode needs to be increased to improve the working efficiency of the system, so the humid gas humidified by the humidifier 4 directly enters the galvanic pile 5 through the first gas inlet end 61 and the first gas outlet end 63, no gas flows after the second gas inlet end 62 and the second gas outlet end 64 are closed, the humid gas is rapidly added into the humidity of the air of the pile, and the system efficiency is improved.
When the four-way valve 6 is in the high power operating mode, the water yield of the galvanic pile 5 is more under the high power operating mode, therefore, the humidity in the galvanic pile 5 needs to be reduced, the gas cooled by the intercooler 3 directly enters the galvanic pile 5 through the second gas inlet end 62 and the first gas outlet end 63, the humid gas passing through the humidifier 4 can not enter the galvanic pile 5 through the first gas inlet end 61, the second gas outlet end 64 is closed to avoid the gas from entering the exhaust pipeline 10, the rapid reduction of the humidity in the galvanic pile 5 is realized, and the galvanic pile 5 is prevented from generating water flooding due to more water yield.
When the four-way valve 6 is in an idling working condition, the air compressor 2 has a requirement on the takeoff rotating speed, the air inflow of the fuel cell air subsystem is large at the moment, the membrane electrode is easy to blow dry, and the surge phenomenon can occur if the rotating speed of the air compressor 2 is reduced. One part of gas humidified by the humidifier 4 directly enters the electric pile 5 through the first gas inlet end 61 and the first gas outlet end 63, the other part of gas finally enters the gas exhaust pipeline 10 after entering the second bypass 8 through the first gas inlet end 61 and the second gas outlet end 64, the gas is shunted through the second gas outlet end 64 and the second bypass 8 to reduce the air quantity entering the electric pile 5, the gas is prevented from completely entering the electric pile 5 to blow dry a membrane electrode, meanwhile, the rotating speed of the air compressor 2 is not required to be reduced, and the surge phenomenon cannot occur under the idling working condition.
When the four-way valve 6 is in a working condition of adjusting humidity, the air cooled by the intercooler 3 is divided into two paths, one part of the air enters the electric pile 5 through the first air inlet end 61 and the first air outlet end 63 after being humidified by the humidifier 4, the other part of the air enters the electric pile 5 through the first bypass 7 and the second air inlet end 62 and the first air outlet end 63, and the humidity of the air entering the pile can be adjusted by controlling the proportion of the air entering the first air inlet end 61 and the second air inlet end 62.
When the four-way valve 6 is in a purging working condition, the gas cooled by the intercooler 3 enters the exhaust pipeline 10 through the second gas inlet end 62 and the second gas outlet end 64, so that the liquid water content in the humidifier 4 and the valve is reduced, meanwhile, the cooled gas cannot enter the electric pile 5 after the first gas inlet end 61 and the first gas outlet end 63 are closed, the moisture in the electric pile 5 is prevented from being taken away, and the humidity of the electric pile 5 is kept.
Preferably, a throttle valve 9 is also arranged on the exhaust line 10.
The throttle valve 9 can control the gas flow in the exhaust pipeline 10 and adjust the reaction rate of the electric pile 5.
The preferred embodiment of the control method of the fuel cell air subsystem of the invention, namely the working process of the fuel cell air subsystem, comprises the following steps, step one, the acquisition unit acquires the state of the vehicle, and transmit the state signal to the control unit; step two, the control unit judges the working condition of the fuel cell air subsystem according to the state signal and transmits an action signal to a four-way valve 6 of the fuel cell air subsystem; and step three, the four-way valve 6 adjusts the on-off states of the first air inlet end 61, the second air inlet end 62, the first air outlet end 63 and the second air outlet end 64 according to the action signals, so that the working condition of the four-way valve 6 is adjusted to be matched with the state of the vehicle.
Specifically, the control unit may be a vehicle ECU system, and the collected vehicle state includes a speed, an accelerator opening, a gear, and the like of the vehicle, so as to determine a working condition of the vehicle.
Preferably, in the third step, when the fuel cell air subsystem is in the humidity adjustment condition, the four-way valve 6 adjusts the humidity of the stack air by controlling the opening degrees of the first air inlet end 61 and the second air inlet end 62.
Preferably, the vehicle is at a standstill when the fuel cell air subsystem is in the purge condition.
To sum up, the embodiment of the invention provides a fuel cell air subsystem and a control method thereof, wherein the fuel cell air subsystem can change the working condition of a four-way valve by changing the on-off states of a first air inlet end, a second air inlet end, a first air outlet end and a second air outlet end on the four-way valve; when the four-way valve is in a high-power working condition, the gas cooled by the intercooler directly enters the galvanic pile through the second air inlet end and the first air outlet end, so that the humidity in the galvanic pile is quickly reduced, and the galvanic pile is prevented from being flooded due to more water production; when the four-way valve is in an idling working condition, because the air compressor has a requirement on take-off rotating speed, one part of gas humidified by the humidifier directly enters the galvanic pile through the first air inlet end and the first air outlet end, and the other part of gas enters the exhaust pipeline through the first air inlet end and the second air outlet end, so that the air quantity entering the galvanic pile is reduced, the membrane electrode is prevented from being dried, meanwhile, the rotating speed of the air compressor is not required to be reduced, and the surge phenomenon cannot occur under the idling working condition; when the four-way valve is in a working condition of adjusting humidity, humid gas humidified by the humidifier enters the electric pile through the first air inlet end and the first air outlet end, gas cooled by the intercooler enters the electric pile through the second air inlet end and the first air outlet end, and the humidity of air entering the electric pile can be adjusted by controlling the gas proportion of the first air inlet end and the second air inlet end; when the four-way valve is in a purging working condition, gas cooled by the intercooler enters the exhaust pipeline through the second gas inlet end and the second gas outlet end, the liquid water content in the humidifier and the valve is reduced, meanwhile, the cooled gas cannot enter the electric pile, the humidity of the electric pile is maintained, the problem of surge of the air compressor under an idling state is avoided while the humidity of the gas entering the pile is controlled, and the humidity of the electric pile is maintained while the liquid water content in the humidifier and the valve is reduced.
The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the technical principle of the present invention, and these modifications and substitutions should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.