47results about How to "Increase fuel temperature" patented technology

A fuel cell system equipped with a fuel cell that generates electrical power in electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. The system has the improved cold starting capability that increases heat energy generated in the fuel cell in order to rise the temperature of the fuel cell rapidly in a cold temperature environment. The system has an inverter having plural switching elements connected in series and a control section for controlling ON/OFF operation of the plural switching elements. The control section controls the amount of current output from the fuel cell by performing the ON/OFF control of the switching elements. On commencing the cold starting process of the fuel cell, the control means changes the current path in a drive motor by performing the ON/OFF control of the switching elements, in which both the inverter and the drive motor are used as a variable resistance to the fuel cell.

A fuel circuit for an aviation turbine engine, the fuel circuit including: a main fuel line for feeding fuel to a combustion chamber of the engine and including a positive displacement pump; an auxiliary fuel line connected to the main fuel line at a junction situated downstream from the pump and serving to feed fuel to hydraulic actuators to control variable-geometry equipment of the engine, the auxiliary fuel line including electrohydraulic servo-valves upstream from each actuator; and a fuel pressure regulator valve arranged on the main fuel line downstream from the pump.

A fuel cell cogeneration system comprises a fuel cell, a cooling system for the fuel cell, a heater, a heat utilization portion configured to store heat recovered in the cooling system to allow the heat to be consumed, a detector configured to detect calories remaining in the heat utilization portion, and a controller, wherein the controller determines whether or not the calories remaining in the heat utilization portion are at least not less than the calories required to increase the temperature of the fuel cell to the operating temperature, and based on determination, increases the temperature of the fuel cell to the operating temperature by supplying the remaining calories to the fuel cell through the cooling system and/or by heating the cooling water in the cooling system by the heater.

A fuel pumping unit has a low pressure centrifugal pump and a high pressure centrifugal pump. In use, the low pressure pump supplies fuel at a boosted pressure to the high pressure pump for onward supply to a fuel metering unit. The pumping unit further has a drive input which drives the low and high pressure pumps. A gear arrangement is operatively located between the drive input and the low and high pressure pumps such that the low and high pressure pumps are driven at different speeds by the drive input.

A fuel cell cogeneration system includes a fuel cell, a cooling water heat exchanger provided on a cooling water pathway, a stored hot water pathway through which stored hot water that exchanges heat with cooling water flows, a stored hot water tank, a stored hot water controlling device, a stored hot water temperature measuring device, a stored hot water flow rate adjusting device, a flow rate controlling device of controlling the stored hot water flow rate adjusting device and an exhaust gas heat exchanger of exchanging heat between exhaust gas from fuel processing devices and stored hot water. The flow rate controlling device controls the stored hot water adjusting device to reduce the flow rate of stored hot water flowing through the stored hot water pathway when the temperature of stored hot water is a first predetermined temperature or less during the starting of operation of the fuel cell.

The present invention provides a fuel cell system including a fuel cell configured to cause reactant gas to be electrochemically reacted to generate electrical power when the reactant gas is supplied to the fuel cell, power consuming equipment such as a reactant gas supply apparatus and a heating device operable to consume electrical power generated by the fuel cell, and a controller for controlling operation of the fuel cell system. During a warm-up operation, the controller causes the reactant gas supply apparatus to start a flow of the reactant gas and to increase the flow of the reactant gas over time, such that the reactant gas supply device starts to consume power and consumes increased power over time. After starting the flow of the reactant gas, the controller causes the heating device to start heating the coolant such that the heating device consumes power.

A system and method for increasing the temperature of a fuel cell stack quickly, especially at cold stack start-up. The method includes determining whether the fuel cell stack is below a first predetermined temperature threshold, and, if so, starting a cooling fluid flow through the stack and engaging a shorting circuit across the stack to short circuit the stack and cause the stack to operate inefficiently. The method then determines a desired heating rate of the fuel cell stack and calculates a cathode airflow to the fuel cell stack based on the desired heating rate. The method reduces the flow of cathode air to the stack if a minimum cell voltage is below a predetermined minimum cell voltage threshold and disengages the shorting circuit and applies vehicle loads to the stack when the stack temperature reaches a predetermined second temperature threshold.

A fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack is capable of raising the temperature of a fuel cell stack to a predetermined temperature within a short time without decreasing methanol fuel utilization efficiency. During system startup, the concentration of methanol aqueous solution which is to be supplied to the fuel cell stack is detected by a concentration sensor, and the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected by a temperature sensor. A target concentration of methanol aqueous solution is determined by making reference to data stored in a memory, which indicates correspondence between the temperature of the fuel cell stack and the target concentration of methanol aqueous solution, and based on the temperature of the fuel cell stack detected by the temperature sensor.

With a low-pressure pump, fuel is supplied to a vapor separator comprising an air discharge port and a ball valve for closing the air discharge port in association with a rise in fluid level of the fuel supplied to the vapor separator. When the fuel is filled into the vapor separator entirely, the ball valve acts to tightly close the vapor separator, thereby pressurizing the fuel in the vapor separator.

A gas turbine engine assembly includes a turbomachine including a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section in serial flow order; a fuel delivery system operable with the combustion section of the turbomachine for providing fuel to the combustion section of the turbomachine; and an air cycle assembly including an air cycle machine and a heat exchanger, the air cycle machine in airflow communication with the compressor section of the turbomachine and the heat exchanger in airflow communication with the air cycle machine. The gas turbine engine assembly also includes a thermal transfer bus thermally coupling the heat exchanger of the air cycle assembly to the fuel delivery system for transferring heat from the air cycle machine to the fuel delivery system.

A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell stack (6) including an anode (2), a cathode (4), and an electrolyte membrane disposed therebetween; a fuel supplying unit connected with the anode of the fuel cell stack (6) by a fuel supplying line (14) for supplying hydrogen-including fuel to the anode (2); an air supplying unit (10) connected with the cathode of the fuel cell stack by an air supplying line (48) for supplying oxygen-including air to the cathode of the fuel cell stack; and a heating unit (12) for heating fuel supplied to the fuel cell stack into a proper temperature. According to this, a power source for driving the heating unit (12) is not required thus to enhance a performance of a fuel cell.

Detecting a state of icing in a turbomachine fuel circuit includes reading information representative of a first temperature T₁ of the fuel downstream from the metering unit, and of comparing the first temperature T₁ with a first reference temperature T₀₁. The method also includes detecting clogging of the filter unit. In the event of the temperature reading T₁ being less than the first reference temperature T₀₁ and of clogging being detected, a signal indicative of an icing state in the fuel circuit is issued. Information representative of a second fuel temperature T₂ in the tank may be read and compared with a reference temperature T₀₂ in order to confirm or contradict the icing state. A signal indicating a need for maintenance of the fuel circuit is issued when the temperature readings T₁ and T₂ are not less than the reference temperatures T₀₁ and T₀₂ and clogging has been detected.

A control device for a fuel cell vehicle includes a power limiter limiting power of a fuel cell when a temperature correlation value correlated to a temperature of the fuel cell indicates that the temperature is equal to or higher than a temperature threshold, a calculation unit calculating a weight of a towed vehicle, a gradient acquirer acquiring upward gradients at respective points on a planned traveling route, a predictor predicting whether the power of the fuel cell is limited when the fuel cell vehicle is traveling along the planned traveling route in a towing travel state, and a controller issuing, when the predictor predicts that the power of the fuel cell is limited, an alert that a vehicle speed of the fuel cell vehicle is expected to decrease when the fuel cell vehicle is traveling along the planned traveling route in the towing travel state.

Provided is a method of starting a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack by rapidly increasing the temperature of the PEMFC stack. The PEMFC stack includes: a first flow line that is connected to upper parts of cooling plates installed in a plurality of unit cells of the PEMFC stack; a second flow line that is connected to lower parts of the cooling plates; a coolant reservoir installed between the first flow line and the second flow line; a heat exchanger installed between the first flow line and the coolant reservoir; a by-pass line that connects a point between the coolant reservoir and the second flow line, to the first flow line; a heating element that heats coolant in the by-pass line; a first valve installed between the first flow line and the heat exchanger; and a second valve that selectively connects the coolant reservoir, the second flow line, and the by-pass line. The method of starting a PEMFC stack includes: closing the first valve and controlling the second valve so that the second flow line and the by-pass line are connected to each other, and the coolant in the coolant reservoir is not connected to the second flow line and the by-pass line; and increasing the temperature of the PEMFC stack by heating the coolant in the by-pass line, using the heating element.

A fuel cell system a includes a cooling water temperature raising unit that raises the temperature of a fuel cell stack by passing discharge gas of a process burner or hydrogen gas of a fuel processing unit and cooling water that is heated by the discharge gas of the process burner through flow paths formed on opposing surfaces of cooling separators formed of a metal and installed between a plurality of cells in the stack. Thus in the fuel cell system, when the temperature of the stack needs to be rapidly raised, for example, during a start up operation of the fuel cell system, the temperature of the stack can be rapidly raised using discharge gas at a high temperature or combustion heat of hydrogen gas, and heated cooling water, and thereby, significantly reducing the time required for the fuel cell system to be in regular operation.

A method for open-loop and closed-loop control of an internal combustion engine (1) in which the rail pressure (pCR) is controlled via a low pressure-side suction throttle (4), as the first pressure-adjusting element in a rail pressure control loop. A rail pressure disturbance variable (VDRV) is generated to influence the rail pressure (pCR) via a high-pressure side pressure control valve (12), as the second pressure-adjusting element, by which fuel is redirected from the rail (6) into the fuel tank (2). The position of the high-pressure side pressure control valve (12) is determined by a PWM signal (PWMDV), which, when normal mode is set, is calculated as a function of the resulting target volume flow and, when protective mode is set, is temporarily set to a maximum value.

A high-pressure pump control device is applied to an internal combustion engine including a high-pressure pump supplied with fuel discharged from a low-pressure pump and an injector supplied with fuel discharged from the high-pressure pump. The high-pressure pump control device includes a prediction unit predicting whether a discharge quantity of the high-pressure pump exceeds a discharge quantity of the low-pressure pump and a restricting unit executing a discharge quantity restriction control to restrict a discharge quantity of the high-pressure pump not to exceed a predetermined value when the prediction unit predicts that a discharge quantity of the high-pressure pump exceeds a discharge quantity of the low-pressure pump.

A diesel fuel recirculation device may include a fuel tank configured to store and supply diesel fuel, a main filter connected to the fuel tank and filter diesel fuel to supply the filtered diesel fuel to an engine, and a recirculation member provided in the main filter and be resupplied with high temperature fuel from the engine to supply the resupplied high temperature fuel to the fuel tank or the main filter, such that marketability and usage convenience may be improved by increasing a temperature of the fuel using the high temperature fuel resupplied from the engine to shorten a starting time under low temperature conditions.

The present invention relates to a redox fuel cell comprising an anode and a cathode separated by an ion selective polymer electrolyte membrane; means for supplying a fuel to the anode region of the cell; means for supplying an oxidant to the cathode region of the cell; means for providing an electrical circuit between the anode and the cathode; a non-volatile catholyte solution flowing in fluid communication with the cathode, the catholyte solution comprising a polyoxometallate redox couple being at least partially reduced at the cathode in operation of the cell, and at least partially re-generated by reaction with the oxidant in a regeneration zone after such reduction at the cathode, the catholyte solution further comprising one or more vanadium species that result from the speciation of the polyoxometallate at an elevated temperature and/or pressure, wherein the polyoxometallate is represented by the formula:

X_a[Z_bM_cO_d]

wherein X is selected from hydrogen, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, ammonium, transition metal ions and combinations of two or more thereof; Z is selected from B, P, S, As, Si, Ge, Ni, Rh, Sn, Al, Cu, I, Br, F, Fe, Co, Cr, Zn, H2, Te, Mn and Se and combinations of two or more thereof; M comprises vanadium and optionally one or more of Mo, W, Nb, Ta, Mn, Fe, Co, Cr, Ni, Zn Rh, Ru, TI, Al, Ga, In and other metals selected from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd transition metal series and the lanthanide series and combinations of two or more thereof; a is a number of X necessary to charge balance the [Z_bM_cO_d] anion; b is from 0 to 20; c is from 1 to 40; d is from 1 to 180; X includes an amount of a non-hydrogen cation and the molar ratio of the non-hydrogen cation to vanadium is more than 0 and less than 1.