Vehicle with fuel cell and method for operating same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle comprising: at least one fuel cell; a cooling system having at least one cooler (5) for cooling the fuel cell; a container (7) for collecting water generated in the fuel cell; a plurality of nozzles (6) arranged in front of the cooler (5) in the direction of travel (F) for guiding or spraying the water in the container (7) into the cooler (5) or into the air flow flowing through the cooler (5); a pump for conveying the water in the container (7) to the nozzle (6); the invention relates to a cooling system for a motor vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising a pump, a cooler (5), and a control device, which is configured to control and / or regulate the delivery water volume of the pump as a function of the outside temperature and the cooling system temperature, the vehicle being designed as a commercial vehicle (1), the cooler (5) being arranged on the roof or in the roof region of the vehicle, the container (7) is arranged in a lower region of the vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle having a fuel cell according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for operating a vehicle according to the preamble of claim 6. Background Art

[0002] JP 2019-075254 A2 describes a fuel cell system including: a fuel cell in which an electrochemical reaction occurs between hydrogen and oxygen to generate water through this electrochemical reaction; a water storage member for storing the water collected in the fuel cell; a heat exchanger that releases heat generated by exchanging a heat transfer medium that absorbs heat from the fuel cell; a spraying member for spraying the water in the water storage member onto the heat exchanger to cool the heat exchanger using the latent heat of evaporation; and an abnormality determination member for determining an abnormality related to the water spraying of the spraying member. The abnormality determination member performs abnormality determination based on the difference between the theoretical heat dissipation amount of the heat exchanger when no water is sprayed and the measured heat dissipation amount of the heat exchanger when water is sprayed. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to specify a novel fuel cell vehicle and a novel method for operating a vehicle.

[0004] According to the present invention, the object is achieved by a vehicle having a fuel cell with the features of claim 1 and a method for operating a vehicle having a fuel cell with the features of claim 6.

[0005] Advantageous designs of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0006] The vehicle according to the present invention includes: at least one fuel cell; a cooling system having at least one cooler for cooling the fuel cell; a container for collecting the water generated in the fuel cell; a plurality of nozzles arranged in front of the cooler in the traveling direction for guiding or spraying the water in the container onto the cooler or into the air flow flowing through the cooler; a pump for delivering the water in the container to the nozzles; and a control device configured to control and / or adjust the water delivery amount of the pump based on the outside temperature and the temperature of the cooling system. According to the present invention, the vehicle is designed as a commercial vehicle, wherein the cooler is arranged on the roof or in the roof area of the vehicle, and the container is arranged in the lower area of the vehicle.

[0007] By spraying water on the warm and / or high-temperature cooler, the cooling performance is improved. The evaporation of water generates a cooling effect. Therefore, energy conservation can be achieved, the efficiency of the cooler can be increased, and thus the efficiency of the entire system including the fuel cell can be increased. This results in a reduction of the ecological footprint because a greater driving range can be obtained using the same primary energy. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] Embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0009] Figure 1 Schematic diagram showing a commercial vehicle with a fuel cell drive device. Detailed implementation

[0010] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a commercial vehicle 1, especially a tractor for a semi-trailer. The commercial vehicle 1 has a drive device based on one or more fuel cells. For this purpose, a device rack (Technikturm) 3 is provided behind the cabin 2 of the commercial vehicle 1, and one or more hydrogen tanks 4 are especially arranged in the device rack. A cooler 5 is arranged on the roof of the cabin 2 or on the device rack 3 in the roof area.

[0011] Fuel cell vehicles generate a large amount of waste heat. Cooling power is required during vehicle deceleration, which further increases the waste heat. If recovery cannot be achieved, electrical energy must be converted into heat energy and dissipated through the cooler 5.

[0012] In the driving direction F, one or more nozzles 6 are arranged in front of the cooler 5, and water can be sprayed onto the cooler 5 through the nozzles. Water is generated by the fuel cell in the form of a spray, discharged therefrom and collected in a container 7. In the case of the commercial vehicle 1, for example, about 50 liters of water can be generated per hour. The water is fed into the air flow flowing through the cooler 5 in the form of a water stream or a spray through the nozzles 6, or directly sprayed onto the cooler 5.

[0013] The cooler 5 is blown by an air flow (such as the driving wind FW during driving). The nozzles 6 are arranged in the air flow, and the nozzles can be designed similar to windshield washer nozzles. The nozzles 6 are supplied with water from the container 7. In particular, the entire cooler 5 is thus wetted, and the cooler 5 is additionally cooled due to the enthalpy of evaporation, for example, the temperature is reduced by about 2 to 3 degrees compared to when no water is sprayed.

[0014] The container 7 for collecting fuel cell water is located, for example, in the lower area of the commercial vehicle 1. With the help of a pump (not shown), water is transported from the container 7 to the nozzles 6. Alternatively, the spray generated by the fuel cell can also be directly applied to the cooler 5.

[0015] In addition, a control device (not shown) can be provided, which decides when to spray water and the amount of water sprayed based on at least one temperature (such as the outside temperature and / or the temperature of the cooling system of the commercial vehicle 1).

[0016] Furthermore, in the driving direction F, a collecting device (not shown), such as a basin or a trough, may be provided behind the cooler 5 for collecting the part of the sprayed water that may not have evaporated. The drainage from the collecting device, for example leading to the container 7, can be directed along the upward pipeline (which is thus at a higher temperature) to the cooler 5 and wet it. In this way, the pipeline is also additionally cooled by the enthalpy of evaporation, thereby enhancing the cooling effect.

[0017] List of reference numerals

[0018] 1 Commercial vehicle

[0019] 2 Compartment

[0020] 3 Device rack

[0021] 4 Hydrogen tank

[0022] 5 Cooler

[0023] 6 Nozzle

[0024] 7 Container

[0025] F Driving direction

[0026] FW Driving wind

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising: - at least one fuel cell, - a cooling system having at least one cooler (5) for cooling the fuel cell, - a container (7) for collecting water generated in the fuel cell, - a plurality of nozzles (6) arranged in front of the cooler (5) in the driving direction (F) for guiding or spraying the water in the container (7) onto the cooler (5) or into the air flow flowing through the cooler (5), - a pump for delivering the water in the container (7) to the nozzles (6), and - a control device configured to control and / or adjust the water delivery volume of the pump according to the outside temperature and the temperature of the cooling system, characterized in that the vehicle is designed as a commercial vehicle (1), wherein the cooler (5) is arranged on the roof or in the roof area of the vehicle, and wherein the container (7) is arranged in the lower area of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the air flow can be generated by the driving wind (FW).

3. The vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that these nozzles (6) are arranged in such a way as to wet the entire cooler (5).

4. The vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the driving direction (F), a collecting device is provided behind the cooler (5) for collecting the unevaporated part of the water sprayed onto the cooler (5), and wherein the collecting device has a drain, and the drain is guided along an upward pipeline to the cooler (5) and is designed to wet the cooler with the collected water.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the vehicle further comprises a cabin (2) and a device rack (3) arranged behind the cabin (2), and a hydrogen tank (4) is provided in the device rack, and wherein the cooler (5) is arranged on the device rack (3) in the roof area of the cabin (2).

6. A vehicle operation method, the vehicle having at least one fuel cell and a cooling system, the cooling system having at least one cooler (5) for cooling the fuel cell, wherein, the water generated in the fuel cell is collected into a container (7) and is delivered by means of a pump to a plurality of nozzles (6) arranged in front of the cooler (5) in the driving direction (F) and is guided or sprayed by the nozzles (6) onto the cooler (5) or into the air flow flowing through the cooler (5), and wherein the water delivery volume of the pump is controlled and / or adjusted by means of a control device according to the outside temperature and the temperature of the cooling system, characterized in that the vehicle is designed as a commercial vehicle (1), wherein the cooler (5) is arranged on the roof or in the roof area of the vehicle, and wherein the container (7) is arranged in the lower area of the vehicle.

Images