CONTROL DEVICE FOR FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD FOR FUEL CELL SYSTEM

• US 20180248208A1
• Filed: 09/11/2015
• Published: 08/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: AOKI, Tetsuya, IKEDA, Nobuhisa, KOTAKA, Toshikazu, IWASAKI, Daigo
• Application Number:
  US15/758,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20180248208A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04 Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04097 with recycling of the reactants H01M8/04119, H01M8/04104 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04126 Humidifying
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04291 Arrangements for managing water in solid electrolyte fuel cell systems H01M8/04119 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04529 of the electrolyte
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04723 of the coolant
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04753 of fuel cell reactants
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0485 of the electrolyte
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/1007 with both reactants being gaseous or vaporised H01M8/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells

Abstract

A control device of fuel cell system includes an anode gas circulation flow rate control unit configured to control the anode gas circulation flow rate on the basis of the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane detected by the wet/dry state detecting unit, a priority setting unit configured to set priority levels of a normal manipulation to a plurality of physical quantities manipulated by the wet/dry state control unit, and the anode gas circulation flow rate control unit includes an anode gas circulation flow rate limiting unit configured to limit a change rate per unit time of the anode gas circulation flow rate during a transient operation for changing the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane, and a control quantity compensating unit configured to, if the change rate is limited, compensate an insufficiency in a control quantity of the wet/dry state due to the limitation of the anode gas circulation flow rate, the compensation being carried out by manipulating a physical quantity with a lower priority level of the normal manipulation than a priority level of the normal manipulation of the anode gas circulation flow rate set by the priority setting unit.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A control device for fuel cell system for generating power according to a request of a load by supplying anode gas and cathode gas to a fuel cell, the fuel cell system being an anode gas circulation-type fuel cell system provided with:

an anode gas circulation passage for supplying anode off-gas discharged from the fuel cell and the anode gas, which is to be supplied to the fuel cell, to the fuel cell by mixing the anode off-gas and the anode gas;

a wet/dry state detecting unit configured to detect a wet/dry state of an electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell; and

a wet/dry state control unit configured to control the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane by manipulating a plurality of physical quantities including a circulation flow rate of the anode gas flowing in the anode gas circulation passage;

the control device, comprising;

an anode gas circulation flow rate control unit configured to control the anode gas circulation flow rate on the basis of the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane detected by the wet/dry state detecting unit; and

a priority setting unit configured to set priority levels of a normal manipulation to the plurality of physical quantities to be manipulated by the wet/dry state control unit;

wherein,

the anode gas circulation flow rate control unit includes;

an anode gas circulation flow rate limiting unit configured to limit a change rate per unit time of the anode gas circulation flow rate during a transient operation for changing the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane; and

a control quantity compensating unit configured to, if the change rate of the anode gas circulation flow rate is limited by the anode gas circulation flow rate limiting unit, compensate an insufficiency in a control quantity of the wet/dry state due to the limitation of the anode gas circulation flow rate, the compensation being carried out by manipulating a physical quantity with a lower priority level of the normal manipulation than a priority level of the normal manipulation of the anode gas circulation flow rate set by the priority setting unit.

12. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 11, wherein:

a pressure of the cathode gas to be supplied to the fuel cell is included as a manipulation object having the lower priority level of the normal manipulation in an operation of wetting the electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell; and

when the operation of wetting the electrolyte membrane is started,

the anode gas circulation flow rate limiting unit limits the change rate per unit time of the anode gas circulation flow rate and

the control quantity compensating unit compensates the insufficiency in the control quantity of the wet/dry state due to the limitation of the anode gas circulation flow rate, the compensation being carried out by an manipulation of increasing the pressure of the cathode gas to be supplied.

13. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 11, wherein:

a temperature of cooling water for cooling the fuel cell and a flow rate of the cathode gas to be supplied to the fuel cell are included as manipulation objects having the lower priority level of the normal manipulation in an operation of drying the electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell; and

when the operation of drying the electrolyte membrane is started,

the anode gas circulation flow rate limiting unit limits the change rate per unit time of the anode gas circulation flow rate and

the control quantity compensating unit compensates the insufficiency in the control quantity of the wet/dry state due to the limitation of the anode gas circulation flow rate, the compensation being carried out by at least one of manipulations of increasing the temperature of the cooling water and the pressure of the cathode gas.

14. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 13, further comprising:

a cooling water temperature limiting unit configured to limit a change rate per unit time of the temperature of the cooling water during the transient operation of changing the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane;

wherein the control quantity compensating unit compensates an insufficiency in the control quantity of the wet/dry state due to the limitation of the temperature, the compensation also being carried out by the manipulation of increasing the pressure of the cathode gas.

15. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 11, wherein:

the anode gas circulation flow rate limiting unit cancels the limitation of the change rate of the anode gas circulation flow rate if there is a concern for hydrogen deficiency during the transient operation of changing the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane or if the anode gas is supposed to be quickly supplied to the fuel cell at the start of the fuel cell system.

16. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 11, wherein:

the wet/dry state detected by the wet/dry state detecting unit is determined by a water balance calculated as a balance between an amount of water flowing into or generated in the fuel cell and an amount of water discharged from the fuel cell.

17. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 11, wherein:

the anode gas circulation flow rate control unit includes an anode circulation pump.

18. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 11, wherein:

18-1. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 11, wherein:

the plurality of physical quantities include a pressure of the cathode gas to be supplied to the fuel cell, a flow rate of the cathode gas to be supplied to the fuel cell and a temperature of cooling water for cooling the fuel cell in addition to the anode gas circulation flow rate.

19. The control device for fuel cell system according to claim 18, wherein:

the priority setting unit sets the priority levels in a decreasing order for a manipulation of decreasing the cathode gas pressure, a manipulation of decreasing the anode gas circulation flow rate, a manipulation of increasing the cooling water temperature and a manipulation of increasing the cathode gas flow rate in an operation of drying the electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell; and

the priority setting unit sets the priority levels in a decreasing order for a manipulation of decreasing the cathode gas flow rate, a manipulation of decreasing the cooling water temperature, a manipulation of increasing the anode gas circulation flow rate and a manipulation of increasing the cathode gas pressure in an operation of wetting the electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell.

20. A control method for fuel cell system configured to generate power by supplying anode gas and cathode gas to a fuel cell, being provided with an anode gas circulation passage for supplying anode off-gas discharged from the fuel cell and the anode gas, which is to be supplied to the fuel cell, to the fuel cell by mixing the anode off-gas and the anode gas, comprising:

detecting a wet/dry state of an electrolyte membrane of the fuel cell;

controlling an anode gas circulation flow rate of the anode gas circulation passage on the basis of the detected wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane; and

controlling the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane by manipulating a plurality of physical quantities including the anode gas circulation flow rate, each of priority levels of a normal manipulation being set to the plurality of physical quantities;

wherein,

controlling of the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane includes;

limiting a change rate per unit time of the anode gas circulation flow rate during a transient operation of changing the wet/dry state of the electrolyte membrane; and

compensating an insufficiency in a control quantity of the wet/dry state insufficient due to the limitation of the anode gas circulation flow rate by manipulating the physical quantity having a lower priority of the normal manipulation than that of the anode gas circulation flow rate if the change rate of the anode gas circulation flow rate is limited.