US20090117417A1 - Method for model based exhaust mixing control in a fuel cell application - Google Patents
Method for model based exhaust mixing control in a fuel cell application Download PDFInfo
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- US20090117417A1 US20090117417A1 US11/936,642 US93664207A US2009117417A1 US 20090117417 A1 US20090117417 A1 US 20090117417A1 US 93664207 A US93664207 A US 93664207A US 2009117417 A1 US2009117417 A1 US 2009117417A1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
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- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04082—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration
- H01M8/04089—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants
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- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04223—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids during start-up or shut-down; Depolarisation or activation, e.g. purging; Means for short-circuiting defective fuel cells
- H01M8/04231—Purging of the reactants
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- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0432—Temperature; Ambient temperature
- H01M8/04343—Temperature; Ambient temperature of anode exhausts
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- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0438—Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow
- H01M8/04395—Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow of cathode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell
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- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
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- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0438—Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow
- H01M8/04402—Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow of anode exhausts
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
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- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0438—Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow
- H01M8/04425—Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow at auxiliary devices, e.g. reformers, compressors, burners
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- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0438—Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow
- H01M8/04432—Pressure differences, e.g. between anode and cathode
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- H01M8/04313—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the detection or assessment of variables; characterised by the detection or assessment of failure or abnormal function
- H01M8/0444—Concentration; Density
- H01M8/0447—Concentration; Density of cathode exhausts
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- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
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- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04694—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by variables to be controlled
- H01M8/04746—Pressure; Flow
- H01M8/04753—Pressure; Flow of fuel cell reactants
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04694—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by variables to be controlled
- H01M8/04746—Pressure; Flow
- H01M8/04761—Pressure; Flow of fuel cell exhausts
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04694—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by variables to be controlled
- H01M8/04746—Pressure; Flow
- H01M8/04776—Pressure; Flow at auxiliary devices, e.g. reformer, compressor, burner
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- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
- H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
- H01M8/04992—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems characterised by the implementation of mathematical or computational algorithms, e.g. feedback control loops, fuzzy logic, neural networks or artificial intelligence
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
- H01M8/10—Fuel cells with solid electrolytes
- H01M2008/1095—Fuel cells with polymeric electrolytes
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
- Y02E60/50—Fuel cells
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
- Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
Definitions
- This invention relates generally to a system and method for controlling a nitrogen bleed from an anode sub-system in a fuel cell system and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling a nitrogen bleed from an anode sub-system in a fuel cell system, where the method includes mixing the anode bleed gas with a cathode exhaust gas, and controlling the cathode input air based on the concentration of hydrogen in the anode bleed gas so as to maintain the concentration of hydrogen in the combined cathode and anode exhaust gas below a certain percentage.
- a hydrogen fuel cell is an electrochemical device that includes an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte therebetween.
- the anode receives hydrogen gas and the cathode receives oxygen or air.
- the hydrogen gas is dissociated in the anode to generate free protons and electrons.
- the protons pass through the electrolyte to the cathode.
- the protons react with the oxygen and the electrons in the cathode to generate water.
- the electrons from the anode cannot pass through the electrolyte, and thus are directed through a load to perform work before being sent to the cathode.
- PEMFC Proton exchange membrane fuel cells
- the PEMFC generally includes a solid polymer electrolyte proton conducting membrane, such as a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane.
- the anode and cathode typically include finely divided catalytic particles, usually platinum (Pt), supported on carbon particles and mixed with an ionomer.
- Pt platinum
- the catalytic mixture is deposited on opposing sides of the membrane.
- the combination of the anode catalytic mixture, the cathode catalytic mixture and the membrane define a membrane electrode assembly (MEA).
- MEAs are relatively expensive to manufacture and require certain conditions for effective operation.
- a typical fuel cell stack for a vehicle may have two hundred or more stacked fuel cells.
- the fuel cell stack receives a cathode input reactant gas, typically a flow of air forced through the stack by a compressor. Not all of the oxygen is consumed by the stack and some of the air is output as a cathode exhaust gas that may include water as a stack by-product.
- the fuel cell stack also receives an anode hydrogen reactant gas that flows into the anode side of the stack.
- the stack also includes flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
- the fuel cell stack includes a series of bipolar plates positioned between the several MEAs in the stack, where the bipolar plates and the MEAs are 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 gas 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 a conductive material, such as stainless steel or a conductive composite. The end plates conduct the electricity generated by the fuel cells out of the stack.
- the bipolar plates also include flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
- the MEAs are porous and thus allow nitrogen in the air from the cathode side of the stack to permeate therethrough and collect in the anode side of the stack, referred to in the industry as nitrogen cross-over.
- Nitrogen in the anode side of the fuel cell stack dilutes the hydrogen such that if the nitrogen concentration increases beyond a certain percentage, such as 50%, the fuel cell stack becomes unstable and may fail. It is known in the art to provide a bleed valve at the anode gas output of the fuel cell stack to remove nitrogen from the anode side of the stack.
- the gas that is periodically bled from the anode side typically includes a considerable amount of hydrogen. Because the hydrogen will mix with air if it is vented to be in the environment, a potential combustible mixture may occur which provides obvious safety concerns. It is known in the art to direct the bled gas to a combustor to burn most or all of the hydrogen therein before the bled gas is exhausted to the environment. However, the combustor adds a significant cost and complexity to the fuel cell system, which is undesirable.
- a hydrogen concentration sensor can be provided in the cathode exhaust gas line after the mixing point with the anode bleed gas to detect the concentration of hydrogen.
- the hydrogen concentration sensor would provide a signal to the controller during the bleed indicative of the concentration of hydrogen in the mixed exhaust gas. If the concentration of hydrogen was to high, the controller would increase the speed of the compressor to provide more cathode exhaust air to lower the concentration of hydrogen.
- the controller would have to close the bleed valve.
- the hydrogen sensor would have to be inexpensive and be able to withstand the humidity of the exhaust gas.
- known hydrogen concentration sensors are unable to fulfill these requirements.
- a system and method for controlling a bleed valve and a compressor in a fuel cell system during an anode bleed so as to maintain the concentration of hydrogen within a mixed cathode exhaust gas and anode bleed gas below a predetermined percentage.
- the system uses a valve orifice model to calculate the flow rate of the anode bleed gas through the bleed valve to identify how much airflow from the compressor is required to dilute the hydrogen in the mixed gas to be below the predetermined percentage.
- the system also takes sensor inaccuracies and production tolerances into account to ensure that the concentration of hydrogen in the mixed anode and cathode exhaust gas is below the determined percentage.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fuel cell system employing a technique for controlling an anode bleed, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control scheme for controlling a bleed valve in the system shown in FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a fuel cell system 10 including a fuel cell stack 12 .
- the fuel cell system 10 is intended to generally represent any type of fuel cell system that requires an anode exhaust gas bleed to remove nitrogen from the anode side of the stack 12 , such as fuel cell systems that recirculate the anode exhaust gas back to the anode inlet and fuel cell systems that employ a split stack design with anode flow shifting.
- Hydrogen gas from a hydrogen source 14 is provided to the anode side of the fuel cell stack 12 on line 18 .
- An anode exhaust gas is output from the fuel cell stack 12 on line 20 and is sent to a bleed valve 26 .
- a cathode exhaust gas from the stack 12 is output from the stack 12 on cathode exhaust gas line 34 .
- the bled gas in the line 28 is mixed with the cathode exhaust gas on line 34 in a mixing junction 36 .
- a pressure sensor 40 measures the pressure at the inlet to the bleed valve 26
- a pressure sensor 42 measures the delta pressure across the bleed valve 26
- a temperature sensor 44 measures the temperature of the anode exhaust gas at the inlet to the bleed valve 26 .
- the pressure sensor 40 can be any pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the anode sub-system, and a stack coolant temperature sensor can be used instead of the temperature sensor 44 .
- a flow meter 46 measures the flow of air being input to the cathode side of the fuel cell stack 12 .
- the flow meter can be eliminated and the flow rate of the compressor air can be derived based on various factors, such as a compressor map, compressor speed, inlet/outlet pressure, temperature, etc.
- a controller 48 receives the temperature signal from the temperature sensor 44 , the pressure signal from the pressure sensor 40 , the pressure signal from the pressure sensor 42 and the flow signal from the flow meter 46 .
- the controller 48 includes an algorithm, discussed below, that determines the concentration and the amount of hydrogen being bled from the bleed valve 26 , and controls the compressor 30 and the bleed valve 26 to maintain the concentration of hydrogen in the combined exhaust gas below a predetermined level.
- the algorithm calculates the concentration of hydrogen that is being vented to the atmosphere. This concentration of hydrogen is based on the cathode exhaust gas flow and the anode exhaust gas flow.
- the cathode gas flow is provided by the flow meter 46 .
- the anode exhaust gas flow is calculated based on an orifice model of the bleed valve 26 .
- the actual mole fractions of nitrogen, hydrogen and water vapor in the anode exhaust gas is calculated based on the assumption that the water fraction is about 100% relative humidity for the measured temperature.
- the dry hydrogen mole fraction can be estimated by evaluating cell voltages, making use of specific sensors or setting the hydrogen mole fraction to 1 as a worst case assumption.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system 60 for controlling the bleed valve 26 and the compressor 30 during an anode exhaust gas bleed, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- the system 60 includes a stack control module 62 that generates a bleed request signal on line 66 at those times it is necessary for the bleed valve 26 to be opened to reduce the amount of nitrogen in the anode exhaust gas.
- Various techniques for determining when to bleed the anode exhaust gas are known in the art, some of which model the concentration of nitrogen in the anode exhaust gas. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/952,200, filed Sep. 28, 2004 entitled Method for Controlling Nitrogen Fraction discloses one such system.
- the stack control module 62 also calculates the cathode airflow request for the current stack load and provides a stack airflow request signal on line 72 .
- the bleed request signal is sent to an anode control module 64 that provides a bleed command signal on line 68 to a bleed valve in a fuel cell system 70 .
- the anode control module 64 uses a valve model to calculate the hydrogen that will flow through the bleed valve 26 and mix with the cathode exhaust gas.
- the anode control module 64 adjusts the differential pressure across the bleed valve 26 to control the anode exhaust gas flow therethrough during the bleed by controlling the opening of the valve 26 .
- the anode control module 64 also generates an airflow request signal on line 74 that needs to be provided to dilute the hydrogen in the anode exhaust gas during the bleed so that the percentage of hydrogen in the mixed exhaust gas is below the predetermined safety level.
- Both of the airflow request signals on the lines 72 and 74 are sent to a maximum processor 76 that takes the larger of the two values, and sends it to a cathode control module 78 on line 88 .
- the cathode control module 78 also receives a measured cathode airflow signal on line 80 from the flow sensor 46 indicating the actual airflow from the compressor 30 .
- the cathode control module 78 generates a compressor command signal that is sent to the fuel cell system 70 on line 82 for controlling the speed of the compressor 30 .
- the compressor command signal will satisfy both the stack load requirement and the amount of air at the mixing junction 36 that is necessary to dilute the hydrogen below the predetermined safety level during the nitrogen bleed.
- the cathode control module 78 provides a guaranteed airflow signal on line 84 that takes potential sensor inaccuracies and production tolerances into consideration.
- the guaranteed airflow signal considers airflow and model accuracies, production tolerances, mass flow splits between the main airflow to the cathode inlet of the stack 12 and to the mixing junction 36 , etc.
- the guaranteed airflow signal on the line 84 and the airflow request signal on the line 74 are compared in the comparator 86 . If the airflow request signal is smaller than the guaranteed airflow signal, the hydrogen concentration limit will not be exceeded, and the bleed valve 26 can be opened. Otherwise, the anode control module 64 will not open the bleed valve 26 .
- the stack control module 62 can request a nitrogen bleed using various techniques.
- the bleed valve 26 is opened if the following equation is true.
- equation (3) is a worst case assumption that all of the water is condensed.
- the anode control model 64 uses a valve model to calculate the hydrogen that is bled from the bleed valve 26 .
- the valve model uses the following equation to provide the calculation.
- kv is the characteristic value for the bleed valve 26
- Q is the flow rate of the anode exhaust gas flowing through the bleed valve 26
- p 1 is the pressure at the inlet of the bleed valve 26
- p 2 is the pressure at the outlet of the bleed valve 26
- ⁇ n is the density of the anode exhaust gas
- T is the temperature of the anode exhaust gas.
- the parameters and sensor signals should be chosen in a way that the anode exhaust gas flow Q calculated would be higher or equal to the real unknown anode exhaust gas flow Q real . This results in the following worst case assumptions for equation (5).
- the flow rate of the anode exhaust gas through the bleed valve 26 can be calculated in other ways. According to another embodiment of the invention, the flow rate through the bleed valve 26 is calculated as:
- Equation (17) is for the worst case where the anode exhaust gas is pure H 2 , but will be less than 1 if better information is available. If equation (17) is assumed to be 1, then equations (18) and (19) below are:
- Equation (18) is for the worst case where the anode exhaust gas is pure H 2 , but will be more than 0 if better information is available.
- Equation (19) is for the worst case where the anode exhaust gas is pure H 2 , but will be greater than 0 if better information is available.
- T 1 T SensorReading ⁇ T SensorTolerance (21)
- T 1 is the temperature sensor reading and includes data sheet information.
- p 1 is the pressure sensor reading and includes data sheet information.
- ⁇ p is the delta pressure sensor reading and includes data sheet information.
- C v is the characteristic value of a valve [gal/min]
- p 1 is the absolute value of the up stream pressure of the anode bleed valve 26 [kPa];
- p 2 is the absolute value of the downstream pressure of the anode bleed valve 26 [kPa];
- T 1 is the gas temperature at the anode bleed valve inlet [K];
- ⁇ p BleedValve is the pressure difference over the anode bleed valve 26 [kPa];
- M Bleed is the molar weight of the anode bleed flow [g/mol]
- x i,Bleed is the mole fraction of species i in the anode bleed gas
- Air,Cath,In is the measured air mass flow at stack cathode inlet ⁇ tolerance of mass flow sensor
- dn H 2 ,An,Out is the hydrogen flow at the stack anode outlet [mol/s];
- dn N 2 ,An,Out is the nitrogen flow at the stack anode outlet [mol/s];
- dn N 2 ,Cath,Out is the nitrogen flow at the stack anode outlet [mol/s];
- dn O 2 ,Cath,Out is the oxygen flow at the stack anode outlet [mol/s];
- dn N 2 ,CathToAnPermeation is the nitrogen flow permeating from the stack cathode side through membrane(s) into the stack anode side [mol/s];
- dn H 2 O,Cath,Out is the vaporized water stream at the stack cathode outlet [mol/s];
- dn H 2 O,An,Out is the vaporized water stream at the stack anode outlet [mol/s];
- I is the stack current [A] and tolerance of sensor
- n is the number of cells in the stack
- Q e is the elementary charge (1.6022 e-19 Coulomb);
- N a is the Avagadro Constant (6.022 e23);
- Air is the maximum molar weight of air at all ambient conditions in which vehicle operation is possible [g/mol];
- x O 2 ,Cath,In is the minimum molar fraction of oxygen in air at all ambient conditions in which vehicle operation is possible;
- x N 2 ,Cath,In is the minimum molar fraction of nitrogen in air at all ambient conditions in which vehicle operation is possible
- x H 2 ,Offgas,Max is the maximum allowed molar fraction of hydrogen in the air at end of the vehicle tailpipe.
- the value dn N 2 ,CathToAnPermeation is dependant on the stack temperature and the nitrogen partial pressure and can be calculated by membrane permeation models.
- the value dn H 2 O,Cath,Out,Vap 0 could be replaced by a better value if this stream is known exactly.
- the desired air mass flow can be calculated as:
- dm Air,Cath,In,des is the desired air mass flow at the cathode inlet and x H 2 O,Cath,In is the maximum molar fraction of water in air at all ambient conditions in which vehicle operation is possible. Water is not taken into account because it may condense before the exhaust gas leaves the tailpipe. If the content of vaporized water at the end of the tailpipe is known it could be integrated into the formula to reduce the airflow command.
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Abstract
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- This invention relates generally to a system and method for controlling a nitrogen bleed from an anode sub-system in a fuel cell system and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling a nitrogen bleed from an anode sub-system in a fuel cell system, where the method includes mixing the anode bleed gas with a cathode exhaust gas, and controlling the cathode input air based on the concentration of hydrogen in the anode bleed gas so as to maintain the concentration of hydrogen in the combined cathode and anode exhaust gas below a certain percentage.
- 2. Discussion of the Related Art
- Hydrogen is a very attractive fuel because it is clean and can be used to efficiently produce electricity in a fuel cell. A hydrogen fuel cell is an electrochemical device that includes an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte therebetween. The anode receives hydrogen gas and the cathode receives oxygen or air. The hydrogen gas is dissociated in the anode to generate free protons and electrons. The protons pass through the electrolyte to the cathode. The protons react with the oxygen and the electrons in the cathode to generate water. The electrons from the anode cannot pass through the electrolyte, and thus are directed through a load to perform work before being sent to the cathode.
- Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are a popular fuel cell for vehicles. The PEMFC generally includes a solid polymer electrolyte proton conducting membrane, such as a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. The anode and cathode typically include finely divided catalytic particles, usually platinum (Pt), supported on carbon particles and mixed with an ionomer. The catalytic mixture is deposited on opposing sides of the membrane. The combination of the anode catalytic mixture, the cathode catalytic mixture and the membrane define a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). MEAs are relatively expensive to manufacture and require certain conditions for effective operation.
- Several fuel cells are typically combined in a fuel cell stack to generate the desired power. For example, a typical fuel cell stack for a vehicle may have two hundred or more stacked fuel cells. The fuel cell stack receives a cathode input reactant gas, typically a flow of air forced through the stack by a compressor. Not all of the oxygen is consumed by the stack and some of the air is output as a cathode exhaust gas that may include water as a stack by-product. The fuel cell stack also receives an anode hydrogen reactant gas that flows into the anode side of the stack. The stack also includes flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
- The fuel cell stack includes a series of bipolar plates positioned between the several MEAs in the stack, where the bipolar plates and the MEAs are 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 gas 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 a conductive material, such as stainless steel or a conductive composite. The end plates conduct the electricity generated by the fuel cells out of the stack. The bipolar plates also include flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
- The MEAs are porous and thus allow nitrogen in the air from the cathode side of the stack to permeate therethrough and collect in the anode side of the stack, referred to in the industry as nitrogen cross-over. Nitrogen in the anode side of the fuel cell stack dilutes the hydrogen such that if the nitrogen concentration increases beyond a certain percentage, such as 50%, the fuel cell stack becomes unstable and may fail. It is known in the art to provide a bleed valve at the anode gas output of the fuel cell stack to remove nitrogen from the anode side of the stack.
- The gas that is periodically bled from the anode side typically includes a considerable amount of hydrogen. Because the hydrogen will mix with air if it is vented to be in the environment, a potential combustible mixture may occur which provides obvious safety concerns. It is known in the art to direct the bled gas to a combustor to burn most or all of the hydrogen therein before the bled gas is exhausted to the environment. However, the combustor adds a significant cost and complexity to the fuel cell system, which is undesirable.
- It is also known in the art to eliminate the combustor and directly mix the anode bleed gas with the cathode exhaust gas. If the anode bleed gas is directly mixed with the cathode exhaust gas without control, the amount of hydrogen in the anode exhaust gas is unknown. A hydrogen concentration sensor can be provided in the cathode exhaust gas line after the mixing point with the anode bleed gas to detect the concentration of hydrogen. The hydrogen concentration sensor would provide a signal to the controller during the bleed indicative of the concentration of hydrogen in the mixed exhaust gas. If the concentration of hydrogen was to high, the controller would increase the speed of the compressor to provide more cathode exhaust air to lower the concentration of hydrogen. If the compressor was unable to effectively keep the concentration of hydrogen below the safe limit for the stack load, then the controller would have to close the bleed valve. However, the hydrogen sensor would have to be inexpensive and be able to withstand the humidity of the exhaust gas. Currently, known hydrogen concentration sensors are unable to fulfill these requirements.
- In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a system and method are disclosed for controlling a bleed valve and a compressor in a fuel cell system during an anode bleed so as to maintain the concentration of hydrogen within a mixed cathode exhaust gas and anode bleed gas below a predetermined percentage. The system uses a valve orifice model to calculate the flow rate of the anode bleed gas through the bleed valve to identify how much airflow from the compressor is required to dilute the hydrogen in the mixed gas to be below the predetermined percentage. The system also takes sensor inaccuracies and production tolerances into account to ensure that the concentration of hydrogen in the mixed anode and cathode exhaust gas is below the determined percentage.
- Additional features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fuel cell system employing a technique for controlling an anode bleed, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control scheme for controlling a bleed valve in the system shown inFIG. 1 . - The following discussion of the embodiments of the invention directed to a system and method for controlling an anode bleed in a fuel cell system is merely exemplary in nature, and is in no way intended to limit the invention or its applications or uses.
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of afuel cell system 10 including afuel cell stack 12. Thefuel cell system 10 is intended to generally represent any type of fuel cell system that requires an anode exhaust gas bleed to remove nitrogen from the anode side of thestack 12, such as fuel cell systems that recirculate the anode exhaust gas back to the anode inlet and fuel cell systems that employ a split stack design with anode flow shifting. Hydrogen gas from ahydrogen source 14 is provided to the anode side of thefuel cell stack 12 online 18. An anode exhaust gas is output from thefuel cell stack 12 online 20 and is sent to a bleedvalve 26. A cathode exhaust gas from thestack 12 is output from thestack 12 on cathodeexhaust gas line 34. - As discussed above, nitrogen cross-over from the cathode side of the
fuel cell stack 12 dilutes the hydrogen in the anode side that affects stack performance. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically bleed the anode exhaust gas to reduce the amount of nitrogen in the anode sub-system. In this embodiment, the bled gas in theline 28 is mixed with the cathode exhaust gas online 34 in a mixingjunction 36. - In order to monitor the anode sub-system, various sensors are provided in the
system 10. Particularly, apressure sensor 40 measures the pressure at the inlet to thebleed valve 26, apressure sensor 42 measures the delta pressure across thebleed valve 26 and atemperature sensor 44 measures the temperature of the anode exhaust gas at the inlet to thebleed valve 26. Thepressure sensor 40 can be any pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the anode sub-system, and a stack coolant temperature sensor can be used instead of thetemperature sensor 44. Further, aflow meter 46 measures the flow of air being input to the cathode side of thefuel cell stack 12. In an alternate embodiment, the flow meter can be eliminated and the flow rate of the compressor air can be derived based on various factors, such as a compressor map, compressor speed, inlet/outlet pressure, temperature, etc. - As discussed above, it is necessary to control the bleed of the anode exhaust gas to the cathode
exhaust gas line 34 so that the concentration of hydrogen therein is maintained below a predetermined safe level. Typically, it is desirable to maintain the percentage of hydrogen in the mixed anode and cathode exhaust gas to be less than a few percent by volume. In order to perform this function, acontroller 48 receives the temperature signal from thetemperature sensor 44, the pressure signal from thepressure sensor 40, the pressure signal from thepressure sensor 42 and the flow signal from theflow meter 46. Thecontroller 48 includes an algorithm, discussed below, that determines the concentration and the amount of hydrogen being bled from thebleed valve 26, and controls thecompressor 30 and thebleed valve 26 to maintain the concentration of hydrogen in the combined exhaust gas below a predetermined level. - The algorithm calculates the concentration of hydrogen that is being vented to the atmosphere. This concentration of hydrogen is based on the cathode exhaust gas flow and the anode exhaust gas flow. The cathode gas flow is provided by the
flow meter 46. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the anode exhaust gas flow is calculated based on an orifice model of thebleed valve 26. The actual mole fractions of nitrogen, hydrogen and water vapor in the anode exhaust gas is calculated based on the assumption that the water fraction is about 100% relative humidity for the measured temperature. The dry hydrogen mole fraction can be estimated by evaluating cell voltages, making use of specific sensors or setting the hydrogen mole fraction to 1 as a worst case assumption. -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of asystem 60 for controlling thebleed valve 26 and thecompressor 30 during an anode exhaust gas bleed, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thesystem 60 includes astack control module 62 that generates a bleed request signal online 66 at those times it is necessary for thebleed valve 26 to be opened to reduce the amount of nitrogen in the anode exhaust gas. Various techniques for determining when to bleed the anode exhaust gas are known in the art, some of which model the concentration of nitrogen in the anode exhaust gas. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/952,200, filed Sep. 28, 2004 entitled Method for Controlling Nitrogen Fraction discloses one such system. Thestack control module 62 also calculates the cathode airflow request for the current stack load and provides a stack airflow request signal online 72. - The bleed request signal is sent to an
anode control module 64 that provides a bleed command signal online 68 to a bleed valve in afuel cell system 70. Theanode control module 64 uses a valve model to calculate the hydrogen that will flow through thebleed valve 26 and mix with the cathode exhaust gas. Theanode control module 64 adjusts the differential pressure across thebleed valve 26 to control the anode exhaust gas flow therethrough during the bleed by controlling the opening of thevalve 26. Theanode control module 64 also generates an airflow request signal online 74 that needs to be provided to dilute the hydrogen in the anode exhaust gas during the bleed so that the percentage of hydrogen in the mixed exhaust gas is below the predetermined safety level. - Both of the airflow request signals on the
lines maximum processor 76 that takes the larger of the two values, and sends it to acathode control module 78 online 88. Thecathode control module 78 also receives a measured cathode airflow signal online 80 from theflow sensor 46 indicating the actual airflow from thecompressor 30. Thecathode control module 78 generates a compressor command signal that is sent to thefuel cell system 70 online 82 for controlling the speed of thecompressor 30. The compressor command signal will satisfy both the stack load requirement and the amount of air at the mixingjunction 36 that is necessary to dilute the hydrogen below the predetermined safety level during the nitrogen bleed. - In order to assure a worst-case estimation of the hydrogen concentration in the mixed exhaust gas, the
cathode control module 78 provides a guaranteed airflow signal online 84 that takes potential sensor inaccuracies and production tolerances into consideration. The guaranteed airflow signal considers airflow and model accuracies, production tolerances, mass flow splits between the main airflow to the cathode inlet of thestack 12 and to the mixingjunction 36, etc. The guaranteed airflow signal on theline 84 and the airflow request signal on theline 74 are compared in thecomparator 86. If the airflow request signal is smaller than the guaranteed airflow signal, the hydrogen concentration limit will not be exceeded, and thebleed valve 26 can be opened. Otherwise, theanode control module 64 will not open thebleed valve 26. - As mentioned above, the
stack control module 62 can request a nitrogen bleed using various techniques. In one embodiment, thebleed valve 26 is opened if the following equation is true. -
-
- Where equation (3) is a worst case assumption that all of the water is condensed.
-
- Where d is a derivative with respect to time.
- As mentioned above, the
anode control model 64 uses a valve model to calculate the hydrogen that is bled from thebleed valve 26. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the valve model uses the following equation to provide the calculation. -
- Where kv is the characteristic value for the
bleed valve 26, Q is the flow rate of the anode exhaust gas flowing through thebleed valve 26, p1 is the pressure at the inlet of thebleed valve 26, p2 is the pressure at the outlet of thebleed valve 26, ρn is the density of the anode exhaust gas and T is the temperature of the anode exhaust gas. - Because the hydrogen concentration in the mixed anode and cathode exhaust gas cannot be higher than the predetermined limit, the parameters and sensor signals should be chosen in a way that the anode exhaust gas flow Qcalculated would be higher or equal to the real unknown anode exhaust gas flow Qreal. This results in the following worst case assumptions for equation (5).
-
kv worst— case =kv real +Δkv tolerance (6) -
T worst— case =T real −ΔT tolerance (7) -
p 1,worst— case =p 1,real +p 1,tolerance (8) -
p 2,worst— case =P 2,real +P 2,tolerance (9) - The flow rate of the anode exhaust gas through the
bleed valve 26 can be calculated in other ways. According to another embodiment of the invention, the flow rate through thebleed valve 26 is calculated as: -
- Due to sensor accuracy, the outlet pressure p2 is replaced by a delta pressure ΔpBleedValve with:
-
p 2 2=(p 1 −Δp BleedValve)2 (11) - Which leads to:
-
-
- All of the water fractions and flows referred to in the equations above are for vaporized water.
- The following assumptions are made for the flow rate calculation above.
-
xH2 ,Bleed=1 (17) - Equation (17) is for the worst case where the anode exhaust gas is pure H2, but will be less than 1 if better information is available. If equation (17) is assumed to be 1, then equations (18) and (19) below are:
-
xN2 ,Bleed=0 (18) - If it is assumed that the hydrogen fraction is 1, then all of the other fractions in the bled gas are assumed to be 0. Equation (18) is for the worst case where the anode exhaust gas is pure H2, but will be more than 0 if better information is available.
-
xH2 O,Bleed=0 (19) - Equation (19) is for the worst case where the anode exhaust gas is pure H2, but will be greater than 0 if better information is available.
-
C v =V V— ValveDesign +C v— DesignTolerance (20) - Where Cv is a known value.
-
T 1 =T SensorReading −T SensorTolerance (21) - Where T1 is the temperature sensor reading and includes data sheet information.
-
p 1 =p SensorReading +p SensorTolerance (22) - Where p1 is the pressure sensor reading and includes data sheet information.
-
Δp BleedValve =Δp SensorReading +Δp SensorTolerance (23) - Where Δp is the delta pressure sensor reading and includes data sheet information.
- The various values used in the equations above are defined as:
- Cv is the characteristic value of a valve [gal/min];
- p1 is the absolute value of the up stream pressure of the anode bleed valve 26 [kPa];
- p2 is the absolute value of the downstream pressure of the anode bleed valve 26 [kPa];
- T1 is the gas temperature at the anode bleed valve inlet [K];
- ΔpBleedValve is the pressure difference over the anode bleed valve 26 [kPa];
- MBleed is the molar weight of the anode bleed flow [g/mol];
- Mi is the molar weight of species i=N2, H2, H2O [g/mol];
- xi,Bleed is the mole fraction of species i in the anode bleed gas;
- dmAir,Cath,In is the measured air mass flow at stack cathode inlet−tolerance of mass flow sensor;
- dnH
2 ,An,Out is the hydrogen flow at the stack anode outlet [mol/s]; - dnN
2 ,An,Out is the nitrogen flow at the stack anode outlet [mol/s]; - dnN
2 ,Cath,Out is the nitrogen flow at the stack anode outlet [mol/s]; - dnO
2 ,Cath,Out is the oxygen flow at the stack anode outlet [mol/s]; - dnN
2 ,CathToAnPermeation is the nitrogen flow permeating from the stack cathode side through membrane(s) into the stack anode side [mol/s]; - dnH
2 O,Cath,Out is the vaporized water stream at the stack cathode outlet [mol/s]; - dnH
2 O,An,Out is the vaporized water stream at the stack anode outlet [mol/s]; - I is the stack current [A] and tolerance of sensor;
- n is the number of cells in the stack;
- Qe is the elementary charge (1.6022 e-19 Coulomb);
- Na is the Avagadro Constant (6.022 e23);
- MAir is the maximum molar weight of air at all ambient conditions in which vehicle operation is possible [g/mol];
- xO
2 ,Cath,In is the minimum molar fraction of oxygen in air at all ambient conditions in which vehicle operation is possible; - xN
2 ,Cath,In is the minimum molar fraction of nitrogen in air at all ambient conditions in which vehicle operation is possible; and - xH
2 ,Offgas,Max is the maximum allowed molar fraction of hydrogen in the air at end of the vehicle tailpipe. - The value dnN
2 ,CathToAnPermeation is dependant on the stack temperature and the nitrogen partial pressure and can be calculated by membrane permeation models. The value dnH2 O,Cath,Out,Vap=0 could be replaced by a better value if this stream is known exactly. - The desired air mass flow can be calculated as:
-
- Where dmAir,Cath,In,des is the desired air mass flow at the cathode inlet and xH
2 O,Cath,In is the maximum molar fraction of water in air at all ambient conditions in which vehicle operation is possible. Water is not taken into account because it may condense before the exhaust gas leaves the tailpipe. If the content of vaporized water at the end of the tailpipe is known it could be integrated into the formula to reduce the airflow command. - The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion and from the accompanying drawings and claims that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
Claims (21)
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US11/936,642 US7537848B1 (en) | 2007-11-07 | 2007-11-07 | Method for model based exhaust mixing control in a fuel cell application |
DE102008055803.6A DE102008055803B4 (en) | 2007-11-07 | 2008-11-04 | System and method for model based exhaust mixing control in a fuel cell application |
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US11/936,642 US7537848B1 (en) | 2007-11-07 | 2007-11-07 | Method for model based exhaust mixing control in a fuel cell application |
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Cited By (6)
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CN102136587A (en) * | 2010-01-25 | 2011-07-27 | 通用汽车环球科技运作有限责任公司 | Optimized cathode filling strategy for fuel cell |
US20140162159A1 (en) * | 2012-12-07 | 2014-06-12 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | Method for running a fuel cell system with a failed stack health monitor |
GB2518681A (en) * | 2013-09-30 | 2015-04-01 | Intelligent Energy Ltd | Anode bleed control in a fuel cell stack |
JP2017157317A (en) * | 2016-02-29 | 2017-09-07 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Control method for fuel battery system |
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US20140162159A1 (en) * | 2012-12-07 | 2014-06-12 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | Method for running a fuel cell system with a failed stack health monitor |
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GB2518681A (en) * | 2013-09-30 | 2015-04-01 | Intelligent Energy Ltd | Anode bleed control in a fuel cell stack |
US10218015B2 (en) | 2013-09-30 | 2019-02-26 | Intelligent Energy Limited | Anode bleed control in a fuel cell stack |
US10903512B2 (en) | 2013-09-30 | 2021-01-26 | Intelligent Energy Limited | Anode bleed control in a fuel cell stack |
GB2518681B (en) * | 2013-09-30 | 2021-08-25 | Intelligent Energy Ltd | Anode bleed control in a fuel cell stack |
JP2017157317A (en) * | 2016-02-29 | 2017-09-07 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Control method for fuel battery system |
CN110071311A (en) * | 2018-01-24 | 2019-07-30 | 丰田自动车株式会社 | The method of fuel cell system and control fuel cell system |
US20230155144A1 (en) * | 2021-11-12 | 2023-05-18 | Bloom Energy Corporation | Fuel cell system including anode exhaust diversion and method of operating the same |
US11973247B2 (en) * | 2021-11-12 | 2024-04-30 | Bloom Energy Corporation | Fuel cell system including anode exhaust diversion and method of operating the same |
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DE102008055803B4 (en) | 2015-01-22 |
US7537848B1 (en) | 2009-05-26 |
DE102008055803A1 (en) | 2009-06-10 |
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