Fuel Cell Vehicle Cold-Start Control via Pre-Stored Temperature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel cell vehicles face difficulties in cold-starting due to frozen water in the fuel cell stack, leading to startup failures, and existing control methods either fail to accurately recognize the stack temperature or cause latent heat issues, resulting in inappropriate starting modes.
Innovation Solution
A starting control method that detects the coolant temperature and sets a restarting process based on predefined set values and elapsed time, ensuring the vehicle enters a cold-running mode when necessary to prevent startup failures and maintain stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the stack temperature is increased to remove ice from the stack during cold shutdown, then ice removal is achieved, but latent heat causes inaccurate temperature recognition and inappropriate starting mode selection
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary de-icing action during cold shutdown by supplying air to the stack before the vehicle is restarted. This preliminary action removes ice proactively, and the system then uses stored temperature information from before the de-icing process to accurately determine the starting mode, avoiding the temperature measurement errors that would occur if measurement were performed during the active de-icing heating process
2Reliability
If cold shutdown control is performed to discharge water from the stack, then water removal is achieved, but the vehicle may be operated in normal running mode when cold-running mode is more appropriate
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from stored temperature information obtained during vehicle stoppage to determine the appropriate starting mode. The controller stores the temperature value during cold shutdown and water discharge operations, then uses this stored feedback information when the vehicle is restarted to accurately select whether cold-running mode or normal running mode should be applied, ensuring the starting mode matches the actual thermal state of the fuel cell stack
3Productivity
If the vehicle is restarted during de-icing step without accurate temperature recognition, then restart is achieved, but the starting mode is inappropriate leading to startup failure
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary temperature measurement and stores the temperature value before the de-icing heating process begins. This allows the vehicle to be restarted quickly during the de-icing step using the pre-stored accurate temperature information, without needing to wait for temperature measurements during the heating process, thereby maintaining both fast restart capability and accurate temperature-based mode selection
Data Source
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AI summary
A starting control method and system of a fuel cell vehicle are provided. The method includes detecting a cold-running-mode condition including a fuel-cell coolant temperature during stoppage of the vehicle and determining whether the coolant temperature is less than a first set value that is preset in a memory. A vehicle restarting process in the memory is then set using information regarding a vehicle state during the stoppage of the vehicle when the coolant temperature is less than the first set value.