Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve the technical problems, the invention provides an air supply system of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell for a vehicle and a working method thereof, aiming at switching the gas supplied in the air supply system of the fuel cell by means of switching a three-way valve and storing high-pressure oxygen in an oxygen storage tank, so that a fuel cell vehicle can run under normal running working conditions and high-altitude low-oxygen working conditions, the high-efficiency and stable operation of the fuel cell is ensured, the fuel cell can be quickly warmed up, and the starting time of the fuel cell is shortened.
The purpose of the invention is realized by the following technical scheme:
the air supply system for the proton exchange membrane fuel cell for the vehicle comprises an air filter, an air flow meter, an air compressor, an oxygen storage tank, a three-way proportional valve, an intercooler, a radiator, a cooling fan, a water pump, a humidifier, a mixer, a circulating pump, a fuel cell stack, a drain valve, a water-vapor separator and a three-way valve.
The three-way proportional valve comprises a first valve, a second valve and a third valve, the intercooler comprises a first inlet, a first outlet, a second inlet and a second outlet, the fuel cell stack comprises a cathode inlet, a cathode outlet, an anode inlet and an anode outlet, and the three-way valve comprises a first valve, a second valve and a third valve.
Specifically, in the air supply system for the vehicle proton exchange membrane fuel cell, one end of the air flow meter is connected with an air filter through an air supply pipeline, the other end of the air flow meter is connected with an air inlet of an air compressor, an air outlet of the air compressor is connected with a first valve of a three-way proportional valve through the air supply pipeline, the oxygen storage tank is connected with a third valve of the three-way proportional valve through an oxygen pipeline, a second valve of the three-way proportional valve is connected with a second inlet of an intercooler through the air supply pipeline, a first inlet of the intercooler is connected with one end of a water pump through a cooling liquid pipeline, one end of the radiator is connected with the other end of the water pump through the cooling liquid pipeline, the other end of the radiator is connected with a first outlet of the intercooler through the cooling liquid pipeline, the cooling fan is assembled behind the radiator, and a second outlet of the intercooler is connected with one end of a humidifier through the air supply pipeline, the other end of humidifier is connected with the mixer through the pipeline, the mixer is connected with the cathode inlet of fuel cell stack through the pipeline again, the cathode outlet of fuel cell stack is connected with the first valve of three-way valve through the pipeline, the third valve of three-way valve is connected with the humidifier through exhaust pipe, the second valve of three-way valve is connected with the steam separator through the pipeline, the steam separator drainage end is connected with the drain valve through the pipeline, the steam separator exhaust end is connected with the circulating pump air inlet through exhaust pipe, the gas vent of circulating pump is connected with the mixer through exhaust pipe.
Preferably, the air compressor is a two-stage supercharging type ultra-high speed electric air compressor for the fuel cell, which can sufficiently improve the flow and pressure of the ambient air entering the fuel cell stack, thereby improving the efficiency and the service life of the fuel cell stack.
Preferably, the oxygen storage tank is a container device which can bear certain pressure and has good sealing performance, and the oxygen storage tank is filled with gas with high oxygen concentration and is arranged at a position far away from the fuel cell stack to meet the use specification that the oxygen storage tank cannot be close to a heat source.
The invention provides a working method of an air supply system of a vehicle proton exchange membrane fuel cell, which comprises a working method of the air supply system of the fuel cell under the working conditions of low-temperature pre-starting and normal running of the fuel cell and the air supply system of the fuel cell under the working conditions of high altitude and low oxygen.
The low-temperature pre-starting working method of the fuel cell is realized in that when a vehicle controller detects that the fuel cell is in a low-temperature environment, a cooling fan is controlled not to work, the full-power operation of an air compressor is controlled, ambient air is enabled to enter a fuel cell stack after being pressurized and heated by the air compressor and not cooled by an intercooler, and the fuel cell stack is heated.
The working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the normal running working condition is realized in that when a fuel cell automobile runs under the normal working condition, a vehicle control unit controls a first valve and a second valve of a three-way proportional valve to be conducted, a third valve of the three-way proportional valve is closed, the vehicle control unit controls the first valve and the third valve of the three-way proportional valve to be conducted, the second valve of the three-way proportional valve is closed, ambient air flows into a cathode inlet of a fuel cell stack after being filtered, cleaned, pressurized, cooled and humidified sequentially through an air filter, an air flow meter, an air compressor, the three-way proportional valve, an intercooler, a humidifier and a mixer, and unreacted ambient air and reaction product water flow through the three-way valve and the humidifier from a cathode outlet of the fuel cell stack and are discharged.
The working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the high-altitude and low-oxygen working condition is realized in that when an automobile runs under the high-altitude and low-oxygen working condition, the vehicle control unit controls the conduction of the third valve and the second valve of the three-way proportional valve, the first valve is closed, the vehicle control unit controls the conduction of the first valve and the second valve of the three-way proportional valve, the third valve is closed, the vehicle control unit controls the non-operation of the air compressor, the high-pressure oxygen in the oxygen storage tank flows into the cathode inlet of the fuel cell stack after being cooled and humidified sequentially through the three-way proportional valve, the intercooler, the humidifier and the mixer, the unreacted high-pressure oxygen reaction product water flows into the water-vapor separator through the three-way valve from the cathode outlet of the fuel cell stack, the separated water is discharged through the drain valve, the separated high-pressure oxygen flows into the mixer through the circulating pump, and flows into the cathode inlet of the fuel cell stack after being mixed with the high-pressure oxygen flowing from the humidifier, the full utilization of the high-pressure oxygen in the oxygen storage tank is ensured.
The switching of the working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the normal running working condition and the switching of the working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the high-altitude low-oxygen working condition can be controlled by controlling the on-off of different valves of the three-way proportional valve and the three-way valve and the on-off of the air compressor according to the vehicle controller.
When the monitoring system detects that the oxygen content in the environment is lower than the threshold value of the oxygen content of the reaction air of the fuel cell stack, the vehicle controller controls the fuel cell vehicle to change the working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the normal driving working condition into the working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the high-altitude low-oxygen working condition.
The whole vehicle controller can intelligently adjust the opening degrees of the first valve and the third valve of the three-way proportional valve according to the working state of the fuel cell stack by monitoring the rarefied degree of oxygen in the ambient air, so that the high-pressure oxygen consumption of the oxygen storage tank is saved.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial results that:
1) the air supply system can ensure that the fuel cell automobile can run under the normal running working condition and the high-altitude low-oxygen working condition and ensure the high-efficiency and stable operation of the fuel cell.
2) The air supply system realizes the quick warm-up of the fuel cell stack, and improves the service life of the fuel cell and the stability of the system operation.
Detailed Description
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements and, thus, perform similar functions. Moreover, descriptions and details of well-known steps and elements are omitted for simplicity of the description. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present application, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application. However, it is understood that the present application may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present application.
The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein the cross-sectional views illustrating the structure of the device are not enlarged partially in general scale for convenience of illustration, and the drawings are only exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. In addition, the three-dimensional dimensions of length, width and depth should be included in the actual fabrication.
Meanwhile, in the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper, lower, inner and outer" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, but do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed in a specific orientation and operate, and thus, cannot be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms first, second, or third are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.
The terms "mounted, connected and connected" in the present invention are to be understood broadly, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, for example: can be fixedly connected, detachably connected or integrally connected; they may be mechanically, electrically, or directly connected, or indirectly connected through intervening media, or may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific cases to those skilled in the art.
The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in fig. 1, the present invention provides an air supply system for a vehicle pem fuel cell. The air supply system of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell for the vehicle comprises an air filter 1, an air flow meter 2, an air compressor 3, an oxygen storage tank 4, a three-way proportional valve 5, an intercooler 6, a radiator 7, a cooling fan 8, a water pump 16, a humidifier 9, a mixer 10, a circulating pump 11, a fuel cell stack 12, a drain valve 13, a water-vapor separator 14 and a three-way valve 15.
As shown in fig. 1, the three-way proportional valve 5 includes a first valve 51, a second valve 52, and a third valve 53, the intercooler 6 includes a first inlet 61, a first outlet 62, a second inlet 64, and a second outlet 63, the fuel cell stack 12 includes a cathode inlet 121, a cathode outlet 122, an anode inlet 123, and an anode outlet 124, and the three-way valve 15 includes a first valve 151, a second valve 152, and a third valve 153.
Specifically, in the air supply system of the vehicle proton exchange membrane fuel cell, one end of the air flow meter 2 is connected with the air filter 1 through an air supply pipeline, the other end of the air flow meter is connected with an air inlet of the air compressor 3, an air outlet of the air compressor 3 is connected with a first valve 51 of a three-way proportional valve 5 through an air supply pipeline, the oxygen storage tank 4 is connected with a third valve 53 of the three-way proportional valve 5 through an oxygen pipeline, a second valve 52 of the three-way proportional valve 5 is connected with a second inlet 64 of the intercooler 6 through an air supply pipeline, a first inlet 61 of the intercooler 6 is connected with one end of the water pump 16 through a cooling liquid pipeline, one end of the radiator 7 is connected with the other end of the water pump 16 through a cooling liquid pipeline, the other end of the radiator 7 is connected with a first outlet 62 of the intercooler 6 through a cooling liquid pipeline, the cooling fan 8 is assembled behind the radiator 7, the second outlet 63 of the intercooler 6 is connected with one end of a humidifier 9 through an air supply pipeline, the other end of the humidifier 9 is connected with a mixer 10 through a pipeline, the mixer 10 is connected with the cathode inlet 121 of the fuel cell stack 12 through a pipeline, the cathode outlet 122 of the fuel cell stack is connected with the first valve 151 of the three-way valve 15 through a pipeline, the third valve 153 of the three-way valve 15 is connected with the humidifier through an exhaust pipeline, the second valve 152 of the three-way valve 15 is connected with the water-vapor separator 14 through a pipeline, the water discharge end of the water-vapor separator 14 is connected with the water discharge valve 13 through a pipeline, the air discharge end of the water-vapor separator 14 is connected with the air inlet of the circulating pump 11 through an exhaust pipeline, and the air discharge port of the circulating pump 11 is connected with the mixer 10 through an exhaust pipeline.
Preferably, the air compressor 3 is a two-stage supercharging type ultra-high speed electric air compressor for the fuel cell, which can sufficiently increase the flow rate and pressure of the ambient air entering the fuel cell stack 12, thereby improving the efficiency and the service life of the fuel cell stack 12.
Preferably, the oxygen storage tank 4 is a container device which can bear certain pressure and has good sealing performance, and the oxygen storage tank 4 is filled with gas with high oxygen concentration and is arranged at a position far away from the fuel cell stack 12 to meet the use specification that the oxygen storage tank is not close to a heat source.
The invention provides a working method of an air supply system of a vehicle proton exchange membrane fuel cell, which comprises a working method of the air supply system of the fuel cell under the working conditions of low-temperature pre-starting and normal running of the fuel cell and the air supply system of the fuel cell under the working conditions of high altitude and low oxygen.
The low-temperature pre-starting working method of the fuel cell is realized in that when a vehicle controller detects that the fuel cell is in a low-temperature environment, the vehicle controller controls the cooling fan 8 not to work, controls the air compressor 3 to run at full power, enables ambient air to enter the fuel cell stack 12 after being pressurized and heated by the air compressor 3 and not cooled by the intercooler 6, and heats the fuel cell stack 12.
As used herein, the term "pre-start" of a pem fuel cell stack may refer to a mode of operation from the initial state of the fuel cell stack to the duration that the fuel cell stack is heated to a temperature required for normal power generation.
The working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the normal running condition is realized in that when the fuel cell automobile runs under the normal running condition, the vehicle control unit controls the first valve 51 and the second valve 52 of the three-way proportional valve 5 to be conducted, the third valve 53 of the three-way proportional valve is closed, the vehicle control unit controls the first valve 151 and the third valve 153 of the three-way valve 15 to be conducted, the second valve 152 of the three-way proportional valve is closed, the ambient air sequentially passes through the air filter 1, the air flow meter 2, the air compressor 3, the three-way proportional valve 5, the intercooler 6, the humidifier 9 and the mixer 10 to be filtered, cleaned, pressurized, cooled and humidified and then flows into the cathode inlet 121 of the fuel cell stack 12, and the unreacted ambient air and the reaction product water flow through the three-way valve 15 and the humidifier 9 from the cathode outlet 122 of the fuel cell stack 12 and then are humidified and discharged.
The working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the high-altitude and low-oxygen working condition is realized in the way that when an automobile runs under the high-altitude and low-oxygen working condition, the vehicle control unit controls the conduction of the third valve 53 and the second valve 52 of the three-way proportional valve 5, the first valve 51 is closed, the vehicle control unit controls the conduction of the first valve 151 and the second valve 152 of the three-way valve 15, the third valve 153 is closed, the vehicle control unit controls the non-operation of the air compressor 3, the high-pressure oxygen in the oxygen storage tank 4 flows into the cathode inlet 121 of the fuel cell stack 12 after being cooled and humidified through the three-way proportional valve 5, the intercooler 6, the humidifier 9 and the mixer 10 in sequence, the unreacted high-pressure oxygen reaction product water flows into the water-vapor separator 14 from the cathode outlet 122 of the fuel cell stack 12 through the three-way valve 15, the separated water is discharged through the water discharge valve 13, and the separated high-pressure oxygen flows into the mixer 11 through the circulating pump 11, the high-pressure oxygen mixed with the high-pressure oxygen flowing from the humidifier 9 flows into the cathode inlet 121 of the fuel cell stack 12, and the high-pressure oxygen in the oxygen storage tank 4 is fully utilized.
The switching between the working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the normal running working condition and the working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the high-altitude low-oxygen working condition can be controlled by controlling the conduction and the closing of different valves of the three-way proportional valve 5 and the three-way valve 15 and the starting and stopping of the air compressor 3 according to the vehicle controller.
When the monitoring system detects that the oxygen content in the environment is lower than the threshold value of the oxygen content of the reaction air of the fuel cell stack 12, the vehicle controller controls the fuel cell vehicle to change the working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the normal driving working condition into the working method of the fuel cell air supply system under the high-altitude low-oxygen working condition.
In one embodiment, the vehicle controller may intelligently adjust the opening degree of the first valve 51 and the third valve of the three-way proportional valve 5 according to the operating state of the fuel cell stack 12 by monitoring the rarefied degree of oxygen in the ambient air, so as to save the high-pressure oxygen usage of the oxygen storage tank 4.
In specific implementation, the oxygen concentration in the ambient air is recorded asAn oxygen concentration eta1(ii) a Obtaining the oxygen concentration in the oxygen storage tank 4 and recording as the second oxygen concentration eta2(ii) a The opening degree of the first valve 51 is marked as k1The opening degree of the second valve is k2Then, the opening degree of the first valve 51 and the opening degree of the second valve 52 satisfy the following equation:
that is to say that the first and second electrodes,
where c is the target oxygen concentration of the mixed gas.
In actual use, the target oxygen concentration is not a fixed value, and it is related to the oxygen concentration in the ambient air, the oxygen concentration in the oxygen storage tank 4, and the pressure in the oxygen storage tank 4. In specific implementation, the functional relationship between the target oxygen concentration of the mixed gas and the oxygen concentration in the ambient air, the oxygen concentration in the oxygen storage tank 4 and the oxygen storage tank 4 may be calibrated, and when the target oxygen concentration of the mixed gas is in the corresponding working condition, the target oxygen concentration of the mixed gas may be calculated according to the oxygen concentration in the ambient air, the oxygen concentration in the oxygen storage tank 4 and the pressure in the oxygen storage tank 4. Then, the opening ratio of the first valve 51 and the second valve 52 is obtained, and then the opening ratio of the first valve 51 and the second valve 52 is increased or decreased in equal proportion, so that the air intake amount of the mixture meets the requirement.
In this way, the requirement for the speed and power of the air compressor can be reduced in environments with lower oxygen concentrations. The working state of the device can be kept in a relatively ideal working state under the high altitude and low oxygen working condition. Meanwhile, the oxygen concentration of the mixed gas can be improved to a certain degree, so that the quick start under the high-altitude low-oxygen working condition is facilitated, and the cold start time under the high-altitude low-oxygen environment can be greatly shortened.
In specific implementation, the gas source in the oxygen storage tank 4 may be a mixed gas filled with high oxygen concentration, or may be high-pressure air filled into the oxygen storage tank 4 by using the air compressor 3 in a low altitude state, which can be realized by those skilled in the art and is not the key point of the present invention, and will not be described herein again.
The above description is directed to specific embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and that various changes and modifications may be made by one skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.