Fuel Cell Cooling Loop Using Pump Losses for Cold-Start Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fuel cell systems require additional heat sources to maintain optimal operating temperatures, especially in low-temperature environments, which increases complexity, weight, and cost.
Innovation Solution
A cooling system with a thermal fluid circulation and a pump whose thermal power loss performance can be varied to increase the temperature of the thermal fluid, eliminating the need for additional heat sources by utilizing existing components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If additional heat sources are added to heat the fuel cell and hydrogen evaporator, then the temperature control requirement is met, but the number of components increases resulting in greater production effort, costs, installation space, and weight
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is designed to perform dual functions: conveying the thermal fluid through the system and generating heat through its power losses. By controlling the pump's operating parameters, it can switch between circulation mode and heating mode, eliminating the need for separate heating devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump utilizes its own power losses, which would otherwise be wasted energy, to heat the thermal fluid. This self-service approach converts a harmful factor (power loss) into a useful function (heating), removing the dependency on additional heat sources.
2Temperature
If additional heat sources are added to heat the fuel cell and hydrogen evaporator, then the temperature control requirement is met, but the system weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is designed to perform dual functions: conveying the thermal fluid through the system and generating heat through its power losses. By controlling the pump's operating parameters, it can switch between circulation mode and heating mode, eliminating the need for separate heating devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump utilizes its own power losses, which would otherwise be wasted energy, to heat the thermal fluid. This self-service approach converts a harmful factor (power loss) into a useful function (heating), removing the dependency on additional heat sources.
3Temperature
If additional heat sources are added to heat the fuel cell and hydrogen evaporator, then the temperature control requirement is met, but the installation space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pump is designed to perform dual functions: conveying the thermal fluid through the system and generating heat through its power losses. By controlling the pump's operating parameters, it can switch between circulation mode and heating mode, eliminating the need for separate heating devices.
4Temperature
If the pump's thermal power loss is increased to heat the thermal fluid, then the heating function is achieved, but the energy efficiency of the pump for fluid conveyance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The pump's operating parameters are dynamically adjusted based on system requirements. The controller can vary the pump speed and operating point to optimize the balance between fluid conveyance efficiency and heat generation, allowing the system to adapt between circulation-dominated and heating-dominated modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The operating parameters of the pump (such as speed, flow rate, and head) are changed to control the thermal power loss. By adjusting these parameters, the system can optimize the trade-off between the pump's conveying function and its heating function based on real-time temperature requirements.
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
This solution allows for efficient heating of fuel cell systems without additional components, reducing weight, space requirements, and system complexity while maintaining optimal reactivity and safety.
Implementation Method 1
The thermal power loss of the pump does not support the conveyance of the thermal fluid, but only heats the thermal fluid flowing through the pump. The pump control is configured, for example, to increase the thermal power loss of the pump by injecting a direct current component (in addition to the alternating current for actuating the pump) into the stator of the pump motor.
Implementation Method 2
Fuel cells are typically fed with a fuel and an oxidant, which then generates electricity. Since this electricity generation in the fuel cell usually also generates heat, the fuel cell is usually equipped with a heat exchanger that is coupled to a cooling system.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
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AI summary
A cooling system (30) for at least one component (12) of a fuel cell system (10) equipped with a heat exchanger (34) has a refrigeration system (38) and a thermofluid circuit (32) which is connected on the one hand to a thermofluid inlet (35) and a thermofluid outlet (36) of the heat exchanger (34) of the respective component (12) of the fuel cell system (10) and on the other hand to a heat exchanger (39) of the refrigeration system (38).The thermofluid is conveyed through the heat exchanger (34) of the respective component (12) of the fuel cell system (10) and through the heat exchanger (39) of the refrigeration system (38) by means of a pump (40) in the thermofluid circuit (32), whereby a thermal power loss of the pump (40) is varied in order to increase the temperature of the thermofluid by increasing the thermal power loss of the pump (40) when an increased temperature level of the respective component (12) of the fuel cell system (10) is required, instead of using additional heat sources.