JP2009064673A - Fuel cell power generation system, and recovery process method of fuel cell power generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recovery process method of a fuel cell power generation system capable of performing an appropriate recovery process according to the degree of its failure when a fuel cell power generation system has come to an abnormal stop, and capable of shortening the stoppage time of the system. <P>SOLUTION: In the recovery process method, the operation information of various equipment in the fuel cell power generation system is constantly monitored and any deviation from a proper operation state is detected, and when the system has come to an abnormal stop, the abnormality information and the system state at that time are stored. By comparing the stored data and the information of database storing recovery procedures to be applied to various abnormal state, the abnormality state of the system is assumed and the degree of importance of the abnormality is judged, and state recovery procedures are selected. When the abnormality is judged to be an abnormality capable of automatic recovery, the automatic recovery process is immediately performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell power generation system, and more particularly, to a fuel cell power generation system and a fuel that have been improved so that an appropriate restoration process can be performed depending on the degree of failure when the fuel cell power generation system is abnormally stopped. The present invention relates to a battery power generation system recovery processing method.

  In a fuel cell power generation system, it takes a complicated process to extract hydrogen from fossil fuel and supply power and heat, so if an irregular state is detected at any stage of these processes From the fail-safe design philosophy, a system for ensuring system safety and emergency stop has been proposed (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

In addition, in recent years, power generation results and operation data of fuel cell power generation systems have also been accumulated, and while ensuring safety, the operating status is grasped, proper operation through automatic control, and the operating status and various information for the user. There has been proposed a system for providing or providing information on an appropriate operation procedure (see Patent Document 3).
JP 2005-247648 A JP 2006-156169 A JP 2006-351408 A

  However, in the conventional fuel cell power generation system as described above, once the failure has been stopped, after the investigation and inspection by the operator or manufacturer, the restoration work is performed, regardless of the type of failure. The stop time and average recovery time (MTTR) before resuming operation were long. For this reason, development of a fuel cell power generation system that can save labor in investigating the cause of failure, inspecting the failure location, and shortening the system stop time has been desired.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to appropriately restore the fuel cell power generation system depending on the degree of failure when the fuel cell power generation system is abnormally stopped. An object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell power generation system and a recovery processing method for the fuel cell power generation system that can perform the processing and can shorten the system stop time.

  In order to achieve the above object, the fuel cell power generation system according to claim 1 is an abnormality detection means for constantly monitoring operation information of various devices in the fuel cell power generation system and detecting deviation from an appropriate operation state. System information storage means for storing operation information of each device before and after the abnormality detection in the storage means at the time of abnormality detection, operation information before and after the occurrence of the abnormality stored in the storage means at the time of abnormal stop of the fuel cell power generation system, A system state that is prepared in advance in the fuel cell power generation system and compares with the information in the database that stores the recovery procedure that should be applied to various abnormal conditions. And when the cause of the abnormality is determined to be due to a temporary factor, the system automatically detects the cause of the abnormality. Characterized by comprising an automatic recovery means for performing a restart of the beam.

  The invention according to claim 5 captures the invention according to claim 1 from the viewpoint of the method, and constantly monitors the operation information of various devices in the fuel cell power generation system, so that an appropriate operation state is obtained. A step of detecting a deviation from the system, a step of storing the abnormality information and a system state at that time when the system has stopped abnormally, a recovery data to be applied to the stored data and various abnormal states Compare the information in the database that stores the procedure, assume the abnormal state of the system, determine the importance of the abnormality, select the state recovery procedure, and the abnormality that can be recovered automatically If it is determined that the automatic recovery processing is performed, the automatic recovery processing is immediately performed.

  According to the invention described in claim 1 or claim 5 having the above-described configuration, when the fuel cell power generation system reaches an abnormal stop, the abnormal information and the system state at that time are stored, and the data and the By comparing the abnormality / recovery scenario data stored in the database, the degree of the abnormality can be determined with high accuracy, and if the abnormality that occurred is a minor abnormality that can be automatically recovered, Since automatic recovery processing can be performed immediately, the system downtime can be greatly reduced.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the fuel cell power generation system according to claim 1, wherein when the system state determination means determines that the abnormality factor is an abnormality that can be restored by the user, It is characterized by comprising information providing means for notifying the user of the contents of the expected abnormality and the contents of investigation / confirmation by the user.

  According to the invention described in claim 2 having the above-described configuration, when the abnormality that has occurred is an abnormality that can be restored by the user, the user is notified of the abnormality and a method for removing the cause of the abnormality In addition, since the user can remove the cause of the abnormality by guiding the restoration processing method, the system stop time can be greatly shortened.

  According to the present invention as described above, when the fuel cell power generation system reaches an abnormal stop, an appropriate recovery process can be performed depending on the degree of the failure, and the system stop time can be shortened. A fuel cell power generation system and a recovery processing method for the fuel cell power generation system can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a fuel cell power generation system and a recovery processing method for a fuel cell power generation system according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

(1) Configuration of First Embodiment (1-1) The overall configuration of a fuel cell power generation system (hereinafter referred to as a fuel cell system) according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, the abnormality detection means 1 includes a fluid temperature and pressure in the fuel cell system, an output of an internal device, etc. from various sensors provided in each device such as a reformer and an air supply device of the fuel cell system. The information is collected, and a value deviating from an appropriate operating condition is detected from the information.

  The system information storage unit 2 is a unit that stores the abnormal state information detected by the abnormality detection unit 1 and the system state at that time in the abnormal state information storage unit 3 when a system abnormality occurs.

  Abnormality / recovery scenario database 4 compares the appropriate system state with the expected abnormal system state, assumes what kind of abnormality exists in the fuel cell system, and applies to each abnormal state It is a database that stores recovery procedures to be performed.

  The system state determination means 5 compares the data of the abnormal state information storage unit 3 and the abnormality / recovery scenario database 4 to determine whether the abnormal state is a serious abnormality that should be dealt with by the operator / manufacturer. This is a means for determining the countermeasure to be taken by judging whether it is an abnormality that can be dealt with in the case of a minor abnormality that can be automatically restored without any problem in safety.

  The automatic recovery means 6 is means for automatically restarting the fuel cell system that has stopped due to failure when the system state determination means 5 determines that the abnormal state does not interfere with safety.

  The information providing means 7 is used when the system state determining means 5 determines that the abnormal state is a serious abnormality that may be related to safety or equipment damage, or the cause of the failure is outside the fuel cell system. Yes, when it is determined by the user that the cause of the failure can be removed, the situation, the investigation to be performed by the user, the recovery processing method, and the repair request method to the operator / manufacturer It is a user interface device that performs guidance such as.

  The restarting means 8 is means for manually restarting the fuel cell system by the user when a cause other than the fuel cell system is removed by the user, and the notifying means 9 is for determining the system state. It is determined by means 5 that the abnormality is related to safety / damage of the fuel cell system, whether the abnormality is not defined in the abnormality / recovery scenario database, or by the automatic recovery means and the restarting means. This is a means for notifying the user of necessary information such as notices when the fuel cell is stopped and the fact that a detailed investigation by the operator or the manufacturer is necessary when an abnormal state reoccurs during restart.

(1-2) Operation The fuel cell system having the above configuration operates as follows. That is, operation information such as temperature, output, fluid pressure and the like of each part such as a reformer and an air supply device of the fuel cell system is constantly monitored by the abnormality detection means 1 (step 201), and they deviate from an appropriate operation state. In the case (step 202), the system information storage unit 2 stores the previous and subsequent driving information in the abnormal state information storage unit 3 (step 203).

  Thereafter, when the fuel cell system reaches a failure stop (step 204), the failure state of the fuel cell system is determined by the system state determination means 5 (step 205), and a system abnormality provided in advance in the fuel cell system occurs. It is determined whether or not there is information relating to the abnormality that has occurred this time in the abnormality / recovery scenario database 4 in which the scenarios and state recovery scenarios are collected (step 206).

  When it is determined that the abnormality / recovery scenario database 4 has information on the abnormality that has occurred this time, the operation information before and after the occurrence of the abnormality stored in the abnormality state information storage unit 3 and the abnormality / recovery scenario database 4 Is contrasted with the information.

  Then, the system state determination means 5 assumes an abnormal state of the system, determines the importance level of the abnormality, selects a state recovery procedure, etc., and determines that the abnormality factor does not hinder the safety of the operation of the fuel cell system. In addition, when the cause of the abnormality is due to a temporary factor, for example, it is determined that automatic recovery is possible, such as temperature rise or fall of some equipment, malfunction of the ignition device, or temporary drop in fluid pressure. (Step 207) When the automatic restoration means 6 automatically performs the restoration process of the operation state (Step 208), it is determined whether or not the automatic restoration process has been completed normally (Step 209). Then, the recovery process of the fuel cell system is finished.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 207 that the cause of the abnormality is not minor and is not subject to automatic recovery, the process proceeds to step 210, and the system state determination means 5 determines whether the abnormality is Whether or not it is a target for restoration processing, in other words, it is determined that there is no abnormality in the fuel cell system itself, and the abnormality factor is determined to be due to an external condition, for example, a fuel supply stop or an abnormality in the system voltage In this case, the information providing means 7 notifies the user of the assumed abnormal content and the content to be investigated / confirmed by the user via a user interface device such as a remote controller (step 211).

  After the abnormal condition outside the fuel cell system is removed by the user by the information notified from the information providing means 7 (step 212), when the user tries to resume operation, the restart means 7 The system state is monitored including the parameters, and the operation state recovery process is performed so that there is no problem in safety (step 213). Then, it is determined whether or not the restart process by the user has ended normally (step 214). If the restart process has ended normally, the recovery process of the fuel cell system ends.

  On the other hand, in step 210, the system state determination means 5 determines that the abnormality is not subject to user investigation / recovery, in other words, the abnormality is a serious abnormality related to safety / damage of the operation of the fuel cell system. In step 206, the abnormality / recovery scenario database 4 does not define the abnormality, or in step 209 or 214, the automatic recovery means 6 or the restarting means 7 If an abnormality occurs again during the restoration process, the fuel cell system is safely stopped (step 215), and a detailed investigation by the operator or manufacturer is necessary, and the fuel cell system is being stopped. Required information such as matters is notified to the user via a user interface device such as a remote controller (step 21). ).

(1-3) Effect According to the fuel cell system of the present invention as described above, when the fuel cell system is abnormally stopped, the abnormality information and the system state at that time are stored, and the data and the abnormality / recovery in advance are stored. The degree of abnormality can be judged with high accuracy by comparing with data stored in the scenario database.

  In addition, if the anomaly that occurred is a minor anomaly that can be recovered automatically, an automatic recovery process is performed immediately. If an anomaly that can be recovered by the user, an error is notified to the user, Guidance can be given on how to remove the cause of the abnormality and how to restore it, and after the cause of the abnormality has been removed by the user, it can be instructed to carry out the restoration process.

  In addition, if the abnormality that occurred is a serious abnormality related to the safety or damage of the operation of the fuel cell system, the fuel cell system is stopped safely, and the user and the manufacturer are investigated in detail. Since it is possible to notify the request for repair, appropriate recovery processing can always be performed according to the degree of abnormality that has occurred. As a result, the system stop time can be shortened.

(2) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the embodiment as described above. In the case of a household fuel cell power generation system, the content of notification to the user by the information providing means is more The content can be changed as appropriate, such as plain contents. The information providing means 7 and the notification means 9 may be a single means.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the fuel cell power generation system which concerns on this invention The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the fuel cell power generation system which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Abnormality detection means 2 ... System information preservation | save means 3 ... Abnormal state information storage part 4 ... Abnormality / recovery scenario database 5 ... System state judgment means 6 ... Automatic recovery means 7 ... Information provision means 8 ... Reboot means 9 ... Notification means

Claims (6)

An abnormality detection means for constantly monitoring the operation information of various devices in the fuel cell power generation system and detecting deviations from the proper operation state;
System information storage means for storing operation information of each device before and after the abnormality detection in the storage means;
When the fuel cell power generation system is abnormally stopped, the operation information stored before and after the occurrence of the abnormality stored in the storage means and the recovery procedure to be applied to various abnormal states are stored in advance in the fuel cell power generation system. System status judgment means for selecting the restoration procedure to be applied, assuming the content of the abnormality in comparison with the information,
Provided with automatic recovery means for automatically restarting the system when it is determined that the cause of the abnormality does not affect system safety, and that the cause of the abnormality is determined to be a temporary factor A fuel cell power generation system.   Information for notifying the user of the contents of the expected abnormality and the contents of the investigation / confirmation by the user when the system state determination means determines that the abnormality factor is an abnormality that can be restored by the user The fuel cell power generation system according to claim 1, further comprising providing means.   3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising restarting means for restarting the system by a user after an abnormal factor is removed based on information notified from the information providing means. Fuel cell power generation system.   Whether the abnormality is related to safety / damage of the fuel cell power generation system by the system state determination means, whether the abnormality is not defined in the database, or the automatic recovery means and / or restart The fuel cell power generation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising means for notifying a user of necessary information when an abnormal state recurs during restart by means. Constantly monitoring the operation information of various devices in the fuel cell power generation system to detect deviations from the proper operation state;
A step of saving the abnormality information and the system state at that time when the system has stopped abnormally;
Comparing the stored data with information in a database storing recovery procedures to be applied to various abnormal states, assuming the abnormal state of the system, determining the importance of the abnormality, and the state recovery procedure A step of selecting
A recovery processing method for a fuel cell power generation system comprising a step of immediately performing an automatic recovery process when the abnormality is determined as an abnormality that can be automatically recovered.   And a step of notifying the user of the abnormality cause and / or a recovery processing method when the detected abnormality is determined to be an abnormality that can be restored by the user. The recovery processing method for a fuel cell power generation system according to claim 5.

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