Aircraft energy management system for multi functional fuel cells

• US 9,966,619 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2014
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Safran Aerotechnics SAS (Safran SA)
• Original Assignee: Zodiac Aerotechnics
• Inventors: Libis, Jean-Paul, Masset, Franck, Brunaux, Yannick
• Primary Examiner(s): Huff, Mark F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wills, Monique M
• Application Number:
  US14/761,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20150364780A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,574 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2041/005 Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 41/00 Power installations for auxiliary purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2250/20 Fuel cells in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2250/405 Cogeneration of heat or hot water
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04955 Shut-off or shut-down of fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/04992 characterised by the implementation of mathematical or computational algorithms, e.g. feedback control loops, fuzzy logic, neural networks or artificial intelligence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0656 by electrochemical means H01M8/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/249 comprising two or more groupings of fuel cells, e.g. modular assemblies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/10 Applications of fuel cells in buildings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/40 Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells

Abstract

Disclosed is an aircraft resource management system. The system may include at least one fuel cell cluster having at least one fuel cell system configured to receive and convert a hydrogen input comprising hydrogen and an oxygen input comprising a fluid having an initial oxygen content so as to yield a number of products. The products can include water, thermal energy, an oxygen-depleted product comprising the fluid having a second oxygen content lower than the initial oxygen content, and electrical power. The system may include at least one load cluster with at least one load configured to utilize at least one product of the fuel cell cluster. The system may compare a demand level of the load cluster with a supply level of the fuel cell cluster and manage operating levels of the fuel cell cluster based at least in part on the comparison.

Claims

1. An aircraft resource management system comprising:

(A) a first fuel cell cluster and a second fuel cell cluster, each comprising at least one fuel cell system configured to;

(i) receive a hydrogen input comprising hydrogen,

(ii) receive an oxygen input comprising a fluid having an initial oxygen content,

(iii) convert the hydrogen input and the oxygen input so as to yield products including;

(a) a water product comprising water,

(b) a thermal product comprising thermal energy,

(c) an oxygen-depleted product comprising the fluid having a second oxygen content lower than the initial oxygen content, and

(d) an electric product comprising electrical power;

(B) at least one load cluster comprising at least one load configured to utilize at least one product from said first fuel cell cluster;

(C) a power line connecting the first fuel cell cluster with the at least one load cluster, and a power line connecting the second fuel cell cluster with the at least one load cluster; and

(D) at least one resource management device, each configured to;

compare a demand level of the load cluster with a first supply level of the first fuel cell cluster, wherein the demand level and the first supply level correspond to a set of at least one of the products of the first fuel cell cluster; and

wherein when the demand level exceeds the first supply level, instruct adjusting or maintaining an operating level of the second fuel cell cluster such that the demand level is met by sharing the supply levels of the first fuel cell cluster and the second fuel cell cluster.

2. The aircraft resource management system of claim 1, wherein said one or more resource management devices comprise at least one of:

a load managing device;

a cluster load managing device;

a fuel cell cluster managing device;

a fuel cell cluster load management device;

a thermal management device;

or

any combination thereof.

3. The aircraft resource management system of claim 1, wherein the one or more resource management devices are further collectively configured to at least:

instruct at least one fuel cell system of first or second fuel cell cluster

to deactivate when the supply level of the first or second fuel cell cluster differs from the demand level by a first set amount or

to activate when the demand level differs from the supply level of the first or second fuel cell cluster by a second set amount.

4. The aircraft resource management system of claim 1, wherein said load cluster includes a first load and a second load, wherein the one or more resource management devices are further collectively configured to at least:

determine a supply to the load cluster of a product from said first or second fuel cell cluster;

compare a first demand from the first load for the product to a second demand from the second load for the product;

instruct distributing at least a portion of the supply of the product among the first load and the second load based at least in part on the comparison of the first demand to the second demand.

5. The aircraft resource management system of claim 4, wherein the one or more resource management devices are further collectively configured to at least compare a first amount of the first demand to a second amount of the second demand.

6. The aircraft resource management system of claim 4, wherein the one or more resource management devices are further collectively configured to at least:

determine a difference in priority level between the first demand and the second demand; and

instruct prioritized distribution based on the difference in priority level.

7. The aircraft resource management system of claim 1, wherein the one or more resource management devices are further collectively configured to at least:

instruct, when the supply level of the first or second fuel cell clusters exceeds the demand level for electrical power, at least a part of the electrical output of at least one fuel cell system of said first fuel cell cluster or said second fuel cell cluster or both to be at least one of;

A) stored in an electrical storage device;

B) directed to a water electrolysis device configured to receive the electrical output and separate water into hydrogen and oxygen using the received electrical output;

or

C) directed to one or more additional load clusters other than said load cluster.

8. The aircraft resource management system of claim 1, further comprising a catalytic burner configured to produce thermal energy, wherein said load cluster includes at least one thermal load configured to utilize at least thermal energy from at least one of said catalytic burner or said thermal product of said first fuel cell cluster or said second fuel cell cluster or both;

wherein the one or more resource management devices are further collectively configured to at least;

determine a thermal demand of said at least one thermal load for thermal energy;

determine a thermal supply level indicative of an amount of the thermal product produced by said first fuel cell cluster or said second fuel cell cluster or both;

determine a difference between the thermal demand and the thermal supply;

based at least in part on the difference between the thermal supply and the thermal demand, selectively instruct operation of said catalytic burner to produce thermal energy for said at least one thermal load.

9. The aircraft resource management system of claim 1, further comprising a catalytic burner configured to produce thermal energy, wherein said load cluster includes at least one thermal load configured to utilize at least thermal energy from at least one of said catalytic burner or said thermal product of said fuel cell cluster;

wherein the one or more resource management devices are further collectively configured to at least;

determine a thermal demand of said at least one thermal load for thermal energy;

determine a non-thermal supply level, the non-thermal supply level indicative of an amount of a non-thermal product that would be produced by said first fuel cell cluster or said second fuel cell cluster or both while producing an amount of thermal energy associated with the thermal demand, the non-thermal product including at least one of the water product, the oxygen-depleted product, and the electric product of the first fuel cell cluster or said second fuel cell cluster or both;

determine a non-thermal demand from the load cluster for said non-thermal product;

compare the non-thermal supply with the non-thermal demand;

selectively instruct operation of said catalytic burner based at least in part on the comparison of the non-thermal supply with the non-thermal demand.

10. The aircraft resource management system of claim 1, wherein said first fuel cell cluster comprises a first fuel cell system and a second fuel cell system, the aircraft resource management system further comprising:

said second fuel cell cluster comprising the second fuel cell system and a third fuel cell system;

wherein the one or more resource management devices are further collectively configured to at least one of;

instruct the first fuel cell cluster to provide one or more products from the second fuel cell system based on a determination that the first fuel cell system is producing an insufficient amount of products to meet a demand on the first fuel cell cluster;

or

instruct the second fuel cell cluster to provide one or more products from the second fuel cell system based on a determination that the third fuel cell system is producing an insufficient amount of products to meet a demand on the second fuel cell cluster.

11. The aircraft resource management system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the fuel cell systems in the first fuel cell cluster or the second fuel cell cluster or both is configured to operate at greatest efficiency.