Fuel Cell Vehicle Floor Tunnel Layout
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fuel cell vehicles face issues such as increased floor panel height, cramping of seating space, inadequate protection of fuel cell stacks and components from external loads, noise interference between high and low voltage lines, and excessive measures for endurance against water and mud splashing, which hinder cost reduction and structural simplicity.
Innovation Solution
A fuel cell vehicle design featuring a sub-frame attached to the vehicle body, with a fuel cell stack mounted under a floor tunnel, supported by center and side frames, and auxiliary components positioned between these frames, incorporating a hydrogen sensor in the floor tunnel and electromagnetic shielding to isolate noise and protect against splashing, while maintaining natural ventilation and reducing assembly complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the fuel cell stack is disposed under the floor panel over a wide area in the vehicle width direction, then the fuel cell stack can be adequately protected from external loads, but the overall height of the floor panel rises and the seating space of the occupants becomes cramped
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel cell stack is arranged in the vehicle longitudinal direction rather than spanning the vehicle width, utilizing the length dimension instead of the width dimension to achieve adequate protection while preserving seating space.
2Volume of moving object
If the fuel cell stack is stacked in the vehicle body longitudinal direction, then the seating space is preserved, but reliable protection against loads applied from the side of the vehicle becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle body structure is divided into a sub-frame that specifically supports and protects the fuel cell stack, separating the protection function from the general floor panel structure. This allows the fuel cell stack to be arranged longitudinally while still providing side load protection through the sub-frame structure.
3Device complexity
If both high voltage line and low voltage line are routed under the floor panel, then the assembly complexity is reduced, but noise from the high voltage line may influence the low voltage line
Solution Approach 1:
The high voltage line is extracted from the common routing space under the floor panel and routed separately through the center tunnel, isolating it from the low voltage line to prevent noise interference while maintaining routing simplicity.
4Reliability
If measures for endurance are implemented such as housing the hydrogen sensor in a hydrogen-permeable case, then protection against water and mud splashing is improved, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hydrogen sensor is positioned in the upper portion of the center tunnel, utilizing the vertical dimension and elevated position to naturally avoid water and mud splashing, eliminating the need for expensive protective housings while maintaining reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel cell vehicle includes: a vehicle body; a floor panel provided on the bottom of the vehicle body; a floor tunnel that is formed bulging upward in the center of the floor panel in the vehicle body width; a pair of front seats that are disposed on the floor panel, outside of the floor tunnel in the vehicle body width direction; center frames that support the floor tunnel, disposed at the center in the vehicle body width and extending along the vehicle body longitudinal direction; a sub-frame provided on the bottom of the floor panel and joined to the center frames; and a fuel cell stack mounted on the sub-frame and provided under the floor tunnel.