CN117059841A - Control method of fuel cell system - Google Patents

Control method of fuel cell system Download PDF

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Publication number
CN117059841A
CN117059841A CN202210485739.0A CN202210485739A CN117059841A CN 117059841 A CN117059841 A CN 117059841A CN 202210485739 A CN202210485739 A CN 202210485739A CN 117059841 A CN117059841 A CN 117059841A
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CN
China
Prior art keywords
fuel cell
voltage
req
cathode gas
control method
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
Application number
CN202210485739.0A
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Chinese (zh)
Inventor
许玉江
石春辉
马永翠
李国宁
丁伟
罗华清
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Robert Bosch GmbH
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Robert Bosch GmbH
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Publication date
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Priority to CN202210485739.0A priority Critical patent/CN117059841A/en
Publication of CN117059841A publication Critical patent/CN117059841A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04298Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
    • H01M8/04313Processes 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
    • H01M8/04537Electric variables
    • H01M8/04604Power, energy, capacity or load
    • H01M8/04626Power, energy, capacity or load of auxiliary devices, e.g. batteries, capacitors
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60LPROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L58/00Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles
    • B60L58/30Methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells, specially adapted for electric vehicles for monitoring or controlling fuel cells
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04298Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
    • H01M8/04313Processes 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
    • H01M8/04537Electric variables
    • H01M8/04544Voltage
    • H01M8/04552Voltage of the individual fuel cell
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04298Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
    • H01M8/04313Processes 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
    • H01M8/04537Electric variables
    • H01M8/04544Voltage
    • H01M8/04559Voltage of fuel cell stacks
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04298Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
    • H01M8/04694Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by variables to be controlled
    • H01M8/04746Pressure; Flow
    • H01M8/04753Pressure; Flow of fuel cell reactants
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01MPROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04298Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
    • H01M8/04694Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by variables to be controlled
    • H01M8/04858Electric variables
    • H01M8/04925Power, energy, capacity or load
    • H01M8/0494Power, energy, capacity or load of fuel cell stacks

Abstract

The present invention proposes a control method of a fuel cell system for supplying power to a system load, and including a fuel cell stack and a cathode gas delivery line for delivering cathode gas from a cathode gas source to the fuel cell stack, the control method comprising the steps of: s201: every power detection interval Δt P Detecting a power request P for a system load req The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the S202: request for Power P req And a preset minimum power request P min Comparing if P req >P min S203 is performed; if P req ≤P min S204 is performed; s203: controlling a fuel cell system to meet a power request P req ;S204:Detecting a voltage V of the fuel cell stack; s205: the voltage V is compared with a preset minimum voltage V min And a preset maximum voltage V max Comparing if V is greater than or equal to V max S206 is performed; if V is less than or equal to V min Then execute S207, wherein V max >V min The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the S206: controlling the state of the cathode gas delivery line to be disconnected; s207: the state of the cathode gas delivery line is controlled to be conductive.

Description

Control method of fuel cell system
Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of fuel cells, and more particularly, to a method for controlling a fuel cell system.
Background
Fuel cells have been developed as one of the main power generation technologies due to their advantages of high power generation efficiency, low environmental pollution, high specific energy, and the like. As a typical fuel cell, a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is a popular fuel cell for vehicles. PEMFCs generally include solid polymer electrolyte proton conducting membranes, such as perfluorosulfonic acid membranes. The anode and cathode typically include finely divided catalyst particles, typically platinum (Pt), supported on carbon particles and mixed with an ionomer. The catalyst mixture is deposited on opposite sides of the membrane. The combination of the anode catalyst mixture, the cathode catalyst mixture, and the membrane define a Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA).
The fuel cell stack includes a series of bipolar plates positioned between several MEAs in the stack, with the bipolar plates and MEAs positioned between two end plates. The bipolar plates include an anode side and a cathode side for adjacent fuel cells in the stack. Anode gas flow channels are provided on the anode side of the bipolar plates that allow the anode reactant gas to flow to the respective MEA. Cathode gas flow channels are provided on the cathode side of the bipolar plates that allow the cathode reactant gases to flow to the respective MEA. One end plate includes anode gas flow channels and the other end plate includes cathode gas flow channels. The bipolar plates and end plates are made of an electrically conductive material such as stainless steel or an electrically conductive composite.
When the fuel cell system on the vehicle is in a normal operating mode, such as when the vehicle is traveling normally, power generated by the fuel cells is conducted from the end plates to the outside of the stack, then from the main contactors of the stack to the bus bars, and then from the bus bars to a system load, such as a traction motor of the vehicle, to cause the traction motor to power the vehicle. However, when the fuel cell system on the vehicle is in an idle mode, such as when the vehicle is parked at a stop light, at which time the fuel cell stack does not generate power for operating the system devices, but air and hydrogen are still typically provided to the fuel cell stack, and the stack still generates output power. This power is typically used to recharge the battery until the upper SOC limit of the battery is reached, at which point the battery may be damaged if it is charged beyond this upper limit. Thus, when this SOC limit is reached, the cell load on the stack is removed, which causes the stack voltage to increase, possibly causing some phenomenon that reduces the life of the stack. However, if the fuel cell system is shut down during an idle condition, the fuel cell system needs to be restarted while the vehicle is traveling. Frequent restarting of the fuel cell system can severely impact the service life of the auxiliary equipment (BOP), and the fuel cell system needs to establish an open circuit voltage from scratch upon restarting, which results in the fuel cell system failing to quickly respond to power requests from the system load after restarting.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method of controlling an idle mode of a fuel cell system that can achieve both the lifetime of the fuel cell and the response speed.
Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve the above-described problems in the prior art, the present invention proposes a control method of a fuel cell system for supplying power to a system load, and including a fuel cell stack and a cathode gas delivery line for delivering cathode gas from a cathode gas source to the fuel cell stack, wherein the control method includes the steps of:
s201: every power detection interval Δt P Detecting a power request P of the system load req
S202: the power request P is sent to req And a preset minimum power request P min Comparing if P req >P min S203 is performed; if P req ≤P min S204 is performed;
s203: controlling the fuel cell system to satisfy the power request P req
S204: detecting a voltage V of the fuel cell stack;
s205: the voltage V is compared with a preset minimum voltage V min And a preset maximum voltage V max Comparing if V is greater than or equal to V max S206 is performed; if V is less than or equal to V min Then execute S207, wherein V max >V min
S206: controlling the state of the cathode gas delivery line to be disconnected; and
s207: and controlling the state of the cathode gas conveying pipeline to be conductive.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the fuel cell system further comprises a cathode gas exhaust line for exhausting cathode gas and a cathode gas bypass line for delivering cathode gas from the cathode gas source to the cathode gas exhaust line, and wherein,
s206 is also: controlling the state of the cathode gas bypass line to be conductive;
s207 is also: and controlling the state of the cathode gas bypass line to be disconnected.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the fuel cell system further comprises a bus bar electrically connected to the system load, the main contactors of the fuel cell stack being selectively electrically connected to the bus bar by a switch, and wherein,
s203 is also: controlling the state of the switch to be closed;
s204 is also: the state of the switch is controlled to be open.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the fuel cell system further comprises an anode gas delivery line for delivering anode gas from an anode gas source to the fuel cell stack, and wherein,
s206 and S207 also lie in: and controlling the state of the anode gas conveying pipeline to be conductive.
According toIn an alternative embodiment of the present invention, S203 further comprises: controlling the anode gas flow rate on the anode gas conveying pipeline to be a normal anode gas flow rate F req The normal anode gas flow rate F req With the power request P req Associating;
s206 and S207 also lie in: controlling the anode gas flow rate on the anode gas conveying pipeline to be a preset anode gas flow rate F set And wherein F set <F req
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the fuel cell system has a normal mode and a standby mode for selection by a user, and wherein,
s201 is also: detecting a selection of a user;
s202 is also: if the user selects the normal mode, and P req >P min S203 is performed; if the user selects the standby mode, or P req ≤P min S204 is performed.
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, S203 further consists in: adjusting the low power state timer T to zero;
s204 is also: increasing the low power state timing T by Δt P
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the control method further includes the following steps after S204:
s208: timing the low power state to a preset time threshold T thr Comparing if T<T thr S205 is performed; if T is greater than or equal to T thr S209 is performed;
s209: the voltage V is compared with a preset later-stage minimum voltage V min ' and preset maximum voltage V max Comparing if V is greater than or equal to V max S206 is performed; if V is less than or equal to V min ' then S207 is performed, wherein V min ’<V min
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the control method further includes the following steps after S204:
s208: timing the low power state T withPreset time threshold T thr Comparing if T<T thr S205 is performed; if T is greater than or equal to T thr S210 is performed;
s210: the voltage V is compared with a preset later-stage minimum voltage V min ' and preset post-maximum voltage V max ' comparison is made if V.gtoreq.V max ' then execute S206; if V is less than or equal to V min ' then S207 is performed, wherein V min ’<V max ’,V max ’<V max And V is min ’<V min
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the fuel cell stack comprises a plurality of fuel cells stacked together, the voltage V being the stack voltage measured at the main contactors of the fuel cell stack, or the maximum of the individual cell voltages measured at the bipolar plates of the individual fuel cells, or the average of the individual cell voltages measured at the bipolar plates of the individual fuel cells.
The invention may be embodied in the form of illustrative embodiments shown in the drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings are merely illustrative and that any variations contemplated under the teachings of the present invention are considered to be included within the scope of the present invention.
Drawings
The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. The drawings should not be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of the invention, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle power supply system including a fuel cell system;
fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a control method of the fuel cell system according to an embodiment of the invention;
fig. 3 is a schematic graph of a plurality of parameters of a fuel cell system to which the control method shown in fig. 2 is applied;
fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a control method of a fuel cell system according to another embodiment of the invention;
fig. 5 is a schematic graph of a plurality of parameters of a fuel cell system to which the control method shown in fig. 4 is applied;
fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a control method of a fuel cell system according to still another embodiment of the invention; and
fig. 7 is a schematic graph of a plurality of parameters of the fuel cell system to which the control method shown in fig. 6 is applied.
Detailed Description
Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the attached drawings. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and the various drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided only to illustrate the present invention and to convey the spirit and substance of the invention to those skilled in the art.
The present invention aims to propose an improved method for controlling a fuel cell system, which is capable of reducing the power output of the fuel cell when there is no power request by the system load, thereby reducing the fuel consumption of the fuel cell to avoid the waste of fuel, and of timely recovering the power output of the fuel cell when the power request is generated by the system load, thereby timely supplying the required power to the system load to help the system restart quickly. Therefore, the control method of the fuel cell system according to the present invention enables a fast response to a power request of a system load while saving fuel.
Alternative but non-limiting embodiments of a control method of a fuel cell system according to the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to fig. 1, there is shown a schematic block diagram of a power supply system to which the control method of a fuel cell system according to the present invention is applied, and an air flow path is shown in solid lines, a signal path is shown in broken lines, and a power supply path is shown in chain lines. As shown in fig. 1, the power supply system 100, which is a power source of the mobile platform MP, includes a fuel cell system 110, and the fuel cell system 110 is adapted to be used as a direct current power source in the mobile platform MP. The mobile platform MP may be, for example, a motor vehicle, an offshore vehicle, an aerospace vehicle, a robot or other type of mobile platform that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Of course, the fuel cell system 110 may also be used in stationary power plants or other facilities that require on-board generation of direct current power. Hereinafter, the fuel cell system 110 will be described in the context of the mobile platform MP being a motor vehicle, but this is not intended to limit the fuel cell system 110 to such applications.
The fuel cell system 110 includes a fuel cell stack 111, which fuel cell stack 111 includes a plurality of fuel cells (also may be referred to as single cells) 111c stacked together, wherein the fuel cell stack 111 and the fuel cells 111c may be of a polymer electrolyte membrane/Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) type so as to transmit a relatively high power density with a low weight and volume. In an exemplary embodiment in which the fuel cell 111c is configured as a proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the fuel cell system 110 further includes a compressor 112 that delivers oxygen-containing gas (e.g., air) from a cathode gas source such as an atmosphere, an oxygen storage tank, etc., to the fuel cell stack 111 via a cathode gas delivery line P1, and an injector 114 that delivers hydrogen-containing gas (e.g., hydrogen or other hydrogen-containing gas such as methane, natural gas, etc.) from an anode gas source 113 such as a hydrogen storage tank, etc., to the fuel cell stack 111 via an anode gas delivery line P2. The anode gas and the cathode gas delivered into the fuel cell stack 111 will electrochemically react at the proton exchange membrane to generate electric power, after which the cathode gas will be discharged from the fuel cell stack 111 through the cathode gas discharge line P3 and thus discharged to the atmosphere, while the anode gas will be discharged from the fuel cell stack 111 through the anode gas discharge line P4 and thus discharged to the atmosphere or returned to the fuel cell stack 111 through the anode gas circulation line (not shown).
The cathode gas bypass line P5 has one end connected between the compressor 112 and the fuel cell stack 111 and the other end connected to the cathode gas discharge line P3, and is provided with a bypass valve 115. The cathode gas supply line P1 is provided with a gas supply valve 116. In this configuration, if the bypass valve 115 is opened and the gas supply valve 116 is closed, the cathode gas from the compressor 112 will be directly delivered to the cathode gas discharge line P3 through the cathode gas bypass line P5 without being delivered into the fuel cell stack 111 through the cathode gas delivery line P1, and this will cause the fuel cell stack 111 to lack the cathode gas to perform an electrochemical reaction, resulting in a drop in its output voltage; conversely, if the bypass valve 115 is closed and the gas supply valve 116 is opened, cathode gas from the compressor 112 will be delivered into the fuel cell stack 111 through the cathode gas delivery line P1, and this will allow the fuel cell stack 111 to undergo an electrochemical reaction, thereby maintaining or increasing its output voltage.
The fuel cell system 110 further includes a bus bar 117, and the bus bar 117 is selectively electrically connected (e.g., through a switch S) to the main contactors 111a and 111b of the fuel cell stack 111 so as to output electric power (i.e., direct current) generated by the fuel cell stack 111 to the outside.
In the exemplary embodiment shown in fig. 1, the power supply system 100 further includes an auxiliary system 120, which auxiliary system 120 is configured to store power from the fuel cell stack 111 and to supply power to a system load (e.g., a traction motor M of a vehicle, an air conditioner, a sound, etc.). Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, a DC/DC (direct current/direct current) boost converter 121 of the auxiliary system 120 is electrically connected to the bus 117, which DC/DC boost converter 121 may boost the voltage level from the fuel cell stack 111 to a higher voltage level suitable for powering the high voltage bus HVB and the electronics connected thereto. For example, the voltage level required by the vehicle traction motor M tends to be much higher than the voltage level that the fuel cell stack is capable of outputting, and thus the DC/DC boost converter 121 is required to boost the voltage level from the fuel cell stack 111. A DC/AC (direct current/alternating current) converter 122 is electrically connected to the high voltage bus HVB, which DC/AC (direct current/alternating current) converter 122 can convert direct current on the high voltage bus HVB into alternating current suitable for powering the windings of the respective phases of the vehicle traction motor M. The high-voltage battery 123 is electrically connected to the high-voltage bus HVB, and the high-voltage battery 123 can store electric power from the high-voltage bus HVB and can transmit electric power to the high-voltage bus HVB to assist the fuel cell stack 111 in supplying power to a system load (e.g., the vehicle traction motor M) that requires high-voltage electricity. A DC/DC (direct current/direct current) buck converter 124 is also electrically connected to the high voltage bus HVB, which DC/DC buck converter 124 can convert high voltage electricity on the high voltage bus HVB to low voltage electricity and can store the low voltage electricity in a low voltage battery 125 electrically connected thereto to power a system load (e.g., car stereo, air conditioner, etc.) requiring the low voltage electricity. It should be noted that while the fuel cell system 110 is described above as providing power to the system load via the auxiliary system 120, in other exemplary embodiments, the fuel cell system 110 may provide power directly to the system load without the auxiliary system 120 being configured.
Returning to the fuel cell system 110, it further includes a controller 118, which controller 118 may detect a power request of the system load, and may control the fuel cell system 110 in accordance with the power request of the system load, for example, control the compressor 112 and the injector 114 to adjust the amounts of cathode gas and anode gas delivered to the fuel cell stack 111, control the valve positions of the bypass valve 115 and the gas supply valve 116 to allow or prohibit the delivery of cathode gas to the fuel cell stack 111, and control the switch S to connect or disconnect the electrical connection between the main contactors 111a, 111b and the bus 117 of the fuel cell stack 111 so as to allow or prohibit the fuel cell stack 111 from powering the system load and the auxiliary system 120 (if any). To achieve closed loop control of the fuel cell system 110, the controller 118 may also detect the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 by a voltage sensor 119, which may be the stack voltage across the main contactors 111a, 111b of the fuel cell stack 111, the cell voltage across the bipolar plates (anode and cathode plates) of a certain fuel cell 111c, or the average of the cell voltages across all or a portion of the bipolar plates of the fuel cell 111c, etc. It is worth mentioning that the controller 118 may be replaced by an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) of the vehicle or a control module thereof, such that the fuel cell system 110 is directly controlled by the electronic control unit of the vehicle, which is obviously within the scope of the present invention.
The basic composition of the fuel cell system is described above with the aid of fig. 1. On this basis, the operation of the fuel cell system to which the control method according to the present invention is applied is described below with reference to fig. 2 to 7.
Referring to fig. 2, there is shown a schematic block diagram of a control method of a fuel cell system according to the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the control method includes the steps of:
step S201: real time (i.e., every power detection interval Δt) P ) Detecting a power request P for a system load req . As shown in fig. 1, the controller 118 (or vehicle electronic control unit) may directly obtain the power request P for the system load by detecting the respective system loads (e.g., vehicle traction motor M, on-board air conditioner, on-board stereo, etc.) in real time req The power request P for the system load may also be obtained indirectly by detecting the bus 117, the DC/DC boost converter 121, the high voltage bus HVB, etc. in real time req
Step S202: request for measured power P req And a preset minimum power request P min Comparing, if the power request P req Greater than a preset minimum power request P min Then proceed to step S203; if power request P req Less than or equal to the preset minimum power request P min Then proceed to step S204. The preset minimum power request P min The power level consumed by the system load when the vehicle is temporarily parked (for example, when the vehicle is in a red light, when the vehicle is temporarily parked in a congested road section) can be determined in advance, at which time the main load with the largest power request (for example, the vehicle traction motor M) is generally stopped and does not consume power, while the auxiliary load such as an on-board air conditioner, an on-board sound box and the like can still be operated and continue to consume power, thus, the minimum power request P is preset min The rated power of auxiliary loads other than the main load such as an on-vehicle air conditioner and an on-vehicle sound system may be added. Thus, by requesting the measured power P req And a preset minimum power request P min By comparing, it can be accurately determined whether the main load has stopped running (e.g., whether the vehicle has stopped). For example, if power request P req Greater than a preset minimum power request P min Then it can be considered that at least the main load is in normal operation (e.g., the vehicle is traveling normally) when the power generated by the fuel cell stack 111 can be usedAnd the system load is consumed. Conversely, if the power request P req At preset minimum power request P min Hereinafter, it can be considered that at least the main load has stopped operating (e.g., the vehicle has stopped), at which time the power generated by the fuel cell stack 111 has not been consumed by the system load, and even if the compressor 112 and the injector 114 are idling, the power generated by the fuel cell stack 111 will be higher than the power that the system load can currently consume. Although in the case where the high-voltage battery 123 and the low-voltage battery 125 are provided, the high-voltage battery 123 and the low-voltage battery 125 may be used as the battery loads of the fuel cell stack 111 to store the power generated by them, after both reach the upper limit of SOC, the battery loads will be removed from the power supply circuit of the fuel cell stack 111 to ensure the safety of the battery, which will cause the power generated by the fuel cell stack 111 to be again higher than the power that the system load can consume at present. This will cause the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 to rise even to a level that affects the service life of the fuel cell and will cause waste of anode gas.
Step S203: at the time of determining the power request P req Greater than a preset minimum power request P min And thus after the system is operating normally, according to the power request P req The operation of the fuel cell system 110 is controlled so that the power generated by the fuel cell system 110 satisfies the power request P req For example, the amount of anode gas, the amount of cathode gas, the coolant temperature, and the like, which are delivered to the fuel cell stack 111, are controlled, in which case the fuel cell system 110 and the auxiliary system 120 (if any) can be considered to be in the normal operation mode.
Step S204: at the time of determining the power request P req At preset minimum power request P min After the above, and thus the power generated by the fuel cell stack 111 cannot be completely consumed, the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is detected. As previously described, the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 may be the stack voltage V measured across the primary contactors 111a, 111b of the fuel cell stack 111 S The cell voltages V measured on the bipolar plates of the fuel cells 111c may be C Is a flat part of (2)And (5) an average value. With this configuration, the average level of the generated voltage of each fuel cell 111c can be reflected by the voltage V. In particular, the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 may be the respective cell voltage V measured on the bipolar plates of the respective fuel cells 111c C Is the maximum value of (a). With this configuration, the highest level of the generated voltage of each fuel cell 111c can be reflected by the voltage V.
Step S205: the measured voltage V is compared with a preset minimum voltage V min And a preset maximum voltage V max By comparison, if the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is greater than or equal to the preset maximum voltage V max Proceed to step S206; if the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is less than or equal to the preset minimum voltage V min Then proceed to step S207. In particular, a maximum voltage V is preset max May be the highest voltage that does not affect the service life of the fuel cell 111c, but the preset minimum voltage V min As described below, may be a voltage set for quick response to a power request by a system load. Of course, preset maximum voltage V max Is greater than a preset minimum voltage V min
Step S206: upon determining that the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is greater than the preset maximum voltage V max After that, the cathode gas is prohibited (stopped) from being supplied to the fuel cell stack 111, that is, the state of the cathode gas supply line P1 is controlled to be off (closed, disabled). In the case where the supply of the cathode gas to the fuel cell stack 111 is stopped, the fuel cell stack 111 can generate a voltage only with the existing cathode gas, but as the existing cathode gas is consumed, the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 gradually decreases, whereby it is possible to prevent the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 from being maintained higher than the preset maximum voltage V max Thus, adverse effects on the service life of the fuel cell 111c can be avoided, and the anode gas is not consumed after the entire consumption of the existing cathode gas, whereby the anode gas can be saved to avoid being wasted.
Step S207: in determining that the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is less than the preset minimum voltage V min Thereafter, the cathode is allowed (i.e., enabled, maintained, sustained, resumed, started) to be delivered to the fuel cell stack 111The states of the gas and the anode gas, i.e., the cathode gas delivery line P1 and the anode gas delivery line P2 are controlled to be conductive. In the case where the supply of the cathode gas and the anode gas to the fuel cell stack 111 is allowed, the fuel cell stack 111 can continuously perform the electrochemical reaction using the continuously supplied cathode gas and anode gas to continuously accumulate the voltage, which will cause the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 to continuously rise, whereby it can be avoided that the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 is kept below the preset minimum voltage V min . This configuration is advantageous because once the power request P for the system load is detected req Above minimum power request P min This means that the main load is restored to normal operation and the fuel cell stack 111 needs to deliver power to the main load, then in this configuration, the response time Δt of the fuel cell stack 111 d (i.e., the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 increases from the present voltage to the driving voltage V of the system load) dr The time required) is not longer than the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 from the preset minimum voltage V min Drive voltage V to increase to system load dr The time required. Therefore, this configuration can effectively shorten the response time Δt of the fuel cell stack 111 d
In order to more clearly state the operation of the fuel cell system to which the control method according to the present invention is applied, graphs of relevant parameters of the fuel cell system are shown in fig. 3, in which the uppermost side is a graph of power request of the system load, the middle is a graph of voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111, and the lowermost side is a graph of on-off state (on-off) of the cathode gas delivery line P1.
As shown in fig. 3, at time t0, the power request P of the system load req Down to the preset minimum power request P min Hereinafter, the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is then started from the driving voltage V dr Ascending;
at time toff, the voltage V reaches the preset maximum voltage V max Step S206 is then performed to disconnect the cathode gas delivery line P1, which will start the voltage V to drop;
at time ton, the voltage V reaches a preset minimum voltage V min Thus performingStep S207 is performed to turn on the cathode gas supply line P1, which will start the voltage V rising;
repeating the above process until time t1, at time t1, the power request P of the system load req Up to preset minimum power request P min Above, at this time, if the voltage V is higher than the driving voltage V dr The system load can be directly powered, and the response time delta t is d Zero; if the voltage V is lower than the driving voltage V dr For example, as shown, the voltage V reaches the preset minimum voltage V min At this time, the power request P of the system load req Up to preset minimum power request P min Above (i.e., t1=ton), then the response time Δt d In this case longest and is the voltage V from the preset minimum voltage V min Rising to the driving voltage V dr The time required, i.e. time t rxn Time interval from time ton.
Therefore, according to the control method of the present invention, when the power of the system load requests P req Located at a preset minimum power request P min In the following cases (t 0 to t 1), only the time interval Δt between the time ton when the cathode gas transport line P1 is turned on and the time toff when the cathode gas transport line P1 is turned off c Internal consumption of anode gas, which can save anode gas to a great extent; and the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is set at a preset maximum voltage V max And a preset minimum voltage V min The oscillation is not higher than the preset maximum voltage V max Thereby ensuring the service life of the fuel cell 111c without being lower than the preset minimum voltage V min This causes a power request P at the system load req Restoring to preset minimum power request P min After the above, the response time of the fuel cell stack 111 is not longer than the voltage V from the preset minimum voltage V min Rising to the driving voltage V dr The time required, which can greatly shorten the response time of the fuel cell stack 111, improves the response speed thereof.
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the operating modes of the fuel cell system 110 include a normal mode and a normal modeA standby mode, and the fuel cell system 110 is configured to switch between a normal mode and a standby mode according to a user' S selection, step S201 further consists in: the user' S selection of the operation mode of the fuel cell system 110 is detected, and step S202 is also to: if the user switches the fuel cell system 110 to normal mode and the power request P req Greater than a preset minimum power request P min Then proceed to step S203; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S204. In this configuration, if the user manually switches the fuel cell system 110 into the standby mode or the system detects a power request P req Request P below a preset minimum power min I.e. one of the two conditions is fulfilled, step S204 will start to be performed, which helps to more flexibly start saving anode gas while ensuring a fast response.
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, step S204 further consists in: the electrical connection between the main contactors 111a, 111b of the fuel cell stack 111 and the bus bar 117 is prohibited (cut off, open), for example, by the state of the control switch S being open, and step S203 further consists in: the electrical connection between the main contactors 111a, 111b of the fuel cell stack 111 and the bus bar 117 is allowed, for example, by controlling the state of the switch S to be closed. In this configuration, when the power of the system load requests P req Located at a preset minimum power request P min Hereinafter, the electrical connection of the fuel cell stack 111 to the bus bar 117 is disconnected, and thus the electrical connection of the fuel cell stack 111 to the system load is disconnected, which can avoid the influence of the system load on the voltage V of the fuel cell 111, so that the control strategy according to the present invention can be more reliably implemented to achieve the saving of anode gas and the rapid response of the fuel cell system.
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, step S204 further consists in: increasing the low power state timing T by ΔT, where ΔT is equal to the power detection interval time ΔT P I.e. let T n+1 =T n +Δt P And step S203 further consists in: the low power state timer T is adjusted to zero, i.e., t=0. In this configuration, when the power of the system load requests P req Continuously located in advanceSetting minimum power request P min In the following, step S204 is performed a plurality of times, and the low power state timer T is increased by the power detection interval Δt every time step S204 is performed P Whereby the low power state timer T can be utilized to count the power requests P of the system load req Continuously located in a preset minimum power request P min The time elapsed after the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is at the preset maximum voltage V max And a preset minimum voltage V min The time between oscillations. And when the power of the system load is requested P req Request P above a preset minimum power min Step S203 will be executed to zero the low power state timer T to count the power request P of the next system load req Request P below a preset minimum power min The time elapsed. In particular, the low power state timer T may be displayed to the user via a human-machine interface to assist the user in knowing how long the fuel cell system 110 has entered the low power state.
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, the control method according to the present invention further includes step S208 and step S209 after step S204, wherein step S208 consists in: timing the low power state to a preset time threshold T thr Comparing if the low power state timer T is less than the preset time threshold T thr Step S205 is performed; otherwise, step S209 is performed. Step S209 is: the measured voltage V and the preset later minimum voltage V min ' and preset maximum voltage V max By comparison, if the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is greater than or equal to the preset maximum voltage V max Proceed to step S206; if the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is less than or equal to the preset post-minimum voltage V min ' proceed to step S207, wherein a minimum voltage V is preset min Is greater than a preset later-stage minimum voltage V min ', i.e. V min >V min ' as shown in FIG. 5, V min -V min ' =Δv. As shown in fig. 5, the timer T exceeds the preset time threshold T in the low power state thr Then, the voltage V is at the minimum voltage V at the preset later stage min ' sumPreset maximum voltage V max Oscillating in between. Thus, it can be seen from the curve of the voltage V that the time interval between the on and off of the cathode gas delivery line P1 is prolonged, and thus from the on-off curve of the cathode gas delivery line P1, the on-off frequency of the cathode gas delivery line P1 is reduced, which can, for example, reduce the switching frequency of the bypass valve 115 and the gas supply valve 116 to prolong the service life thereof. Thus, this configuration helps to further reduce the switching frequency of the cathode gas delivery line P1, the bypass valve 115, the gas supply valve 116, and the like after being in the standby mode for a while.
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 6, step S209 shown in fig. 4 is replaced with step S210: the measured voltage V and the preset later minimum voltage V min ' and preset post-maximum voltage V max ' comparison is made if the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is greater than or equal to the preset post-stage maximum voltage V max ' go to step S206; if the voltage V of the fuel cell stack 111 is less than or equal to the preset post-minimum voltage V min ' proceed to step S207 where the maximum voltage V is preset max Greater than a preset post-stage maximum voltage V max ', i.e. V max >V max ' as shown in FIG. 7, V max -V max ' =Δv, and a minimum voltage V is preset min Is greater than a preset later-stage minimum voltage V min ', i.e. V min >V min ' as shown in FIG. 7, V min -V min ' =Δv. Of course V max ’>V min '. As shown in fig. 7, the timer T exceeds the preset time threshold T in the low power state thr Then, the voltage V is the maximum voltage V at the preset later stage max ' and a preset late minimum voltage V min 'oscillate between'. Thereby, both the highest voltage and the lowest voltage that can be achieved by the fuel cell stack 111 are reduced, which enables further saving of anode gas, and the on-off frequency of the cathode gas delivery pipe P1 is substantially unchanged because the highest voltage and the lowest voltage are reduced by the same magnitude. Thus, this configuration helps to save more after a period of time in standby modeAnode gas is saved. Although it is described above that the highest voltage and the lowest voltage decrease at the same magnitude, in other not shown embodiments, the highest voltage and the lowest voltage may decrease at different magnitudes, wherein the decrease in the highest voltage helps to save anode gas, while the decrease in the lowest voltage helps to lower the on-off frequency of the cathode gas transfer line P1 and the cathode gas bypass line P5 (if any).
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, step S206 consists in: the cathode gas bypass line P5 is turned on and the cathode gas delivery line P1 is turned off by opening the bypass valve 115 and closing the gas supply valve 116 so that the cathode gas from the compressor 112 is delivered to the cathode gas discharge line P3 through the cathode gas bypass line P5, thereby stopping the delivery of the cathode gas to the fuel cell stack 111. This configuration is advantageous because it is not necessary to deactivate the compressor 112 in order to stop the supply of cathode gas to the fuel cell stack 111, which helps to avoid frequent start-up and shut-down of the compressor 112.
According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, step S206 consists in: the cathode gas is prohibited from being supplied to the fuel cell stack 111, and the anode gas is permitted to be supplied to the fuel cell stack 111, i.e., the cathode gas supply line P1 is disconnected and the anode gas supply line P2 is turned on. In this configuration, the power request P at the system load req Request P below a preset minimum power min During this time, the anode gas delivery line P2 remains on regardless of whether the cathode gas delivery line P1 is on or off, which helps establish a positive pressure on the anode side of each fuel cell 111c to prevent nitrogen or the like on the cathode side from diffusing to the anode side to affect the establishment of the voltage of the subsequent fuel cell 111c, that is, which helps ensure that the fuel cell 111c can quickly establish a voltage and thus respond quickly to the power request of the system load. In addition, the injector 114 remains operational throughout, as this also helps to avoid frequent start-up and shut-down of the injector 114.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, steps S206 and S207 further consist in: the anode gas flow rate to be supplied to the fuel cell stack 111 is controlled to a preset anode gas flow rate F set The preset anode gasFlow F set Below according to the power request P in step S203 req Flow rate F of anode gas supplied to fuel cell stack 111 req (normal anode gas flow), e.g. the preset anode gas flow F set Is only a minimum anode gas flow rate sufficient to maintain a positive pressure on the anode side of each fuel cell 111 c. Under this configuration, after step S204 (i.e., the power request P of the system load req Request P below a preset minimum power min When) the anode gas flow rate delivered to the fuel cell stack 111 will be lower than that in step S203 (i.e., the power request P of the system load) req Request P above a preset minimum power min Time) the anode gas flow rate to the fuel cell stack 111, which will result in a relatively slow rise in the voltage of the fuel cell stack 111 after each step S207 (i.e., after each time ton), which helps to lengthen the time interval Δt between the on and off of the cathode gas delivery line P1 c Thereby reducing the on-off frequency of the cathode gas delivery line P1, for example, reducing the switching frequency of the bypass valve 115 and the gas supply valve 116, thus contributing to the prolongation of the service life of the bypass valve 115 and the gas supply valve 116. In addition, this configuration contributes to further reduction in consumption of anode gas due to reduction in anode gas flow rate.
The control method according to the present invention eliminates the need for disabling the primary auxiliary equipment (BOP) of the fuel cell, such as the compressor 112, the injector 114, etc., in the low power mode of the fuel cell (during which the power request of the system load is lower than the preset minimum power request period), which helps to reduce the number of restarts of these primary auxiliary equipment, thereby helping to extend the service life thereof, and also enables reduction of the consumption of anode gas by the fuel cell in the low power mode while ensuring that the fuel cell can be rapidly switched from the low power mode to the high power mode (during which the power request of the system load is higher than the preset minimum power request period), thereby enabling the fuel cell to have a shorter response time and a faster response speed.
An alternative but non-limiting embodiment of a control method of a fuel cell system according to the present invention is described above in detail with the aid of the accompanying drawings. Modifications and additions to the techniques and structures, as well as rearrangements of the features of the embodiments, should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to be encompassed within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit and spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications and additions as are contemplated under the teachings of the present invention should be considered as part of the present invention. The scope of the invention includes known equivalents and equivalents not yet foreseen at the time of filing date of the present application.

Claims (10)

1. A control method of a fuel cell system for supplying power to a system load, and comprising a fuel cell stack and a cathode gas delivery line for delivering cathode gas from a cathode gas source to the fuel cell stack, wherein the control method comprises the steps of:
s201: every power detection interval Δt P Detecting a power request P of the system load req
S202: the power request P is sent to req And a preset minimum power request P min Comparing if P req >P min S203 is performed; if P req ≤P min S204 is performed;
s203: controlling the fuel cell system to satisfy the power request P req
S204: detecting a voltage V of the fuel cell stack;
s205: the voltage V is compared with a preset minimum voltage V min And a preset maximum voltage V max Comparing if V is greater than or equal to V max S206 is performed; if V is less than or equal to V min Then execute S207, wherein V max >V min
S206: controlling the state of the cathode gas delivery line to be disconnected; and
s207: and controlling the state of the cathode gas conveying pipeline to be conductive.
2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a cathode gas discharge line for discharging a cathode gas and a cathode gas bypass line for delivering the cathode gas from the cathode gas source to the cathode gas discharge line, and wherein,
s206 is also: controlling the state of the cathode gas bypass line to be conductive;
s207 is also: and controlling the state of the cathode gas bypass line to be disconnected.
3. The control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a bus bar electrically connected to the system load, the main contactor of the fuel cell stack being selectively electrically connected to the bus bar through a switch, and wherein,
s203 is also: controlling the state of the switch to be closed;
s204 is also: the state of the switch is controlled to be open.
4. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises an anode gas delivery line for delivering anode gas from an anode gas source to the fuel cell stack, and wherein,
s206 and S207 also lie in: and controlling the state of the anode gas conveying pipeline to be conductive.
5. The control method according to claim 4, wherein,
s203 is also: controlling the anode gas flow rate on the anode gas conveying pipeline to be a normal anode gas flow rate F req The normal anode gas flow rate F req With the power request P req Associating;
s206 and S207 also lie in: controlling the anode gas flow rate on the anode gas conveying pipeline to be a preset anode gas flow rate F set And wherein F set <F req
6. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the fuel cell system has a normal mode and a standby mode for selection by a user, and wherein,
s201 is also: detecting a selection of a user;
s202 is also: if the user selects the normal mode, and P req >P min S203 is performed; if the user selects the standby mode, or P req ≤P min S204 is performed.
7. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein,
s203 is also: adjusting the low power state timer T to zero;
s204 is also: increasing the low power state timing T by Δt P
8. The control method according to claim 7, wherein the control method further comprises, after S204, the steps of:
s208: timing the low power state to a preset time threshold T thr Comparing if T<T thr S205 is performed; if T is greater than or equal to T thr S209 is performed;
s209: the voltage V is compared with a preset later-stage minimum voltage V min ' and preset maximum voltage V max Comparing if V is greater than or equal to V max S206 is performed; if V is less than or equal to V min ' then S207 is performed, wherein V min ’<V min
9. The control method according to claim 7, wherein the control method further comprises, after S204, the steps of:
s208: timing the low power state to a preset time threshold T thr Comparing if T<T thr S205 is performed; if T is greater than or equal to T thr S210 is performed;
s210: the voltage V is compared with a preset later-stage minimum voltage V min ' and preset post-maximum voltage V max ' comparison is made if V.gtoreq.V max ' then execute S206; if V is less than or equal to V min ' then S207 is performed, wherein V min ’<V max ’,V max ’<V max And V is min ’<V min
10. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the fuel cell stack includes a plurality of fuel cells stacked together, the voltage V being a stack voltage measured at a main contactor of the fuel cell stack, or a maximum value of individual cell voltages measured at bipolar plates of individual fuel cells, or an average value of individual cell voltages measured at bipolar plates of individual fuel cells.
CN202210485739.0A 2022-05-06 2022-05-06 Control method of fuel cell system Pending CN117059841A (en)

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Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202210485739.0A CN117059841A (en) 2022-05-06 2022-05-06 Control method of fuel cell system

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Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202210485739.0A CN117059841A (en) 2022-05-06 2022-05-06 Control method of fuel cell system

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