Fuel Cell Vehicle Power Distribution Controller
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel cell vehicles experience performance degradation due to time delays in air compressor response, which hinder immediate power supply to the drive motor during rapid acceleration, as the air compressor struggles to meet demand flow rates, leading to dissatisfaction with acceleration performance.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method for power demand distribution in fuel cell vehicles that includes a battery management system, a power demand distribution controller, and a fuel cell controller, which calculate and adjust the fuel cell demand output by scaling down allowable battery power and pre-activating the air compressor to ensure timely air supply, thereby preventing delays in fuel cell output.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the air compressor is activated to feed air to the fuel cell when rapid acceleration is demanded, then the fuel cell can produce adequate power, but a time delay occurs in the air feeding process that degrades acceleration performance
Solution Approach 1:
The air compressor is activated in advance before the fuel cell actually needs the air for power generation. The control system predicts future power demands and pre-feeds air to the fuel cell, so that when rapid acceleration is demanded, the air is already available and the fuel cell can respond immediately without delay.
2Speed
If the battery supplies power during rapid acceleration, then immediate power can be provided to the drive motor, but the fuel cell and battery cannot supply sufficient combined power when vehicle demand power is high
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the power supply capabilities of both the battery and fuel cell to meet high power demands. During rapid acceleration, the battery provides immediate power while the fuel cell simultaneously supplies power (with pre-fed air), combining their outputs to achieve the high total power needed for rapid acceleration without relying solely on the battery.
3Quantity of substance
If the air compressor operates at high feed flow rate to meet fuel cell power demand, then adequate air supply is achieved, but the hardware characteristics of the air compressor create a limiting situation where the feed flow rate cannot be established quickly enough
Solution Approach 1:
The air compressor begins operating and feeding air to the fuel cell before the high power demand actually occurs. By predicting the need for high air feed flow rates and initiating the compression and feeding process in advance, the system overcomes the hardware limitation of the air compressor's slow response characteristics, allowing the full feed flow rate to be established when needed.
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 enables efficient power supply from the fuel cell without time delays, ensuring drive motor torque matches driver demand, thus enhancing the dynamic performance of fuel cell vehicles by preventing degradation caused by air compressor response times.
Implementation Method 1
a chemical reaction between hydrogen and air must occur in order to produce electric energy
Implementation Method 2
air should be fed through an operation of a device such as a separate air compressor
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for power demand distribution in a fuel cell vehicle includes: a battery management system calculating an allowable battery power that a battery can supply; a power demand distribution controller configured to derive a vehicle demand power including a drive motor demand power required by the drive motor, and determine a value corresponding to a vehicle demand power minus the allowable battery power being scaled down or the drive motor demand power, as a fuel cell demand output; and a fuel cell controller configured to drive the air compressor feeding the air to the fuel cell to enable a fuel cell to generate the fuel cell demand output calculated by the power demand distribution controller.