Fuel Cell Emergency Discharge Circuit and Pump-Driven Generator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel cell vehicles pose a risk of secondary accidents such as electric shock or fire due to residual high voltage in the fuel cell stack during crashes, which existing systems fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A fuel cell system that includes a discharge circuit with a resistor and a relay controlled by a controller to quickly exhaust residual electricity, utilizing a generator connected to a pump to block further gas supply and prevent electricity production in emergency situations, thereby reducing the risk of secondary accidents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a discharge circuit with relay is used to exhaust residual electricity, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge circuit with relay is pre-configured in the system, ready to activate immediately upon emergency detection. The relay and resistor components are installed in advance, so when a crash occurs, the system can quickly connect the discharge path without requiring complex real-time decision logic, thus improving safety response while keeping control complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The relay acts as an intermediary component between the control system and the discharge circuit. It simplifies the control architecture by providing a dedicated switching mechanism that isolates the control logic from the high-power discharge operation, thereby improving safety through electrical isolation while maintaining relatively simple system complexity.
2Reliability
If generator is connected to pump rotational shaft to block gas supply, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pump's rotational shaft serves dual purposes: normal operation for gas supply and emergency operation as a generator rotor. By connecting the generator to the existing pump shaft, the system utilizes the same mechanical component for both fuel delivery and emergency power generation, blocking gas supply through pump shutdown while generating electricity for safety systems, thus improving safety without adding significant structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The generator and pump are merged through shared rotational shaft connection. This combination allows the emergency power generation function to be integrated into the existing pump structure, eliminating the need for a separate drive mechanism and reducing overall system complexity while achieving the safety function of blocking gas supply through pump cessation.
3Reliability
If emergency power supply is added for controller operation, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The emergency power supply is pre-configured and automatically activated upon detection of main power failure. This preliminary preparation ensures that the controller can immediately switch to backup power without complex real-time power management decisions, improving reliability during emergencies while maintaining simple control logic for power switching.
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency power supply acts as an intermediary backup system that interfaces with the main power supply through simple switching mechanisms. This separation of power sources with dedicated switching control improves system reliability by providing isolated backup power while keeping the overall power management architecture relatively simple through modular design.
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
Effectively prevents secondary accidents by rapidly discharging residual power and blocking gas supply to the fuel cell stack, ensuring safety in emergency situations like vehicle crashes.
Implementation Method 1
a generator (42) connected to the rotational shaft (53) of the pump (52) to convert a driving energy of the rotational shaft (53) of the pump (52) to an electric energy
Implementation Method 2
a discharge circuit (20) including a resistor (22) that discharges an electricity in the stack (10)
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a fuel cell system that stops producing electricity and exhausts residual electricity in an emergency situation. The fuel cell system includes a stack receiving a reactive gas including a hydrogen and/or an oxygen to produce the electricity, a pump supplying the reactive gas to the stack, a discharge circuit including a resistor that discharges a residual power in the stack and a first relay that electrically connects or disconnects the resistor to or from the stack, a generator connected to a rotational shaft of the pump to convert a driving energy of the rotational shaft of the pump to an electric energy, and a first controller controlling the first relay. The first controller receives the electric energy from the generator and controls the first relay to electrically connect the stack and the resistor such that the residual electricity in the stack is exhausted in the emergency situation.