Pressurized Gas Filling Enthalpy Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for filling tanks with pressurized hydrogen gas face challenges in precisely evaluating and applying the required cooling to prevent temperature limits from being exceeded, leading to inefficient refrigeration, high costs, and potential equipment damage due to low temperatures.
Innovation Solution
The method involves defining the maximum enthalpy that can be added to a tank without exceeding its temperature limit, with an electronic control unit calculating and controlling the cooling to remove excess heat, tailoring the cooling to the tank's specific properties and conditions, and using a cooling component to selectively cool the gas during filling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pre-cooling the gas to constant temperature throughout filling, then the tank temperature limit is prevented from being exceeded, but the refrigeration power is inefficiently used and the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies partial cooling action by calculating the exact cooling requirement based on the actual filling process parameters (flow rate, pressure, initial temperature) rather than applying full pre-cooling throughout. The cooling component is activated only when and where needed, removing excess cooling energy that would be wasted in conventional constant temperature control methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from static constant temperature pre-cooling to dynamic cooling control. The cooling requirement is continuously adjusted based on real-time filling conditions, allowing the system to adapt the cooling intensity to the actual thermal load generated during filling, thereby optimizing refrigeration efficiency.
2Reliability
If pre-cooling the gas to very low temperatures, then the tank temperature limit is ensured not to be exceeded, but equipment damage risk increases and operation becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the temperature parameter approach from achieving very low constant temperatures to controlling the temperature rise during filling. By calculating the maximum temperature increase based on filling rate and tank thermal properties, the system maintains temperatures within safe operating ranges for equipment while still preventing tank overheating.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical approach of强制 cooling to very low temperatures with a thermal management approach that calculates and controls temperature rise. This substitution eliminates the need for extreme cooling while maintaining safety, reducing equipment stress and operational complexity.
3Reliability
If applying cooling continuously throughout filling, then temperature limit is prevented, but the difficulty of evaluating and applying required cooling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary calculation of the cooling requirement before the filling process begins. By pre-calculating the maximum temperature rise and determining the exact cooling needed based on tank properties and filling parameters, the system simplifies the actual cooling control during filling, transforming a complex continuous control problem into a straightforward execution based on pre-determined values.
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 approach reduces the need for excessive pre-cooling, optimizes refrigeration usage, lowers costs, and prevents equipment damage by precisely controlling the cooling process, ensuring the tank temperature remains within safe limits.
Implementation Method 1
cooling of the gas by the cooling component being controlled in order to remove selectively an amount of heat from the gas transferred into the tank
Implementation Method 2
Rapidly filling a tank with pressurized hydrogen gas produces an accumulation of heat in the tank (mainly due to compression of the gas during filling)
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method and device for filling a tank with pressurized gas, comprising transfer of a predefined amount of a gas into the tank from at least one pressurized gas source via a filling duct, the gas being selectively cooled by a cooling component before it enters into the tank in order to prevent a defined temperature limit from being reached in the tank, characterized in that the method comprises a step of defining the maximum amount of energy that can be added to the tank without exceeding the temperature limit, this maximum amount of energy being expressed in the form of the maximum enthalpy that can be added to the tank, a step of defining the effective amount of energy that will be added to the tank during the transfer of gas into the tank without cooling, expressed in the form of an added enthalpy, cooling of the gas by the cooling component being controlled in order to remove selectively an amount of heat from the gas transferred into the tank corresponding at least to the fraction of the added enthalpy that exceeds the maximum enthalpy.