JP2002289232A - Temperature control device for feed gas fed to fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a humidifier to exert original humidification by keeping the humidifier at a certain temperature even if a fuel cell is operated with a light load. SOLUTION: This temperature control device GS1 has a compressor 22 for feeding a feed gas A to the fuel cell 1. A main passage W1 for running the feed gas A is formed between the compressor 22 and the fuel cell 1. The humidifier 23 for humidifying the feed gas A is mounted on the main passage W1. A bypass passage W2 and a flow regulation valve 25 are installed as heat quantity regulation means for regulating the heat quantity of the feed gas A fed to the humidifier 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the temperature of a supply gas supplied to a fuel cell, which controls the temperature of a humidifier in the fuel cell appropriately.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a power source of an electric vehicle,
Attention has been focused on clean and energy-efficient fuel cells. In this fuel cell, oxygen is supplied to the cathode side and hydrogen is supplied to the anode side, and electricity is generated by a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. In order to supply oxygen to the cathode side, air containing oxygen is supplied to the fuel cell by, for example, a compressor. At this time, in order to realize efficient power generation in the fuel cell, the air containing oxygen supplied to the fuel cell needs to be moist to some extent. Therefore, a humidifier for humidifying air is provided between the compressor and the fuel cell.

[0003]

By the way, in order for the humidifier to exhibit its original humidifying performance, it is necessary that the air be at a certain temperature or higher. However, when the fuel cell is operated under a low load state, for example, when the rotation speed of the compressor is 3000 rpm or less, the calorific value of the fuel cell is small, and the temperature of the exhaust air discharged from the fuel cell is also low. Therefore, there is a problem that the temperature of the humidifier also tends to decrease. Also, since the supply gas supplied from the compressor is high temperature, it is cooled by the radiator and then supplied to the fuel cell via the humidifier, but when the fuel cell is operated in a low load state, Also, the temperature of the radiator has dropped. For this reason, there has been a problem that the temperature of the humidifier is apt to decrease.

[0004] In addition, when the fuel cell is started, the fuel cell and the compressor are also cold, so the same problem occurs.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to maintain the humidifier at a constant temperature even when the fuel cell is operated under a low load condition, so that the humidifier exhibits the original humidifying performance. To be able to do it.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compressor having a compressor for supplying a supply gas to a fuel cell. A main passage for flowing the supply gas is formed therebetween, and a humidifier for humidifying the supply gas is provided in the main passage, and a calorie adjusting means for adjusting a heat amount of the supply gas supplied to the humidifier. Is a temperature control device for supply gas supplied to the fuel cell.

According to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a calorific value adjusting means for adjusting the calorific value of the supply gas supplied from the compressor to the humidifier. By adjusting the calorie of the supply gas by the calorie adjusting means, the temperature of the supply gas can be adjusted, so that the supply gas having a certain temperature or higher can be supplied to the humidifier. Therefore, the humidifier can sufficiently exhibit the original humidification performance.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a radiator is provided between the compressor and the humidifier in the main passage, and the radiator is provided between the compressor and the humidifier. A bypass passage for bypassing the supply gas is provided, and the calorie adjusting means comprises a flow regulating valve for regulating a flow ratio between the main passage and the bypass passage. 2. A temperature control device for a supply gas supplied to the fuel cell according to 1.

The supply air supplied from the compressor is
Since the temperature is high due to adiabatic compression of the compressor, it is cooled by a radiator and then supplied to a humidifier. Therefore, in the invention according to claim 2, as a passage through which the supply gas supplied from the compressor to the humidifier passes, in addition to the main passage in which the radiator is provided, a bypass passage that bypasses the radiator is provided. . During normal operation, the supply gas is cooled through the main passage, but when the temperature of the supply gas supplied to the humidifier is decreasing, part or all of the supply gas supplied from the compressor is passed through the bypass passage. So that cooling by the radiator is not performed. Thus, the supply gas heated by the compressor can be supplied to the humidifier as it is, and the humidifier can exhibit the original humidification performance.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a radiator is provided between the compressor and the humidifier in the main passage, and the heat amount adjusting means controls a heat amount of the radiator. 2. The temperature control device for supply gas supplied to a fuel cell according to claim 1, comprising an adjusting means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, as the heat amount adjusting means, a heat release amount control means for controlling the heat release amount of the radiator, for example, when the radiator is of a water cooling type, adjusts the flow rate of the cooling water. Like that. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a bypass passage for adjusting the amount of heat for supplying the supply gas to the humidifier. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to downsizing of the entire device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of the supply gas at an inlet of the fuel cell, wherein the supply gas at an inlet of the fuel cell detected by the temperature detecting means is provided. The supply gas supplied to the fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a control device for controlling the calorific value adjusting means based on the temperature of the supply gas. Temperature control device.

[0013] In the invention according to claim 4, the temperature of the supply gas at the inlet of the fuel cell is detected, and the calorie adjusting means is controlled based on the temperature of the supply gas. Therefore, the temperature of the supply gas can be adjusted so that the humidifier has a temperature suitable for exhibiting the original humidification performance.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a temperature control device for a supply gas supplied to a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] First, a temperature control device (hereinafter referred to as a "temperature control device") for a supply gas supplied to a fuel cell of a first embodiment.
Will be described. In the drawings referred to in the first embodiment, FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a fuel cell system including the temperature control device of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the fuel cell.

The fuel cell system FCS shown in FIG. 1 is a power generation system having a fuel cell 1 as a core, which includes a fuel cell 1, an air supply device 2, a hydrogen supply device 3, a control device 4, and the like. Note that the temperature control device GS (GS1) includes the air supply device 2 and the control device 4. It is assumed that the fuel cell system FCS according to the present embodiment is mounted on an automobile (fuel cell electric vehicle).

As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel cell 1 is divided into a cathode electrode side (oxygen electrode side) and an anode electrode side (hydrogen electrode side) with an electrolyte membrane 1c interposed therebetween. An electrode containing a catalyst is provided to form a cathode electrode 1b and an anode electrode 1d. As the electrolyte membrane 1c, a solid polymer membrane, for example, a perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid membrane which is a proton exchange membrane is used. This electrolyte membrane 1c
Has a large number of proton exchange groups in a solid polymer, shows a low specific resistance of 20 Ω-proton or less at room temperature by being saturated with water, and functions as a proton conductive electrolyte. The catalyst included in the cathode electrode 1b is a catalyst that generates oxygen ions from oxygen, and the catalyst included in the anode electrode 1d is a catalyst that generates protons from hydrogen.

Outside the cathode electrode 1b, there is provided a cathode electrode side gas passage 1a through which supply air A as an oxidant gas flows through the cathode electrode 1b.
Outside the electrode d, an anode electrode-side gas passage 1e through which the supply hydrogen H as a fuel gas flows to the anode electrode 1d is provided. The inlet and outlet of the cathode-side gas passage 1a are connected to the air supply device 2, and the anode-side gas passage 1e
Are connected to a hydrogen supply device 3.
The configuration of the fuel cell 1 in FIG. 2 is schematically illustrated as one single cell, but the actual fuel cell 1 is configured as a stacked body in which about 200 single cells are stacked. . Further, the fuel cell 1 has a cooling device (not shown) for cooling the fuel cell 1 because the fuel cell 1 generates heat due to an electrochemical reaction during power generation.

In this fuel cell 1, the supply air A is passed through the cathode-side gas passage 1a, and the anode-side gas passage 1a.
When the supply hydrogen H is supplied to e, the hydrogen is ionized by the catalytic action at the anode electrode 1d to generate protons, and the generated protons move through the electrolyte membrane 1c and reach the cathode electrode 1b. Then, the protons that have reached the cathode electrode 1b immediately react with oxygen ions generated from oxygen of the supply air A in the presence of the catalyst to generate water. The supply air A containing the generated water and unused oxygen is discharged from the outlet on the cathode side of the fuel cell 1 as the discharge air Ae (the discharge air Ae contains a large amount of water). Electrons e- are generated at the anode electrode 1d when hydrogen is ionized, and the generated electrons e- reach the cathode electrode 1b via an external load M such as a motor.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The air supply device 2 constituting S1 includes an air cleaner 21,
A compressor 22, a radiator 23, a humidifier 24, a flow control valve 25, a check valve 26, and a pressure control valve 27 are provided. The radiator 23 is provided in the main passage W1 between the compressor 22 and the fuel cell 1 among them. A flow control valve 25 is provided downstream of the position where the radiator 23 is disposed in the main passage W1. Also,
The bypass passage W2 between the compressor 22 and the fuel cell 1 is formed to bypass the radiator 23. Specifically, it branches off from the main passage W1 between the compressor 22 and the radiator 23, and merges into the main passage W1 between the flow control valve 25 and the humidifier 24. Therefore, the bypass passage W2
Is prevented from passing through the radiator 23. Here, the cross-sectional area of the bypass passage W2 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the main passage W1. Therefore, when the supply air A flows through the bypass passage W2, the pressure on the outlet side of the compressor 22 is higher than when the supply air A flows through the main passage W1. As a result, the supply air A is heated to a higher temperature. Here, specifically, the bypass passage W2
Is preferably set to be equal to or less than half the cross-sectional area of the main passage W1. In addition, the air supply device 2 has temperature sensors T1 and T2 for detecting the temperature of the supply air A and the cooling water supplied to the radiator 23.

The air cleaner 21 is constituted by a filter (not shown) or the like, and filters air (supply air A) supplied to the cathode side of the fuel cell 1 to remove dust contained in the supply air A.

The compressor 22 includes a supercharger (compressor) (not shown) and a motor for driving the supercharger. The compressor 22 adiabatically compresses supply air A used as an oxidant gas in the fuel cell 1 and sends it to the fuel cell 1 under pressure. I do. During the adiabatic compression, the supply air A is heated. The supply air A heated in this way contributes to the warm-up of the fuel cell 1.

The radiator 23 is provided with a cooling water flow path through which cooling water flows. By exchanging heat with the cooling water, the compressor 2 operates during normal operation of the fuel cell 1.
2 is cooling the supply air supplied. A radiator 23A is connected to the radiator 23. The radiator 23A cools the supply water A by the radiator 23 and cools the cooling water heated by the heat with a cooling fan, for example. The temperature of the supply air supplied from the compressor 22 during the normal operation of the fuel cell 1 is normally 12
Although it is about 0 ° C., the fuel cell 1 is operated at a temperature of about 80 to 90 ° C. Therefore, the supply air A is 65 to 80
It is cooled to about ° C and introduced into the fuel cell 1.

The humidifier 24 is of a fuel cell exhaust gas supply type. For example, a hollow fiber membrane bundle formed by bundling a large number, specifically, 5000 hollow fiber membranes, is housed in a housing. Supply air A passes through the hollow fiber membrane, and exhaust air Ae passes inside the housing and outside the hollow fiber membrane. In the fuel cell 1, water is generated along with the power generation, and the discharged air Ae contains a large amount of water. Therefore, the water is exchanged with the supplied air A to humidify the supplied air A. The humidifier includes a fuel cell exhaust gas supply type, a venturi, a water storage tank, and a siphon pipe connecting the venturi and the water storage tank (not shown) (a carburetor). A well-known material such as one that humidifies the supply air A by sucking and spraying the humidifying water stored in the tank by the Venturi effect and spraying the humidified water may be used.

The flow rate adjusting valve 25 is a valve capable of adjusting the opening degree of the flow path. The flow rate increases by increasing the opening degree (opening), and the flow rate increases by decreasing the opening degree.
The flow is reduced. Therefore, when the flow control valve 25 is opened, the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the main passage W1 increases, and the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the bypass passage W2 decreases. Conversely, when the flow control valve 25 is closed, the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the main passage W1 decreases, and the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the bypass passage W2 increases.

The check valve 26 is provided in the bypass passage W2 to prevent the supply air A flowing from the compressor 22 to the humidifier 24 from flowing back.

The pressure control valve 27 is composed of a butterfly valve (not shown) and a stepping motor for driving the butterfly valve. The pressure (discharge pressure) of the exhaust air Ae discharged from the fuel cell 1 is used to control the opening of the pressure control valve 27. Control by decreasing / increasing. Incidentally, when the opening degree of the pressure control valve 27 is reduced, the discharge pressure of the fuel cell 1 increases, and the temperature rise of the discharge air Ae increases accordingly. When the opening of the pressure control valve 27 increases, the discharge pressure of the fuel cell 1 decreases, and the temperature rise of the discharge air Ae decreases correspondingly.

The temperature sensor T1 is composed of a thermistor or the like, detects the temperature of the supply air A at the inlet of the fuel cell 1 on the cathode side, and transmits this detection signal to the control device 4.

The temperature sensor T2 comprises a thermistor or the like similarly to the temperature sensor T1, detects the temperature of the cooling water supplied from the radiator 23A to the radiator 23, and transmits this detection signal to the control device 4. I do.

Also, as shown in FIG.
Is composed of a hydrogen gas cylinder 31, a regulator 32, a hydrogen circulation pump 33 and the like.

The hydrogen gas cylinder 31 is composed of a high-pressure hydrogen container (not shown) and stores the supply hydrogen H introduced to the anode side of the fuel cell 1. The supply hydrogen H to be stored is pure hydrogen, and the pressure is 15 to 20 MPaG (150 to 20 MPaG).
0 kg / cm2G). The hydrogen gas cylinder 31 may be of a hydrogen storage alloy type that contains a hydrogen storage alloy and stores hydrogen at a pressure of about 1 MPaG (10 kg / cm2G).

The regulator 32 is composed of a diaphragm, a pressure adjusting spring (not shown), and the like, and is a pressure control valve for reducing the supply hydrogen H stored at a high pressure to a predetermined pressure so that the hydrogen can be used at a constant pressure.

The hydrogen circulation pump 33 is composed of an ejector (not shown) and the like, and utilizes the flow of the supply hydrogen H toward the anode electrode side of the fuel cell 1 to supply hydrogen after being used as fuel gas in the fuel cell 1. H, that is, fuel cell 1
Hydrogen He discharged from the anode electrode side is sucked and circulated. The reason why the discharged hydrogen is circulated is that the supplied hydrogen H is pure hydrogen stored in the hydrogen gas cylinder 31.

Next, the control device 4 includes a CPU (not shown)
It comprises a memory, an input / output interface, an A / D converter, a bus, etc., and controls the fuel cell system FCS as a whole and controls the temperature of the supply air A supplied to the fuel cell 1. The control device 4 receives the detection signals from the temperature sensors T1 and T2 as described above. Further, the control device 4 transmits control signals to the compressor 22, the flow control valve 25, and the pressure control valve 27. In the present embodiment, the control device 4 controls the flow rate adjusting valve 2 serving as a heat amount adjusting unit.
5 is adjusted to adjust the flow ratio of the supply air A flowing through the main passage W1 and the bypass passage W2, thereby adjusting the amount of heat of the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24.

Next, an example of the operation of the temperature control device GS1 when the fuel cell 1 according to the first embodiment is under a low load will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 3 (see FIG. 1 as appropriate). Here, FIG. 3 is a control flow of the temperature control device of the fuel cell. The target temperature of the supply air A supplied to the fuel cell 1 is 6
5 ° C to 80 ° C.

When the temperature control of the supply air A is started, a target power generation amount of the fuel cell 1 is set based on an accelerator opening signal in a fuel cell electric vehicle (not shown), a required output from other auxiliary devices, and the like. (S1). After the target power generation amount is set, the rotation speed of the compressor 22 corresponding to the target power generation amount is obtained and set with reference to the map shown in FIG. 4 (S2). Here, the rotation speed of the compressor 22 is
It means the number of rotations of the motor that operates the compressor 22. Subsequently, the set rotation speed of the compressor 22 becomes 3
It is detected whether it is less than 000 rpm (S3). When the set rotation speed of the compressor 22 exceeds 3000 rpm, it can be determined that a certain load is applied to the fuel cell 1 and normal power generation is being performed. Therefore, there is no need to raise the temperature of the supply air A, so that the mode directly shifts to the normal mode (S4). That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the rotation speed of the compressor 22 is 3000 rpm.
The following areas are control areas for performing the temperature control according to the present embodiment.

On the other hand, when the rotation speed of the compressor 22 is 300
When it is 0 rpm or less, the fuel cell 1 is in a low load state, and the target power generation amount is low. When the target power generation amount of the fuel cell 1 is low, the temperature of the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24 also decreases, and the temperature of the supply air A may deviate from the target value. Therefore, in step S3, the compressor 22
When the number of rotations is 3000 rpm or less, the temperature of the supply air A is controlled.

In controlling the temperature of the humidifier 24, the calorific value of the supply air, which has been heated by the adiabatic compression of the compressor 22 and raised, is used. Furthermore, the supply air A heated by the adiabatic compression of the compressor 22 contains a large amount of heat and has a high temperature. For this reason, by supplying the supply air A having a large amount of heat and the high temperature to the humidifier 24 at a low temperature in a low load state, the humidifier 24 is heated by the heat of the supply air A. Is what you do.

When the temperature control of the supply air A is started, first, the temperature sensor T1 reads the temperature indicated by the temperature sensor T1 so as to detect the temperature of the supply air A at the inlet of the fuel cell 1 (S5). The humidifier 24 includes a compressor 22
Supply air A is supplied. When the temperature of the supply air A is read by the temperature sensor T1, the temperature T1 becomes 65 ° C.
It is determined whether it is less than (S6). Here, when it is determined that the temperature T1 of the supply air A is equal to or higher than 65 ° C., it is determined whether the temperature T1 of the supply air A detected by the temperature sensor T1 is equal to or lower than 80 ° C. (S7). As a result, if the temperature T1 of the supply air A is equal to or lower than 80 ° C., the supply air A is within the target temperature range, so that the valve opening of the flow control valve 25 is maintained (S8), and the process is terminated. . When the temperature T1 of the supply air A exceeds 80 ° C.,
The flow control valve 25 is opened by 1 deg so as not to exceed the target upper limit value of the supply air A supplied to the fuel cell 1 (S9). When the flow control valve 25 is opened, the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the main passage W1 increases, and the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the bypass passage W2 decreases. Main passage W1
Is cooled by the radiator 23, so that by increasing the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the main passage W1, the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24 is cooled as a whole. Therefore, the flow control valve 25 is set to 1
By opening the deg, the supply air A is gradually cooled.

In step S6, the temperature T of the supply air A is determined.
1 is determined to be 65 ° C. or less, the humidifier 2
Since the temperature of the supply air A supplied to 4 is too low, the humidifier 24 may not be able to exhibit the original humidification performance. Therefore, the supply air A is supplied to the humidifier 24 at a high temperature. For that purpose, first, the temperature T2 of the cooling water in the radiator 23 is read by the temperature sensor T2 (S10). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the temperature T2 of the cooling water read by the temperature sensor T2 is higher than the temperature of the supply air A read by the temperature sensor T1 (S11). As a result, when the temperature T2 of the cooling water is equal to or higher than the temperature T1 of the supply air A, the supply air A is not deprived of heat by the cooling water and cooled. Therefore, the process is terminated without adjusting the opening of the flow control valve 25. At this time, the supply air A passes through the main passage W1 and is supplied from the compressor 22 to the humidifier 24. Therefore, supply air A
Passes through the radiator 23, but the supply air A is not cooled by the radiator 23 because the temperature T2 of the cooling water in the radiator 23 is higher than the temperature T1 of the supply air A. Therefore, the humidifier 24 can be heated by much heat contained in the supply air A, so that the humidifier 24 can exhibit its original humidifying performance.

When the temperature T2 of the cooling water is lower than the temperature T1 of the supply air A, the opening of the flow control valve 25 is set at 1 de.
g is closed (S12). When the flow control valve 25 is closed, the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the bypass passage W2 increases, and the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the main passage W2 decreases. Since the bypass passage W2 is formed around the radiator 23, the supply air A passing through the bypass passage W2 is
It is supplied to the humidifier 24 without being cooled by the radiator 23. Therefore, by closing the flow control valve 25 by 1 deg and gradually increasing the flow rate of the supply air A flowing through the bypass passage W2, the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24 is increased.
Of the humidifier 24 can be raised by the heat of the supply air A. As a result, the humidifier 24
Can exhibit the original humidification performance.

When the opening of the flow control valve 25 has been adjusted, the process is terminated.

By adjusting the temperature of the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24 as described above, the temperature of the humidifier 24 can be controlled. By controlling the temperature of the humidifier 24, the humidifier 24 can exhibit its original humidifying performance. Therefore, the operation of the fuel cell 1 can be performed in a good state.

In this embodiment, as a condition for starting the temperature control of the supply air A, whether or not the fuel cell is in a low temperature state is determined based on the rotation speed of the compressor. The low temperature state of the fuel cell 1 can be determined based on the temperature of the exhaust air Ae discharged from the fuel cell 1.

Further, in the start mode before the fuel cell starts the normal operation, the rotation speed of the compressor 22 is normally kept low. Air A can be supplied to the humidifier 24. The high-temperature supply air A is supplied to the humidifier 24.
, The humidifier 24 can be warmed up at an early stage.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a temperature control device according to a second embodiment will be described. Elements and members that are the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted. Here, FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a fuel cell system including the temperature control device of the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, the temperature control device GS2 of the second embodiment comprises a flow control valve 25 provided in the main passage W1 and a backflow provided in the bypass passage W2 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The prevention valve 26 is not provided.
Instead, a passage area proportional control switching valve 41 for adjusting the passage area proportionally to each passage area is provided at the junction of the main passage W1 and the bypass passage W2. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the opening degree of the passage area proportional control switching valve 41
The flow rate ratio between the supply air A flowing through the main passage W1 and the supply air A flowing through the bypass passage W2 can be adjusted. Thus, by adjusting the flow rate ratio, the humidifier 24
The amount of heat of the supply air A to be supplied to the heater can be adjusted.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a temperature control device according to a third embodiment will be described. Note that the first embodiment and the second embodiment
Elements and members that are the same as in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted. Here, FIG.
FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of a fuel cell system including a temperature control device according to a third embodiment.

In this embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bypass passage W2, the backflow prevention valve 26, and the flow regulating valve 25 provided in the first embodiment are provided. Not. Instead, radiator 2
A pump 23B capable of adjusting the flow rate of cooling water is provided between the radiator 3 and the radiator 23A. Also, this pump 2
3B is connected to the control device 4 so that the flow rate of the cooling water can be controlled by the pump 23B.

Next, the temperature control of the supply air in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. After setting the target power generation (S21), the rotation speed of the compressor is set (S22). Then, the number of rotations of the compressor is 3
It is determined whether the rotation speed is 000 rpm or less (S23).
If the speed exceeds rpm, the mode shifts to the normal mode (S2
4). If the rotation speed is 3000 rpm or less, the temperature sensor T1 is read (S25), the temperature of the supply air A is detected, and it is determined whether the temperature T1 of the supply air A is lower than 65 ° C. (S26). The processes up to this point are the same as those in the first embodiment.

If the temperature T1 of the supply air A is equal to or higher than 65 ° C., it is determined whether the temperature T1 of the supply air A is equal to or lower than 80 ° C. (S27). When the temperature T1 of the supply air A is equal to or lower than 80 ° C., the supply air A is supplied to the humidifier 24 at an appropriate temperature. Maintain (S2
8). When the temperature T1 of the supply air A exceeds 80 ° C., the amount of heat of the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24 needs to be reduced. Therefore, the opening degree of the pump 23B is increased, and the flow rate of the cooling water supplied to the radiator 23 is gradually increased (S29). Since the cooling water cooled by the radiator 23A is supplied to the radiator 23, more heat can be taken from the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24 by increasing the flow rate of the cooling water. . As a result, the amount of heat of the supply air A decreases, and the temperature decreases.
Thus, the temperature of the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24 can be adjusted to an appropriate range.

In step S26, the supply air A
If the temperature T1 is 65 ° C. or lower, the temperature of the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24 is too low, and it is necessary to increase the temperature by giving heat to the supply air A. For this purpose, the temperature sensor T2 is read (S30), the temperature of the cooling water supplied to the radiator 23 is detected, and it is determined whether or not the temperature T2 of the cooling water is lower than the temperature T1 of the supply air A (S3).
1). As a result, when the temperature T2 of the cooling water supplied to the radiator 23 is equal to or higher than the temperature T1 of the supply air A supplied to the humidifier 24, the heat of the supply air A is not deprived by the cooling water. Therefore, the process is terminated as it is. On the other hand, when the temperature T2 of the cooling water is lower than the temperature T1 of the supply air A, the supply air A passes through the radiator 23,
Since heat is taken away by the cooling water to lower the temperature, the operation speed of the pump 23B is reduced, and the flow rate of the cooling water is gradually reduced (S32). When the flow rate of the cooling water decreases, the amount of heat taken from the supply air A decreases, so that the temperature of the supply air A can be reduced accordingly. Then, the process ends.

By controlling the temperature of the supply air A in this way, the humidifier 24 can exhibit its original humidifying performance. Therefore, the operation of the fuel cell 1 can be performed in a good state.

The present invention can be widely modified without being limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, a hydrogen supply device is configured to supply hydrogen from a hydrogen tank to a fuel cell. However, a liquid raw fuel such as methanol is reformed by a reformer to produce a hydrogen-rich fuel gas, which is then supplied to the fuel cell. May be supplied.
Also, regardless of whether or not to use the discharged hydrogen cyclically,
The present invention may be applied to the hydrogen supply device side.

In the fuel cell, oxygen and hydrogen are not consumed unless power is generated (electrons generated at the anode electrode are prevented from moving to the cathode electrode). By the way, if power generation is performed in the start mode, the fuel cell generates heat, which contributes to the warming up of the fuel cell to a considerable extent (however, if the warming up is not performed sufficiently, the power generation efficiency is low and heat generation is low. Few). Alternatively, the end of the start-up mode may be determined not by the temperature but by a time provided with a timer.

[0055]

According to the first aspect of the present invention described above, the heat amount of the supply gas is adjusted by the heat amount adjusting means for adjusting the heat amount of the supply gas supplied from the compressor to the humidifier. Thus, the temperature of the supply gas can be adjusted. Therefore, a supply gas having a certain temperature or higher can be supplied to the humidifier. Therefore, the humidifier can sufficiently exhibit the original humidification performance.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the temperature of the supply gas supplied to the humidifier is low, a part or all of the supply gas supplied from the compressor is passed through the bypass passage to release the heat. Do not perform vessel cooling. Thus, the supply gas heated by the compressor can be supplied to the humidifier as it is, and the humidifier can exhibit the original humidification performance.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the amount of heat taken from the supply gas by the radiator is adjusted by the heat amount adjusting means. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a bypass passage for adjusting the amount of heat for supplying the supply gas to the humidifier. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to downsizing of the entire device.

According to the present invention, the temperature of the supply gas at the inlet of the fuel cell is detected, and the calorie adjusting means is controlled based on the temperature of the supply gas. Therefore, the temperature of the supply gas can be adjusted so that the humidifier has a temperature suitable for exhibiting the original humidification performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a fuel cell system including a temperature control device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the fuel cell of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a control flow of the temperature control device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between a power generation amount of the fuel cell of FIG. 2 and a rotation speed of a compressor.

FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a fuel cell system including a temperature control device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an overall configuration diagram of a fuel cell system including a temperature control device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a control flow of the temperature control device according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 GS1 to GS3 Temperature control device FCS Fuel cell system 1 Fuel cell 2 Air supply device 3 Hydrogen supply device 4 Control device 22 Compressor 23 Radiator 23A Radiator 23B Pump (radiation amount adjusting means) 24 Humidifier 25 Flow rate adjusting valve (heat amount adjusting means) ) 26 Check valve 27 Pressure control valve W1 Main passage W2 Bypass passage A Supply air

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A compressor for supplying a supply gas to a fuel cell, wherein a main passage for flowing the supply gas is formed between the compressor and the fuel cell, and the supply gas is provided in the main passage. A humidifier for humidifying the fuel cell, and a calorific value adjusting means for adjusting a calorific value of the supplied gas supplied to the humidifier. . 2. A radiator is provided between the compressor and the humidifier in the main passage, and the supply gas bypasses the radiator between the compressor and the humidifier. The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein a bypass passage for flowing the fuel is provided, and the heat amount adjusting unit includes a flow control valve that adjusts a flow ratio between the main passage and the bypass passage. Temperature control device for supply gas supplied to 3. A radiator is provided between the compressor and the humidifier in the main passage, and the heat amount adjusting means includes a heat amount adjusting means for controlling a heat release amount of the radiator. The temperature control device of a supply gas supplied to a fuel cell according to claim 1. 4. A temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of the supply gas at an inlet of the fuel cell, wherein a temperature of the supply gas at an inlet of the fuel cell detected by the temperature detecting means is provided. 4. The temperature control device for a supply gas supplied to a fuel cell according to claim 1, further comprising a control device that controls the calorific value adjusting unit. 5.