Coolant system for fuel cell, fuel cell system and corresponding method

Abstract

Disclosed is a coolant system (2) for a fuel cell (1), comprising: a coolant circulation circuit (21) thermally coupled with a stack (11) of the fuel cell (1); the cooling liquid tank (22) is in fluid connection with the cooling liquid circulation loop (21) to jointly form a cooling liquid loop system; a characteristic detection unit (23) for detecting the material characteristics of the coolant in the coolant circuit system; the adding device (24) is used for adding substances into the cooling liquid loop system; and a control unit (25) configured to be able to emit a signal indicating substance addition to the coolant circuit system via the addition device (24) at least on the basis of the characteristic detection result of the characteristic detection unit (23). The invention also relates to a corresponding fuel cell system for a vehicle, to a corresponding operating method, and to a corresponding computer-readable program carrier. According to certain embodiments, material supplementation can be performed automatically, efficiently, reliably, accurately and at low cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a coolant system for a fuel cell, a corresponding fuel cell system for a vehicle, a corresponding method for controlling a coolant system and a corresponding computer program product. Background Art

[0002] With the enhancement of people's environmental awareness and the promotion of relevant policies of various countries, electric vehicles have developed rapidly in recent years, and there is a trend of gradually replacing traditional fuel vehicles. Among them, fuel cell vehicles, as a branch of electric vehicles, are also developing rapidly.

[0003] Fuel cell vehicles usually use proton exchange membrane fuel cell engines, that is, they use proton exchange membrane fuel cells as power sources. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells generate a lot of heat that needs to be dissipated during operation. Currently, coolants, such as low-conductivity ethylene glycol coolants, are widely used to remove the heat generated by the proton exchange membrane fuel cell during operation.

[0004] Therefore, the characteristics of the coolant are crucial, directly affecting the working performance of the fuel cell and even affecting the normal operation of the fuel cell. Commonly used ethylene glycol coolant is usually mixed with antifreeze, deionized water and other additives. It is a functional liquid with the functions of anti-corrosion, antifreeze, cooling and long-term low conductivity.

[0005] For fuel cell vehicles, the consumption of coolant is very huge. For this reason, people often add coolant manually as needed during the operation of fuel cell vehicles to keep the coolant in the coolant tank at a certain level. However, the consumption of various components of coolant during use is not in the same proportion. Therefore, simply adding a full-component coolant may reach the predetermined level, but it may still not correct the deviation of the coolant composition, and the deviation of the coolant composition will directly affect the performance of the coolant, such as the freezing point. Moreover, manual operation has problems such as untimely addition, inaccurate addition, time-consuming and labor-intensive. In addition, the cost of full-component coolant is also relatively high.

[0006] Therefore, corresponding improvements need to be made. Summary of the invention

[0007] In order to overcome at least one of the above-mentioned disadvantages and / or other possible disadvantages that may not be mentioned here, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved coolant system for a fuel cell, a corresponding fuel cell system for a vehicle, a corresponding method for controlling a coolant system and a corresponding computer program product.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coolant system for a fuel cell, the coolant system comprising: a coolant circulation loop, the coolant circulation loop being thermally coupled to the fuel cell stack; a coolant tank fluidly connected to the coolant circulation loop to together constitute a coolant loop system; a characteristic detection unit for detecting the material characteristics of the coolant in the coolant loop system; an adding device for adding substances to the coolant loop system; and a control unit, the control unit being configured to be able to issue a signal indicating the addition of substances to the coolant loop system via the adding device at least based on the characteristic detection result of the characteristic detection unit.

[0009] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the characteristic detection unit is configured to detect a parameter value characterizing the freezing point of the cooling liquid. The freezing point is a key characteristic of the cooling liquid.

[0010] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the coolant system further comprises a coolant amount detection device for detecting a parameter value representing the coolant amount in the coolant circuit system.

[0011] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is configured to send the signal based on at least a characteristic detection result and a coolant amount detection result.

[0012] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the signal indicates the amount of a specific component and / or the amount of the full component coolant added to the coolant circuit system and / or the order of their addition.

[0013] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fuel cell system for a vehicle, comprising: a fuel cell; and a coolant system according to any one of the above embodiments.

[0014] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a coolant system according to any one of the above embodiments, the method comprising at least the following steps:

[0015] S1: Obtaining a characteristic detection result of the coolant in the coolant circuit system;

[0016] S2: Determine whether to issue a signal instructing to add a substance to the coolant circuit system via an adding device based at least on the characteristic detection result.

[0017] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the adding device automatically adds substances to the coolant circuit system based on the signal.

[0018] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, before step S1, the current coolant amount in the coolant circuit system is acquired, and when the current coolant amount is less than the predetermined coolant amount, step S1 is executed.

[0019] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a computer program product, in particular a computer-readable storage medium, is provided, which includes or stores computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any of the above embodiments can be executed.

[0020] According to certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention, material replenishment can be performed automatically, efficiently, reliably, accurately, and at low cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in combination with exemplary embodiments, so that the principles, features and advantages of the present invention can be better understood. The accompanying drawings include:

[0022] Figure 1 The block diagram schematically shows a component of a coolant system for a fuel cell according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 Shows the control Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for a coolant system is shown.

[0024] Reference numerals list

[0025] 1 Fuel Cell

[0026] 2 Coolant system

[0027] 21 Coolant circulation circuit

[0028] 211 Coolant Pump

[0029] 212 Radiator

[0030] 213 Fan

[0031] 11 Battery stack

[0032] 22 coolant tank

[0033] 23. Characteristic detection unit

[0034] 24 Add Device

[0035] 25 Control Unit

[0036] 26 Coolant level detection device DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial technical effects to be solved by the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and multiple exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, rather than to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 1 The block diagram schematically shows a component of a coolant system for a fuel cell according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] The fuel cell here mainly refers to the currently widely used proton exchange membrane fuel cell. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to this, but can be any fuel cell that requires temperature regulation, especially cooling, including new fuel cells developed in the future.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coolant system 2 for a fuel cell 1, the coolant system 2 comprising: a coolant circulation loop 21, the coolant circulation loop 21 being thermally coupled to the stack 11 of the fuel cell 1; a coolant tank 22 fluidly connected to the coolant circulation loop 21 to together constitute a coolant loop system; a characteristic detection unit 23 for detecting the material characteristics of the coolant in the coolant loop system; an adding device 24 for adding substances to the coolant loop system; and a control unit 25, the control unit 25 being configured to be able to issue a signal indicating that substances are to be added to the coolant loop system via the adding device 24 at least based on the characteristic detection result of the characteristic detection unit 23.

[0041] In particular, when the coolant is found to have an imbalance in composition by detecting the material properties of the coolant through the property detection unit 23, the signal can reflect the imbalance and indicate adding a specific component of the coolant to the coolant circuit system.

[0042] Here, it should be pointed out that, firstly, the thermal coupling method between the coolant circulation loop 21 and the stack 11 of the fuel cell 1 is known and will not be described in detail. Secondly, the focus of the present invention is not on this, and it can also be any suitable thermal coupling method as long as the heat in the stack 11 can be taken out as needed.

[0043] like Figure 1 As shown, a coolant pump 211 for circulating the coolant and a radiator 212 for radiating heat outwards may be provided in the coolant circulation loop 21. In order to enhance the heat dissipation effect, a fan 213 may be provided beside the radiator 212.

[0044] Of course, the composition of the coolant may vary depending on the fuel cell and / or the thermal coupling method. For example, depending on the specific application, the corresponding coolant may need to have different conductivity, different corrosion rate, different specific heat capacity, different freezing point, etc. Therefore, the above-mentioned specific components may also be different. Moreover, the above-mentioned specific components refer to the components that constitute a part of the coolant, rather than the full-component coolant. This means that the corresponding components can be added as needed instead of adding the full-component coolant. The full-component coolant refers to the coolant containing all the required components expected for a specific application. The specific components can be determined according to the actual consumption of the coolant during use, and can be those components that reduce the coolant content in the coolant circuit system relative to the ideal coolant content due to various reasons, such as actual consumption caused by evaporation when the coolant is used. It can be one component or multiple components.

[0045] For example, a typical coolant currently contains about 51% (CH2OH)2, about 48% deionized water and about 1% additives by weight percentage. For this coolant, as the use process progresses, its deionized water will be lost, so that the relative concentration of (CH2OH)2 will increase, and the increase in relative concentration will cause the material properties of the coolant to change relative to the initial design, which in turn will cause the working performance of the cooling system to deviate. As the relative concentration of (CH2OH)2 increases, the freezing point of the coolant first decreases and then increases. However, this cannot be adjusted by adding a full-component coolant, and at most it can be alleviated. However, according to the present invention, the reduction of the corresponding component can be found based on the change in the material properties of the coolant, thereby allowing targeted supplementation.

[0046] To this end, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the characteristic detection unit 23 may be configured to detect a parameter value characterizing the freezing point of the coolant. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this may be detected by a direct parameter of the freezing point or a related indirect parameter. By the change in the freezing point, the change in the composition of the coolant may be inferred. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the change in the relative composition of the coolant may also be directly detected to determine which components need to be replenished.

[0047] The loss of a specific component will often result in a reduction in the amount of coolant in the coolant circuit system, which will also cause the cooling system to deviate from its operating performance. Of course, a reduction in coolant volume may not necessarily be due to a loss of a specific component. Therefore, it is necessary to allow for the replenishment of full-component coolant in response to a reduction in coolant volume.

[0048] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1As shown, the coolant system 2 further includes a coolant amount detection device 26 for detecting a parameter value representing the amount of coolant in the coolant circuit system. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the amount of coolant is also an influencing factor in determining the amount of supplementation of a specific component.

[0049] To this end, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 25 is configured to issue the signal based at least on the characteristic detection result and the coolant amount detection result. In other words, the generation of the signal also takes the coolant amount into consideration.

[0050] Those skilled in the art will understand that if it is found during testing that both the characteristic test results and the coolant amount have deviated, one possible scenario is that the reduction in cooling amount is only due to the loss of a specific component, and that the coolant composition and the coolant amount can be corrected simultaneously by simply adding the specific component. However, there may also be another scenario: the coolant composition problem may be corrected by adding a specific component, but the corrected coolant amount still cannot meet the requirements, and in this case, it may be necessary to add a full-component coolant to replenish the coolant amount.

[0051] To this end, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adding device 24 is configured to be able to automatically add specific components of the coolant and / or the full component coolant to the coolant circuit system based on the signal. Alternatively or additionally, the adding device 24 can also be configured to allow the user to add specific components of the coolant and / or the full component coolant to the coolant circuit system according to the signal. In this case, the signal can be presented, for example, as a reminder signal on a corresponding display device, such as a central control display of the vehicle. In particular, the signal can clearly indicate to the user what to add and how much to add.

[0052] Here, the adding device 24 should be understood as any possible structure capable of adding substances to the coolant circuit system. In the case of manual addition, it can even be an opening or multiple openings on the coolant tank 22. In the case of automatic addition, it can also be an interface capable of adding substances to the coolant circuit system. Figure 1 What is shown is only one exemplary embodiment.

[0053] The specific adding process can be to first add the components of the correction coolant with specific components, and then add the full-component coolant based on the deviation from the predetermined coolant amount. This provides such a possibility: after adding a predetermined amount of a specific component, check the current component to see if it meets the component requirements. If the component requirements are not met, adjustments can be made, such as adding, until the desired component is reached. After that, it is only necessary to decide whether to add the full-component coolant based on the current coolant amount. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that the control unit 25 can theoretically directly determine what to add and how much to add based on the characteristic detection results and the coolant amount detection results, and then complete the addition at the same time, or add in other orders. Of course, especially when multiple specific components need to be added, the order of addition can also be determined according to the specific circumstances.

[0054] To this end, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the signal sent by the control unit 25 indicates the amount of a specific component and / or the amount of the full component coolant to be added to the coolant circuit system and / or the order of their addition.

[0055] like Figure 1 As shown, the figure schematically shows that the adding device 24 has two separate adding paths. Each adding path has a corresponding container and a control valve ( Figure 1 The container stores corresponding specific components, such as deionized water or full-component coolant, and the control valve can be opened or closed by the control device 25 to control the addition of substances from the corresponding container to the coolant circuit system. This addition device 24 can achieve fully automatic addition. In order to ensure the accuracy of addition, a metering device or the control valve itself can also be provided on the corresponding addition path to play a metering role.

[0056] like Figure 1 As shown, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adding device 24 is configured to add substances to the coolant tank 22, which is convenient for implementation.

[0057] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the coolant tank 22 is configured as an expansion tank. The expansion tank can compensate for the volume change of the coolant caused by temperature change, realize possible gas removal in the coolant, and mitigate the pressure shock in the coolant circuit system. The present invention does not limit the expansion tank here, but any suitable expansion tank can be used as needed.

[0058] Also for the sake of convenience of arrangement, the property detection unit 23 may be configured to measure the material properties of the coolant in the coolant tank 22. In this case, the material properties of the coolant in the coolant circuit system are measured by detecting the material properties of the coolant in the coolant tank 22 as a component of the coolant circuit system.

[0059] It can also be understood that the coolant amount detection device 26 can be configured to determine the coolant amount by measuring the liquid level of the coolant in the coolant tank 22 .

[0060] Those skilled in the art may also understand that according to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a fuel cell system for a vehicle, comprising: a fuel cell 1; and a coolant system 2 according to any of the above embodiments.

[0061] Although the above is combined Figure 1 When describing the coolant system 2, it is mentioned how the coolant system 2 works. However, for a more specific consideration, according to another aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling the coolant system 2 according to any of the above embodiments is provided, and the method comprises at least the following steps:

[0062] S1: obtaining a characteristic detection result of the coolant in the coolant circuit system; and

[0063] S2: Determine whether to issue a signal instructing to add a substance to the coolant circuit system via the adding device 24 based at least on the characteristic detection result.

[0064] Figure 2 The flowchart of the method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown, wherein, in step S3 after step S2 , the adding device 24 automatically adds the substance to the coolant circuit system based on the signal.

[0065] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 As shown, in step S0 before step S1, the current amount of coolant in the coolant circuit system is obtained, and when the current amount of coolant is less than the predetermined amount of coolant, step S1 is executed. This logic is based on the understanding that the coolant circuit system is a relatively independent system. If the amount of coolant in it has not decreased, it means that its components have most likely not decreased. Therefore, it is possible to first determine whether the amount of coolant has decreased, which can be used as the starting point for subsequent control operations. To this end, the current amount of coolant can be detected at a predetermined frequency. Of course, the situation may vary for different coolants or coolant circuit systems.

[0066] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, if it is judged that the characteristic detection result is within a predetermined range, for example, the detected freezing point is within the range of ±2°C of the predetermined freezing point, a required amount of full-component coolant is added to the coolant circuit system based on the deviation between the current coolant amount and the predetermined coolant amount.

[0067] As described above, the control unit 25 can simultaneously analyze the components and the amount of coolant. To this end, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the current coolant amount and characteristic detection results in the coolant circuit system are obtained at a predetermined frequency or in real time, and based on the current coolant amount and characteristic detection results, specific components of the coolant and / or the full component coolant are automatically controlled to be added to the coolant circuit system.

[0068] Preferably, the above-mentioned coolant system can be automatically operated under the control of the control unit 25 without manual intervention. If necessary, an alarm message can be output externally.

[0069] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product, in particular a computer-readable storage medium, is provided, which includes or stores computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any of the above embodiments can be executed.

[0070] Although specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail herein, they are provided for the purpose of explanation only and should not be considered to limit the scope of the present invention. Various substitutions, changes and modifications may be conceived without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cooling liquid system (2) for a fuel cell (1), comprising: A coolant circulation loop (21), the coolant circulation loop (21) being thermally coupled to the fuel cell stack (11) of the fuel cell (1); A coolant tank (22) fluidly connected to the coolant circulation loop (21) to form a coolant circuit system; a property detection unit (23) for detecting the material properties of the coolant in the coolant circuit system; An adding device (24) for adding substances into the cooling liquid circuit system; and A control unit (25) is configured to be able to issue a signal instructing to add a substance to the coolant circuit system via the adding device (24) based at least on the characteristic detection result of the characteristic detection unit (23).

2. The coolant system (2) according to claim 1, wherein: The characteristic detection unit (23) is configured to detect a parameter value representing the freezing point of the cooling liquid; and / or The coolant system (2) further comprises a coolant quantity detection device (26) for detecting a parameter value representing the coolant quantity in the coolant circuit system.

3. The cooling liquid system (2) according to claim 2, wherein: The control unit (25) is configured to issue the signal based on at least a characteristic detection result and a coolant amount detection result.

4. The cooling liquid system (2) according to claim 3, wherein: The adding device (24) is configured to automatically add a specific component of the coolant and / or the full component coolant to the coolant circuit system based on the signal; and / or The adding device (24) is configured to allow a user to add specific components of coolant and / or full components of coolant to the coolant circuit system according to the signal.

5. The cooling liquid system (2) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The signal indicates the amount of a specific component and / or the amount of full-component coolant to be added to the coolant circuit system and / or the order in which they are added.

6. The coolant system (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The adding device (24) is configured to add a substance to the coolant tank (22); and / or The coolant tank (22) is configured as an expansion tank.

7. The cooling liquid system (2) according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein: The property detection unit (23) is configured to measure the material properties of the coolant in the coolant tank (22); and / or The coolant amount detection device (26) is configured to determine the coolant amount by measuring the coolant level in the coolant tank (22).

8. A fuel cell system for a vehicle, comprising: Fuel cell (1); and A cooling liquid system (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A method for controlling a coolant system (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the method comprising at least the following steps: S1: obtaining a characteristic detection result of the coolant in the coolant circuit system; and S2: Determine whether to issue a signal indicating that a substance is to be added to the coolant circuit system via an adding device (24) based at least on the characteristic detection result.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The adding device (24) automatically adds substances to the coolant circuit system based on the signal.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein: Before step S1 , the current coolant amount in the coolant circuit system is obtained, and when the current coolant amount is less than the predetermined coolant amount, step S1 is executed.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein: If the characteristic detection result is within the predetermined range, a required amount of full-component coolant is added to the coolant circuit system based on the deviation of the current coolant amount from the predetermined coolant amount.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein: Get the current coolant level at a predetermined frequency.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The current coolant amount and characteristic detection results in the coolant circuit system are obtained at a predetermined frequency or in real time, and based on the current coolant amount and characteristic detection results, specific components of the coolant and / or the full component coolant are automatically controlled to be added to the coolant circuit system.

15. A computer program product, in particular a computer-readable storage medium, comprising or storing computer program instructions, which are capable of executing the method according to any one of claims 9 to 14 when the computer program instructions are executed by a processor.

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