Dual-Cooling Fuel Cell System for Stationary High-Output Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel cell stacks in stationary construction machines face challenges in cooling, leading to safety and durability issues due to insufficient air flow from cooling fans, which affects their high-output operations.
Innovation Solution
A dual-cooling system is implemented, with a first cooler and a second cooler in parallel, allowing independent cooling of the coolant, and a flow rate adjuster to maintain optimal coolant flow, ensuring effective cooling and high-output performance even when vehicle-induced wind is not available.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a single cooling line with one cooler is used, then the device complexity is low, but the cooling performance is insufficient for high-output stationary operations
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into a first cooling line and a second cooling line, with the first cooling line containing a first cooler and the second cooling line containing a second cooler. This segmentation allows independent cooling paths that can operate simultaneously or alternatively, providing sufficient cooling capacity for high-output stationary operations while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular design.
2Temperature
If cooling fans are used for stationary cooling, then the device complexity is low, but the air flow is insufficient for effective cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a coolant-based liquid cooling system with pumps to circulate coolant through the fuel cell stack. This hydraulic approach provides more reliable and controllable cooling compared to air-based fan systems, ensuring sufficient heat removal during stationary high-output operations while maintaining acceptable device complexity through the use of standard pump and radiator components.
3Device complexity
If coolant flow rate is reduced, then the device complexity is low, but the cooling performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates controllable valves in both the first and second cooling lines that can dynamically adjust the coolant flow distribution. This dynamic control allows the system to optimize coolant flow rates based on operating conditions, ensuring sufficient cooling performance during high-output stationary operations while maintaining low device complexity by using simple valve mechanisms rather than complex flow control systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The dual-cooling system effectively maintains the fuel cell stack's temperature, enhancing safety, reliability, and operational efficiency during high-output stationary operations, minimizing coolant flow rate issues and cooling performance degradation.
Implementation Method 1
a first cooler provided in the first cooling line and configured to cool the first coolant, and a second cooler provided in the first cooling line and configured to cool the first coolant independently from the first cooler
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel cell system for a vehicle includes a first cooling line configured to pass through a fuel cell stack in a vehicle and configured to circulate a first coolant therein, a first cooler provided in the first cooling line and configured to cool the first coolant, and a second cooler provided in the first cooling line and configured to cool the first coolant independently from the first cooler, thereby obtaining an advantageous effect of ensuring a high output from the fuel cell stack and improving safety and reliability.