Vehicle and fuel cell system thereof

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a vehicle and a fuel cell system thereof, where the fuel cell system of the vehicle includes: a fuel cell; the air compressor is communicated with the fuel cell so as to provide compressed air for the fuel cell; the motor is in transmission connection with the air compressor; the turbine is in transmission connection with the motor; and the brake air pump can selectively communicate with the turbine so as to recycle energy of the brake air pump. By means of the technical scheme, energy of the brake air pump can be recycled through the turbine connected with the motor, residual water of the turbine can be removed, the energy recycling rate is increased, and the turbine can be better protected.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of fuel cells, and in particular to a fuel cell system for a vehicle, and also relates to a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] With the market promotion of fuel cell power generation technology, economic performance has become an important indicator of fuel cell systems. In addition to improving power generation efficiency, energy recovery is also an important technical way to improve system economy, mainly including kinetic energy recovery and thermal energy recovery. And as the power range of fuel cell systems becomes larger and larger, kinetic energy recovery has received more and more attention. Among them, the expander of the fuel cell system has attracted much attention because it can recover the energy of the tail gas of the fuel cell system. It can reduce the power consumption of the air supply system by recovering the kinetic energy generated by the tail gas, thereby improving the economic performance of the fuel cell system.

[0003] Due to the characteristics of the fuel cell itself, the gas pressure entering the turbine end of the expander directly affects the recovery performance; at the same time, because the gas passing through the turbine end contains water, it may cause phenomena such as icing at the turbine end of the expander at low temperatures, thereby causing damage to the turbine end. Summary of the Utility Model

[0004] One technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is: how to improve the energy recovery efficiency of the fuel cell system.

[0005] To solve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a fuel cell system for a vehicle, which includes:

[0006] A fuel cell;

[0007] An air compressor, which is connected to the fuel cell to supply compressed air to the fuel cell;

[0008] An electric motor, which is drivingly connected to the air compressor;

[0009] A turbine, which is drivingly connected to the electric motor; and

[0010] A brake air pump, which can be selectively connected to the turbine to recover the energy of the brake air pump.

[0011] In some embodiments, the brake air pump is connected to the turbine through a recovery pipeline, and a three-way valve is arranged on the recovery pipeline, and the three-way valve can selectively connect the brake air pump to the atmosphere and the turbine.

[0012] In some embodiments, a check valve is arranged on the recovery pipeline downstream of the three-way valve.

[0013] In some embodiments, a pressure relief valve is arranged on the recovery pipeline upstream of the three-way valve.

[0014] In some embodiments, the fuel cell is connected to the turbine through an exhaust pipe.

[0015] In some embodiments, a first throttle valve is provided on the exhaust pipe.

[0016] In some embodiments, the air compressor is connected to the fuel cell through an intake pipe, and a cooling and humidifying module is provided on the intake pipe.

[0017] In some embodiments, a second throttle valve is provided on the intake pipe.

[0018] In some embodiments, the air compressor is connected to the turbine through a surge valve.

[0019] On the other hand, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a vehicle, in which a fuel cell system of the vehicle with the above solution is provided.

[0020] Through the above technical solution, the energy of the brake air pump can be recovered through the turbine connected to the motor, and the residual water in the turbine can be removed, which not only improves the energy recovery utilization rate, but also better protects the turbine. Description of the Drawings

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the fuel cell system of the vehicle disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] Description of the Reference Numerals:

[0024] 1. Motor; 2. Air compressor; 3. Turbine; 4. Surge valve; 5. Cooling and humidifying module; 6. Second throttle valve; 7. Fuel cell; 8. First throttle valve; 9. Check valve; 10. Three-way valve; 11. Fuel cell controller; 12. Tail exhaust; 13. Air pump controller; 14. Brake air pump; 15. Pressure relief valve; 16. Brake assembly; 17. Intake pipe; 18. Exhaust pipe; 19. Recovery pipe. Detailed Embodiments

[0025] The following will further describe in detail the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. The detailed description and drawings of the following embodiments are used to exemplarily illustrate the principles of the present disclosure, but cannot be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms, not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in the text, but including all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

[0026] The present disclosure provides these embodiments to make the present disclosure thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that: unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangements of components and steps set forth in these embodiments, the components of materials, numerical expressions and values should be construed as merely exemplary, rather than as limitations.

[0027] It should be noted that in the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality" is greater than or equal to two; the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", etc. is only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus cannot be construed as a limitation to the present disclosure. When the absolute position of the object being described changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0028] In addition, the "first", "second" and similar terms used in the present disclosure do not denote any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different parts. "Vertical" is not strictly vertical, but within the allowable error range. "Parallel" is not strictly parallel, but within the allowable error range. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the elements before this term cover the elements listed after this term, and do not exclude the possibility of also covering other elements.

[0029] It should also be noted that in the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "mounted", "connected" and "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances. When it is described that a specific device is located between a first device and a second device, there may or may not be an intermediate device between the specific device and the first device or the second device.

[0030] All terms used in the present disclosure have the same meanings as those understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains, unless otherwise specifically defined. It should also be understood that terms defined in a general dictionary, such as those, should be construed to have meanings consistent with their meanings in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless specifically defined as such here.

[0031] Technologies, methods and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant fields may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the technologies, methods and devices should be regarded as part of the specification.

[0032] The present disclosure provides a fuel cell system for a vehicle, which includes:

[0033] A fuel cell 7;

[0034] An air compressor 2, which is connected to the fuel cell 7 to supply compressed air to the fuel cell 7;

[0035] An electric motor 1, which is drivingly connected to the air compressor 2;

[0036] A turbine 3, which is drivingly connected to the electric motor 1; and

[0037] A brake air pump 14, which can be selectively connected to the turbine 3 to recover the energy of the brake air pump 14.

[0038] The electric motor 1 is drivingly connected to the air compressor 2 to drive the air compressor 2 to operate. The air compressor 2 can compress and transport the air from the atmospheric environment to the fuel cell 7 to meet the electrochemical reaction requirements in the fuel cell 7.

[0039] The turbine 3 is drivingly connected to the main shaft of the electric motor 1. The turbine 3 is used to recover energy and transfer the recovered energy to the electric motor 1. Specifically, the compressed gas provided by the brake air pump 14 can be transported to the turbine 3 to drive the turbine 3 to rotate, thereby recovering the gas energy of the brake air pump 14.

[0040] Among them, the turbine 3, the electric motor 1 and the air compressor 2 can be integrated together to form an expander assembly.

[0041] The brake air pump 14 is connected to the brake assembly 16 and can provide compressed gas for it to achieve braking; the excess braking gas can be recovered through the turbine 3.

[0042] In addition, under low-temperature conditions, when the fuel cell 7 stops operating, the gas provided by the brake air pump 14 can be used to purge the turbine 3 to remove the residual water on the turbine 3, reduce the icing risk, and better protect the turbine 3.

[0043] In this solution, the energy of the brake air pump can be recovered through the turbine connected to the electric motor, and the residual water on the turbine can be removed, which not only improves the energy recovery and utilization rate, but also can better protect the turbine.

[0044] Among them, in some embodiments, the brake air pump 14 is connected to the turbine 3 through a recovery pipeline 19, and a three-way valve 10 is arranged on the recovery pipeline 19. The three-way valve 10 can selectively connect the brake air pump 14 to the atmosphere and the turbine 3. As Figure 1As shown, the inlet of the three-way valve 10 is connected to the brake air pump 14, and the two outlets are respectively connected to the atmosphere and the turbine 3. Among them, when energy recovery can be carried out, the brake air pump 14 can be connected to the turbine 3, and when energy recovery is not allowed, the brake air pump 14 can be connected to the atmosphere. Of course, the brake air pump 14 can also be connected to the atmosphere and the turbine 3 at the same time to discharge excess gas. Or the three-way valve 10 can disconnect the connection with the atmosphere and the turbine 3 at the same time. The three-way valve 10 can be mechanically controlled or electrically controlled, and can be a butterfly valve, a lift valve or a ball valve.

[0045] In addition, in some embodiments, a check valve 9 is provided on the recovery pipeline 19 downstream of the three-way valve 10. The check valve 9 allows the one-way connection of the recovery pipeline 19 from the brake air pump 14 to the turbine 3 to prevent gas backflow.

[0046] In addition, in some embodiments, a pressure relief valve 15 is provided on the recovery pipeline 19 upstream of the three-way valve 10. The pressure relief valve 15 can reduce the pressure of the compressed gas discharged by the brake air pump 14 to ensure the turbine 3.

[0047] In addition, the fuel cell 7 is connected to the turbine 3 through the exhaust pipeline 18. The gas discharged by the electrochemical reaction of the fuel cell 7 can be transported to the turbine 3, and energy recovery and utilization can also be achieved. Refer to Figure 1 As shown, the exhaust pipeline 18 and the recovery pipeline 19 are parallel to each other. And as described above, a check valve 9 is provided on the recovery pipeline 19, which can prevent the gas in the exhaust pipeline 18 from flowing back into the recovery pipeline 19 and further into the atmosphere or the vehicle.

[0048] In addition, in some embodiments, a first throttle valve 8 is provided on the exhaust pipeline 18. The first throttle valve 8 can control the gas flow rate of the exhaust pipeline 18.

[0049] In addition, in some embodiments, the air compressor 2 is connected to the fuel cell 7 through the intake pipeline 17, and a cooling and humidifying module 5 is provided on the intake pipeline 17. The temperature and humidity of the gas are adjusted through the cooling and humidifying module 5.

[0050] In addition, in some embodiments, a second throttle valve 6 is provided on the intake pipeline 17. The second throttle valve 6 is located downstream of the cooling and humidifying module 5 and can control the gas flow rate of the intake pipeline 17. The second throttle valve 6 and the first throttle valve 8 cooperate with each other to control the pressure of the fuel cell 7 and ensure the normal operation of the fuel cell 7.

[0051] In addition, in some embodiments, the air compressor 2 is connected to the turbine 3 through a surge valve 4. In a low-temperature situation, when the fuel cell 7 shuts down, the surge valve 4 can be opened at this time, so that the compressed gas generated by the air compressor 2 directly enters the turbine 3, so that the gas discharged from the air compressor 2 does not enter the fuel cell 7 to protect the fuel cell 7.

[0052] In addition, the fuel cell system further includes a fuel cell controller 11 communicatively connected to the fuel cell 7 and an air pump controller 13 communicatively connected to the brake air pump 14. The air pump controller 13 is used to control the operation of the brake air pump 14, and the fuel cell controller 11 is used to control the operation of the fuel cell 7, and can be communicatively connected to the three-way valve 10 and the surge valve 4 to control the connection mode of the three-way valve 10 and the surge valve 4. The turbine 3 is connected to a tail exhaust 12 to discharge the gas to the atmospheric environment through the tail exhaust 12, and the tail exhaust 12 may include a noise reducer.

[0053] In this solution, when the fuel cell 7 is in a working state, the fuel cell controller 11 can control the three-way valve 10 to connect the brake air pump 14 and the turbine 3, and the braking gas can drive the turbine 3 to rotate to recover the braking gas energy; in a low-temperature environment, when the fuel cell 7 shuts down, the gas output by the brake air pump 14 can purge the turbine 3 to remove residual water and keep the turbine 3 dry. At the same time, the fuel cell controller 11 opens the surge valve 4 so that the gas generated by the air compressor 2 is directly transported to the turbine 3, preventing the gas from entering the fuel cell 7 and avoiding damage to the fuel cell 7. After the purging is completed, the fuel cell controller 11 closes the three-way valve 10 and the surge valve 4 to ensure the normal shutdown of the fuel cell system.

[0054] In addition, the present disclosure also provides a vehicle, in which a fuel cell system of the vehicle with the above solution is provided. Among them, the brake air pump 14 is a part of the braking system of the vehicle and provides braking power for the brake assembly 16. The fuel cell 7 can provide power for the vehicle.

[0055] So far, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail. In order to avoid obscuring the concept of the present disclosure, some details known in the art have not been described. Those skilled in the art can fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0056] Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail by way of examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are only for illustration and not for limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments can be modified or some technical features can be equivalently replaced without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In particular, as long as there is no structural conflict, the technical features mentioned in each embodiment can be combined in any way.

Claims

1. A fuel cell system for a vehicle, characterized in that: include: Fuel cells (7); an air compressor (2), the air compressor (2) being connected to the fuel cell (7) to provide compressed air to the fuel cell (7); A motor (1), the motor (1) being drivingly connected to the air compressor (2); a turbine (3), the turbine (3) being drivingly connected to the motor (1); and A brake air pump (14) is selectively connectable to the turbine (3) to recover energy of the brake air pump (14).

2. The fuel cell system for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The brake air pump (14) is connected to the turbine (3) via a recovery pipeline (19), and a three-way valve (10) is provided on the recovery pipeline (19). The three-way valve (10) can selectively connect the brake air pump (14) to the atmosphere and the turbine (3).

3. The fuel cell system for a vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that: The recovery pipeline (19) is provided with a one-way valve (9) located downstream of the three-way valve (10).

4. The fuel cell system for a vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that: The recovery pipeline (19) is provided with a pressure relief valve (15) located upstream of the three-way valve (10).

5. The fuel cell system for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fuel cell (7) is connected to the turbine (3) via an exhaust pipe (18).

6. The fuel cell system for a vehicle according to claim 5, characterized in that: The exhaust pipe (18) is provided with a first throttle valve (8).

7. The fuel cell system for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air compressor (2) is connected to the fuel cell (7) via an air intake pipeline (17), and a cooling and humidifying module (5) is provided on the air intake pipeline (17).

8. The fuel cell system for a vehicle according to claim 7, characterized in that: The air intake pipeline (17) is provided with a second throttle valve (6).

9. The fuel cell system for a vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air compressor (2) is connected to the turbine (3) via a surge valve (4).

10. A vehicle, characterized in that: A fuel cell system for a vehicle is provided with the vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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