Fuel Cell Radiator Cooling With Condensate-Recycled Hydrogen Vaporization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel cell cooling systems face challenges in maintaining optimal operating temperatures, especially in high ambient conditions, and do not effectively utilize ambient humidity for evaporative cooling of liquid hydrogen.
Innovation Solution
A system integrating vaporizers with a stacked radiator to convert liquid hydrogen to gaseous hydrogen using ambient humidity, utilizing a spray supply system with a condensate tray and controller to manage condensate recycling for efficient cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a coolant system is used to cool hydrogen fuel cells in high ambient temperatures, then the fuel cells can maintain optimal operating temperatures, but the cooling system requires significant energy input and cannot effectively utilize ambient humidity for evaporative cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes evaporative cooling where liquid water absorbs heat from the radiator and vaporizes, transitioning from liquid to gas phase. This phase change process efficiently removes heat from the fuel cell cooling system without requiring additional energy input, as the evaporation process itself is the cooling mechanism. The system captures and recycles this vapor through the condensate recovery system.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system uses ambient humidity and atmospheric water vapor to provide cooling, eliminating the need for external energy input. The system serves itself by capturing water vapor from the air, condensing it, and recycling it back to the spray system, creating a self-sustaining evaporative cooling loop that operates passively using environmental conditions.
2Productivity
If liquid hydrogen is vaporized using conventional heating methods, then gaseous hydrogen is provided to fuel cells, but energy consumption increases and ambient humidity is not utilized for cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the hydrogen vaporization system with the fuel cell cooling system by integrating the radiator and vaporizers into a single thermal management unit. The hot cooling fluid from the fuel cells directly heats the liquid hydrogen in the vaporizers, simultaneously achieving both cooling of the fuel cells and vaporization of hydrogen without requiring separate energy inputs for either function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the waste heat from the fuel cell cooling process into a useful resource for vaporizing liquid hydrogen. Instead of dissipating the heat from the radiator into the environment, it is captured and used to heat the liquid hydrogen, transforming what would be wasted energy into a beneficial contribution toward hydrogen vaporization.
3Temperature
If evaporative cooling is implemented using ambient humidity, then cooling efficiency improves, but the system complexity increases due to condensate management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The condensate recovery system serves multiple functions: it captures water vapor from evaporative cooling, condenses the vapor back to liquid, and recycles the condensed water back to the spray system. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate water supply systems and reduces overall system complexity by making the condensate management system serve the dual purpose of moisture recovery and cooling maintenance.
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
Simultaneously cools hydrogen fuel cells and vaporizes liquid hydrogen, optimizing temperature control and reducing energy consumption by recycling ambient moisture, suitable for various applications including server farms and vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
a spray supply system configured to spray liquid hydrogen to the radiator to cool the radiator and vaporize the liquid hydrogen
Implementation Method 2
a radiator configured to cool a cooling fluid in a coolant system of the plurality of hydrogen fuel cells
Implementation Method 3
a vaporizer; a radiator configured to cool a cooling fluid in a coolant system of the plurality of hydrogen fuel cells
Data Source
AI summary
A system for vaporizing hydrogen for providing hydrogen in gaseous form to a plurality of hydrogen fuel cells includes: a vaporizer; a radiator configured to cool a cooling fluid in a coolant system of the plurality of hydrogen fuel cells; a spray supply system comprising: a tank; a pump configured to pump water from the tank; a nozzle system; and a condensate tray configured to collect condensate and return the condensate to the tank. The system is configured to activate the pump to pump the condensate collected in the tank to cool the radiator based on a temperature of the cooling fluid.