Installation for estimating the mass of hydrogen contained in one or more pressurized containers

Abstract

The invention relates to an installation (1) for estimating the mass of hydrogen contained in one or more pressurized containers (4), the installation (1) comprising at least one pipe (5) intended to be fluidly connected to each pressurized container, an electronic component (8) configured to measure the pressure in the pipe (5), and an isolation valve (6) configured to allow pressure isolation of the pipe (5) from atmospheric pressure, the component (8) being configured to transmit data relating to the measured pressure by radio communication, in particular to a remote server. Abstract figure: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: Installation for estimating the mass of hydrogen contained in one or more pressurized containers

[0001] The present invention relates to an installation for estimating the mass of hydrogen contained in one or more pressurized containers.

[0002] The present invention proposes an installation for estimating the mass of hydrogen contained in one or more pressurized containers, the installation comprising at least one pipe intended to be fluidically connected to each pressurized container, an electronic device configured to measure the pressure in the pipe and an isolation valve configured to allow pressure isolation of the pipe from atmospheric pressure, the device being configured to transmit by radio communication data relating to the measured pressure, in particular to a remote server.

[0003] Thus, the invention solves the problem of real-time estimation of the mass of hydrogen in one or more pressurized containers transported by a vehicle such as a truck or trailer, and of remote transmission of this estimation.

[0004] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description and examining the figure. This figure is given only by way of illustration and in no way limits the invention.

[0005] [Fig-1] Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of an installation according to the invention.

[0006] Figure 1 represents an assembly 1 for estimating the mass of hydrogen contained in one or more pressurized containers 4. The assembly 1 comprises at least one pipe 5 intended to be fluidically connected to each pressurized container 4. The assembly 1 further comprises an electronic device 8 configured to measure the pressure in the pipe 5. The assembly 1 also comprises an isolation valve 6 configured to allow pressure isolation of the pipe 5 from atmospheric pressure. The isolation valve 6 is connected at one end to the pipe 5 and at the other end to a filling or discharging connector 7.

[0007] The component 8 is configured to transmit measured pressure data by radio communication, in particular to a remote server.

[0008] Assembly 1 can be mounted on a vehicle 100 such as a truck, a trailer towed by a truck, or a train. The vehicle is a gas transport vehicle, such as one for hydrogen. The gas is stored in pressurized containers 4.

[0009] Upstream of the isolation valve 6, it is considered, at least in static conditions, that any pressure measurement on the pipes 5 gives the pressure in any container 4 of gas in set 1.

[0010] The component 8 is configured to measure at least one pressure value in the pipeline 5, and optionally a value of the ambient temperature or the temperature of the gas in the pipeline 5.

[0011] The component 8 is configured to establish communication with a remote telecommunications network to transmit and possibly receive data from it.

[0012] The component 8 can be placed in an instrumentation box attached to the vehicle 100, which ensures its protection against external aggressions, but also its confinement in the event of internal malfunction or accident.

[0013] The component 8 comprises an enclosure or shell which houses all or part of an electronic circuit board connected to a pressure sensor or incorporates such a pressure sensor. In one embodiment, the electronic circuit board comprises: - a microprocessor or a microcontroller; - a device for acquiring or sampling signals from the pressure sensor, which may or may not be an integral part of the microcontroller, connected to the microcontroller; - at least one radio modem and at least one radio antenna, which may or may not be an integral part of the microcontroller, connected to the microcontroller; - persistent memory connected to the microcontroller; - a temperature sensor connected to the microcontroller via a signal sampling or acquisition device, or an integral part of the microcontroller; - a module to geolocate vehicle 100 in order to better optimize its route, for example a GPS type module.

[0014] The pressure sensor measures the gas pressure in the pipe 5. The temperature sensor can measure, depending on its nature, the ambient temperature in the vicinity of the casing, the temperature of the gas in the pipe 5, the temperature at the heart of the microcontroller which may be a reflection of the ambient temperature.

[0015] The pressure sensor can measure the pressure of a gas, in particular hydrogen, over an absolute pressure range from, for example, 0 to 500 bar, or advantageously from 0 to 700 bar, or even more advantageously from 0 to 1000 bar. Its measurement accuracy can be, for example, 1% of its full scale, or more advantageously, 0.5% of its full scale.

[0016] A possible temperature sensor can measure a temperature, for example, from -20°C to 40°C, and more advantageously cover a range from -40°C to 60°C, with an accuracy, for example, of 1°C, or advantageously of 0.5°C, or more advantageously de0.1°C.

[0017] The component 8 is powered by an energy source, which is preferably a battery, but which can also be a combination of a accumulator and an ambient energy recovery device, for example solar or vibrational, or an adapter allowing the use of the vehicle's own electrical network 100.

[0018] The battery may have an energy capacity of, for example, 2000 mAh and 10,000 mAh, giving the organ 8 an energy autonomy of, for example, between 3 and 6 years.

[0019] The microcontroller governs the operation of component 8, for example according to a periodic cycle: - Acquisition of raw values ​​measured by the sensors - Data processing - Persistent memory - Radio transmission of either raw data, processed data, or both

[0020] The processing of raw data to obtain processed data may, for example, consist, given knowledge of the geometry of the pressurized containers 4, of calculating a quantity of gas contained in the containers 4 by combining the pressure measurement obtained by the pressure sensor and a temperature measurement obtained by a temperature sensor, for example according to the real gas law. Indeed, the gas is under fairly high pressure (several tens of bar) in the containers 4. It behaves according to the real gas law which can be written in the form: PV = (m / M) RZ T.

[0021] Where P is the pressure of the gas in the container 4 (which can be a tube), V the internal volume of the container 4, m the mass of the gas contained in the volume concerned, M the molar mass of the gas which is constant for a given gas, R is the universal ideal gas constant, Z is the compressibility coefficient of the gas which depends on the nature of the gas and is tabulated as a function of its pressure and temperature and T the average volumetric temperature of the gas in the container 4.

[0022] By measuring the pressure and temperature of the gas, the mass of the remaining gas can be deduced from the real gas law according to: m = (PVM) / (RZT).

[0023] The average temperature measurement of the gas in the containers 4 can be carried out on the outlet pipe 5 of these containers 4 by placing a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple in the center of the pipe 5.

[0024] The temperature sensor measures a value that approaches the temperature of the outgoing gas from the moment when enough gas has flowed continuously (on the order of a minute) through the pipeline 5.

[0025] In the case where a temperature sensor is not installed in pipe 5 of gas outlet, a model can calculate the average temperature of the gas in the containers 4. This model is based on the mass and energy balances applied to the gas and the wall of the container 4 and on the knowledge of the geometric characteristics and thermophysical properties of the walls of a container 4 as well as on the measurement of pressure in the containers 4 and of the ambient temperature.

[0026] Regarding the operating mode of the transmission and measurement system, the periodic cycle is executed by the microcontroller with a periodicity chosen to optimize the use of the energy source, particularly when it is limited, as in the case of a battery. For example, the cycle is executed every hour.

[0027] The microcontroller may include a time reference which allows the execution of the operating cycle to be suspended in periods when the quantity of gas contained in the containers 4 is not expected to vary (for example outside delivery round hours).

[0028] The component 8 is configured to operate safely in an atmosphere rendered potentially explosive by the presence of hydrogen, at least in cases of containment failure, advantageously in controlled, one-off events, and even more advantageously in the case of a permanent presence of hydrogen. For example, the component 8 is configured to comply with the regulations applicable in ATEX Zone 2, advantageously in ATEX Zone 1, and even more advantageously in ATEX Zone 0.

[0029] The telecommunications technologies used by the modem are preferably chosen to be energy-efficient and suitable for the quantity and rate of data to be transmitted. A native limitation of transmission power (imposed by the electronic components used or by a standard or protocol for implementing the technology) may also be a selection criterion, for example, to avoid exceeding a radiated radio power of 200 mW in a potentially explosive atmosphere surrounding the component 8.

[0030] In these respects, technologies such as LoRa, Sigfox, and to a lesser extent cellular technologies such as 4G LTE-catMl may be preferred.

[0031] By way of example, the electronic board of component 8 comprises: - A spacing of at least 0.4 mm between the battery connection pins - A spacing of at least 0.4 mm between the conductive tracks of the card electronics upstream of the fuse - The use of a Huba brand MUAB520.943S077501-ATEX sensor - Power supplied by an LM17500 LiMnO2 battery from the Saft brand or two LiMnO2 LM17500 batteries in series from the Saft brand.

[0032] Subject to use in an ATEX zone 2 or less severe, the temperature The operating temperature will be within a range of -40°C to 85°C.

[0033] According to another embodiment, it is desirable to limit the power or energy used by the component 8 for its telecommunications. For example, to limit the use of the battery, or to limit the power dissipated in an area of ​​explosive atmosphere such as may develop, for example, in the vicinity of the loading or delivery point 7 and its valve 6.

[0034] In this embodiment, the component 8 communicates (via an uplink and optionally a downlink) with a relay. The relay also communicates, via the uplink and optionally the downlink, with the telecommunications network.

[0035] The relay can relay without change the data from component 8 to the network, and possibly the data from the network to component 8.

[0036] The relay can also apply processing to the data received from component 8 before communicating this data and / or the result of the processing to the network. For example, component 8 can send the relay a raw pressure measurement and a raw temperature measurement, and the relay combines them to produce an estimate of the quantity of gas in the containers 4, which is then sent to the network.

[0037] The relay is preferably located outside areas of potentially explosive atmospheres. For example, the relay is located at the front of the vehicle 100, for example in or on the cab of the vehicle 100. In this case, the relay can also be a mobile phone or an electronic tablet.

[0038] In one embodiment, the relay comprises an electronic board carrying a microcontroller or microprocessor, a radio modem, and an antenna. The modem and antenna may be integral parts of the microcontroller.

[0039] The relay may advantageously include a second modem and a second antenna, which makes it possible to use different telecommunication technologies for local links and for longer-range links.

[0040] Technologies such as Bluetooth, in particular Bluetooth Low Energy, as well as LoRa, Zigbee, and Ant, can be advantageously chosen for local links. Technologies such as LoRa, Sigfox, and cellular technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE-M, 4G LTE-Cat 11, and 5G can be advantageously chosen for long-range links.

[0041] According to one variant, the set of containers 4 is decomposed into a plurality of groups of containers connected in parallel but independent in the sense that their pressures may differ, for example because they are isolated from each other by valves.

[0042] The invention will then preferably comprise as many components 8 as there are independent container groups, each component 8 measuring the gas pressure of a container of a group of containers.

[0043] The vehicle 100 has as many components 8 as there are independent gas pressures to be measured.

[0044] In the case where the vehicle 100 has several components 8, several topologies can be implemented to ensure telecommunications.

[0045] Several organs 8 can each establish their own uplink and possibly a downlink with a remote receiver which can be a telecommunications network or a relay on board the vehicle 100.

[0046] Alternatively, several components 8 communicate with each other according to a so-called "mesh" or multi-hop strategy. Each component 8 transmits or receives data from another component 8, and one of the components 8 acts as the main node through which all data transmitted or received by the components 8 pass. The main node handles uplink and possibly downlink transmissions on behalf of all the components 8 with a remote receiver, which can be a telecommunications network or a relay on board the vehicle 100.

[0047] Alternatively, several components 8 communicate with each other in a star topology. With the exception of one component 8, which acts as the main node, all the other components 8 communicate only with the main node. The main node handles uplink and, if necessary, downlink transmissions on behalf of all the components 8 with a remote receiver, which may be a telecommunications network or a relay onboard the vehicle 100.

[0048] In embodiments of the invention in which there is a main node among several organs 8, this main node can be assigned to different organs 8 over time (for example cyclically or randomly), in particular in order to balance in the long term the energy consumption of each of the organs 8 related to their telecommunications.

[0049] An organ 8 acting as the main node can also apply processing to the received data before retransmission to a remote receiver or before redistribution within the local network of organs 8.

Claims

Claims

1. Installation (1) for estimating the mass of hydrogen contained in one or more pressurized containers (4), the installation (1) comprising a pipe (5) intended to be fluidically connected to each pressurized container, an electronic member (8) configured to measure the pressure in the pipe (5) and an isolation valve (6) configured to allow the pressure isolation of the pipe (5) with respect to atmospheric pressure, the member (8) being configured to transmit by radio communication data relating to the measured pressure, in particular to a remote server.