KR100778567B1 - Exhaustion system and method thereof for fuel cell vehicle system - Google Patents

Abstract

An exhaust system and an exhaust method for a fuel cell vehicle system are provided to prevent an accumulation of residual hydrogen caused due to faults of a motor fan and reduce risk of fire. An exhaust system for a fuel cell vehicle system includes a diffuser(10), an air process unit(20), an air compressor(30), and an air line(40). The diffuser discharges at least one of aqueous vapor and residual hydrogen. The air process unit controls creation of air and supply of air to the diffuser. The air compressor generates air in accordance with the control of the air process unit. The air line supplies air generated from the air compressor to the diffuser. The diffuser includes a motor fan(18) for discharging the residual hydrogen or the aqueous vapor to the outside by the rotating force thereof, a magnetic valve(12) for controlling supply of air to the motor fan, a check valve(16) for checking and controlling back-flow of air, and a connector(14) for connecting the motor fan, the magnetic valve and the check valve.

Description

Exhaust System and Method of Fuel Cell Vehicle System

1 illustrates a hydrogen exhaust system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A illustrates a substantial model of the diffuser region of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 2B illustrates a substantial model of the air generation and supply zone of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a flow chart showing a hydrogen exhaust method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

      <Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

10: diffuser 12: magnetic valve

14 Connector 16: Check Valve

18: motor fan 20: air process unit

30: air compressor 40: air line

50: Vacuum Control Unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exhaust system and an exhaust method of a fuel cell vehicle, and more particularly to an exhaust system and an exhaust method of a fuel cell vehicle capable of stably operating a diffuser for hydrogen exhaust of a vehicle.

Automobiles, combined with the development of the petroleum industry, have developed very fast and extensively, and are now recognized as a necessity of life. However, with limited resource problems such as petroleum and environmental pollution, the development of automobiles that can use alternative energy is increasing. Automobiles are newly designed, manufactured, and applied to engines and peripheral accessories associated with engines according to the characteristics of the above alternative energy. For example, in the case of a car using a battery, it is developing into a form in which a battery can be charged and provided, and in the case of a car using a solar heat, a solar panel capable of collecting solar heat is separately attached to the exterior of the car. do. However, in the case of the electric vehicle described above, the actual distance that the vehicle can be driven and the power limitation of the vehicle are problematic. That is, a vehicle using a battery has limitations due to the limitations of the amount of charge of the battery, the time required for charging, the power of the vehicle, and the like. There is this.

In order to solve this problem of electric vehicles, electric vehicles using hydrogen have recently been proposed. In vehicles using hydrogen, the exhaust system combines hydrogen and oxygen by chemical reactions to release water vapor, a by-product, as well as to prevent the risk of explosion and fire upon contact with flammable materials when hydrogen remains. It is also used for the discharge function. In particular, in the case of a fuel cell bus, which is a commercial vehicle, a large amount of electricity must be generated, thereby increasing the amount of residual hydrogen to be discharged as well as by-products from chemical reactions.

The conventional fuel cell vehicle is provided with a diffuser including a motor fan for discharging the above-described residual hydrogen, and the residual hydrogen is discharged by the constant rotation of the motor fan in the diffuser. However, the fuel cell bus has a very complicated structure including various electronic components such as a fuel cell stack, a supercapacitor, a motor control unit, an auxiliary battery, and a power control unit. Due to the complexity of this configuration and the failure of signal transmission and various other factors between the components, the system is often down or other motors fail due to overload. However, since residual hydrogen accumulates over time regardless of the failure of the motor fan, the actual risk of explosion due to residual hydrogen is very high when the motor fan fails.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, by discharging residual hydrogen in the exhaust system of a fuel cell vehicle using air, the operation of the motor fan due to the overload and failure of the system of other fuel cell vehicle The present invention proposes an exhaust system and an exhaust method of a fuel cell vehicle that can prevent the accumulation of other residual hydrogen in the fuel cell, thereby eliminating the explosion risk due to the accumulation of residual hydrogen.

In order to achieve the above object, an exhaust system of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a diffuser for discharging at least one of the discharge of water vapor and residual hydrogen; An air process unit for generating air and controlling the air supply to the diffuser; An air compressor for generating the air under control of the air process unit; And an air line for supplying air generated in the air compressor to the diffuser.

The diffuser is a motor fan for rotating the fan to discharge the residual hydrogen or the water vapor to the outside by the rotational force; A magnetic valve controlling the supply of the air to the motor fan; A check valve for checking a backflow phenomenon of the air and controlling it; And a connector connecting the motor fan, the magnetic valve, and the check valves.

The system may further include a vacuum control unit that recognizes a fan failure and controls the opening of the magnetic valve to supply the air to the diffuser when the motor fan fails.

Exhaust method of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention to achieve the above object comprises the steps of checking whether or not the operation of the diffuser; Supplying air by opening an air line connected to the diffuser when detecting an abnormal operation of the diffuser; And discharging residual hydrogen by rotating the motor fan by using the supplied air.

The method includes checking for backflow of the air; And shutting off the air supply when the backflow phenomenon occurs.

The above and other objects and features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing an exhaust system of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figures 2a and 2b is a view showing an actual hydrogen exhaust system of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 2B, an exhaust system of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, first, the diffuser 10 responsible for the discharge of water vapor and residual hydrogen, air process for controlling the components using air The air compressor 30 which generates and supplies air under the control of the air process unit (APU) 20 and the air process unit 20, and supplies the air generated in the air compressor 30 to the diffuser 10. It may further include a Vacuum Control Unit (50) configured to include an air line 40, and to control the diffuser 10 to selectively use the air supplied to the diffuser (10).

The diffuser 10 discharges water vapor, which is a by-product generated by the chemical reaction of the hydrogen fuel, and discharges residual hydrogen so that additional hydrogen generated during the chemical reaction does not accumulate. To this end, the diffuser 10 includes a magnetic valve 12, a check valve 16, a connector 14, and a motor fan 18.

The magnetic valve 12 is a valve that controls the supply of air to supply and discharge air to the motor fan 18 to drive the motor fan 18.

The check valve 16 checks the phenomenon of backflow of the supplied air due to an abnormal operation of the motor fan 18 and an abnormal operation of the magnetic valve 12. In addition, the check valve 16 checks not only the backflow phenomenon of air but also the backflow phenomenon of residual hydrogen and water vapor, and blocks the backflow of air, residual hydrogen and water vapor.

The connector 14 connects the air line 40 and the motor fan 18, the air line 40 and the magnetic valve 12 to operate the air of the motor fan 18 included in the diffuser 10 by air. It is a configuration for the connection and connection of the check valve 16 for controlling residual hydrogen backflow from the motor fan 18. That is, the connector 14 performs a function of coupling each component inside the diffuser 10.

The motor fan 18 rotates the fan to discharge residual hydrogen and water vapor to the outside by the rotational force. The motor fan 18 may be driven at all times to discharge steam and residual hydrogen, or may operate at regular time intervals to discharge residual hydrogen to the outside. In addition, the motor fan 18 of the present invention can operate using the supply of air according to the control of the vacuum control unit 50 in the event of breakage, short circuit or failure due to overload, thereby discharging water vapor and residual hydrogen.

The air process unit 20 controls supplying the air generated by the air compressor 30 to each configuration, for example, a brake unit, a suspension unit, a door and an air seat. In the case of the brake unit and the suspension unit, the air process unit 20 is always operated when the vehicle is driven, thereby maintaining the supply and discharge of air to the brake unit and the suspension unit continuously in each operation. In addition, the air process unit 20 recognizes an air line 40 connecting the air compressor 30 and the diffuser 10 when an air supply request occurs due to the motor fan 18 or more of the diffuser 10. And, it is controlled to supply air to the recognized air line 40.

The air compressor 30 is a unit that generates air for supplying air to the above configuration requiring air, that is, a brake unit, a suspension unit, a door and an air seat. It is preferable that the air compressor 50 of this invention uses the fuel cell auxiliary air compressor.

The vacuum control unit 50 is a valve unit for controlling operating underpressures such as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves and air valves of the exhaust gas ignition device in accordance with engine operation conditions. The vacuum control unit 50 of the present invention recognizes a fan failure when the motor fan 18 included in the diffuser 10 fails, opens the magnetic valve 12, and supplies air to the diffuser 10. When the fan fails, the fan is controlled to discharge residual hydrogen by driving the fan.

In the above, the respective components constituting the exhaust system of the fuel cell vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described. Hereinafter, a method of exhausting water vapor and residual hydrogen using an exhaust system of a fuel cell vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of evacuating a fuel cell vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the method for evacuating a fuel cell vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention first checks whether the diffuser 10 is operated (S101).

In operation S101, the vacuum control unit 50 detects abnormal operation of the diffuser 10, that is, abnormal driving due to disconnection, short and overload to the motor fan 18, and accordingly, the diffuser ( 10 to control the on-off of the airline 40 connected.

In operation S101, when an abnormal operation of the diffuser 10 occurs, air is supplied to the diffuser 10 (S102).

In operation S102, when an operation abnormality occurs in the diffuser 10, the air compressor 40 is opened by connecting the diffuser 10 and the air compressor 30 to diffuse the air generated by the air compressor 30. To be supplied. To this end, the air process unit 20 recognizes the air line 40 connected to the diffuser 10, and supplies air generated from the air compressor 30 to the magnetic valve 12, wherein the vacuum control unit 50 supplies the air of the air compressor 30 to the motor fan 18 of the diffuser 10 by opening the magnetic valve 12.

Next, the diffuser 10 rotates the motor fan 18 using the supplied air, and discharges water vapor and residual hydrogen using this force (S103).

In step S103, the motor fan 18 receives air generated from the air compressor 30 and rotates the motor fan 18 to perform discharge of residual hydrogen.

On the other hand, in step S103, the check valve 16 checks the backflow phenomenon of air, residual hydrogen and water vapor (S104), and when the backflow phenomenon of air, residual hydrogen and water vapor can be blocked (S105).

In step S105, the check valve 16 basically blocks the air line 40 to supply and back the air when the air backflow occurs, additionally, the motor fan 18 and the residual hydrogen and water vapor backflow occurs It is possible to prevent the back flow by blocking the connected air line 40.

Exhaust system and exhaust method of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration and method is to drive the motor fan using the air generated from the air compressor when the failure of the motor fan, residual hydrogen By preventing the accumulation of, it is possible to prevent the risk of explosion due to residual hydrogen.

As described above, the exhaust system and the exhaust method of the fuel cell vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention, by exhausting the exhaust of residual hydrogen in the exhaust system of the fuel cell vehicle by using air, By preventing the accumulation of other residual hydrogen in the non-operation of the motor fan due to overload and failure, the risk of explosion due to the accumulation of residual hydrogen can be eliminated.

In addition, preferred embodiments of the present invention are disclosed for the purpose of illustration, those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications, changes, additions, etc. within the spirit and scope of the present invention, such modifications and modifications belong to the scope of the claims You will have to look.

Claims (5)

A diffuser for discharging at least one of the discharge of steam and residual hydrogen; An air process unit for generating air and controlling the air supply to the diffuser; An air compressor for generating the air under control of the air process unit; And And an air line for supplying air generated by the air compressor to the diffuser. The method of claim 1, The diffuser A motor fan rotating the fan to discharge the residual hydrogen or the steam to the outside by a rotational force; A magnetic valve controlling the supply of the air to the motor fan; A check valve for checking a backflow phenomenon of the air and controlling it; And And a connector connecting the motor fan, the magnetic valve and the check valves to the exhaust fan of the fuel cell vehicle. The method of claim 2, And a vacuum control unit for recognizing a fan failure and controlling the opening of the magnetic valve to supply the air to the diffuser when the motor fan has failed. Checking whether an abnormal operation of the diffuser occurs; Supplying air by opening an air line connected to the diffuser when detecting an abnormal operation of the diffuser; And And discharging residual hydrogen by rotating the motor fan by using the supplied air. The method of claim 4, wherein Checking backflow of the air; And And shutting off the air supply when the backflow phenomenon occurs.

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