Method for controlling humidity in a fuel cell
AssigneeSymbio
InventorsGino Paganelli, Lionel Jeanrichard-dit-Bressel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for controlling humidity in a fuel cell, wherein hydrogen is fed at a nominal pressure to the inlet of the cell, characterized in that at predetermined periodicity the following steps are repeated: instruction is given to open a hydrogen purge valve arranged on the outlet of the anode circuit; the pressure of hydrogen is measured at the inlet to the anode circuit of the cell, and the measured value is compared with a threshold pressure value; the purge valve is closed when the measured pressure is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold pressure value; the opening time of the purge valve is measured; and the humidity level prevailing at the cathode of the cell is inferred therefrom.
Claims14
A method for controlling humidity in a fuel cell, the method comprising:
- feeding hydrogen to the fuel cell at a nominal pressure at an inlet of the fuel cell;
- and
- repeating, with an electronic control unit, the following steps at a predetermined periodicity:
- at a first moment in time, opening a hydrogen purge valve arranged on an outlet of an anode circuit of the fuel cell, wherein the opening of the hydrogen purge valve evacuates liquid water present at the anode and gases;
- measuring a pressure of hydrogen at an inlet to the anode circuit of the fuel cell, and comparing the measured value of the pressure of hydrogen at the inlet to the anode circuit to a predetermined threshold pressure value, wherein the predetermined threshold pressure value is equal to a hydrogen pressure at which liquid water stops being evacuated via the open hydrogen purge valve;
- at a second moment in time, closing the hydrogen purge valve when the measured pressure of the hydrogen at the inlet to the anode circuit is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold pressure value;
- measuring an opening time of the hydrogen purge valve, as a time difference between the first moment in time and the second moment in time;
- comparing the measured opening time of the hydrogen purge valve to a pre-set threshold opening time value;
- determining a humidity level prevailing at a cathode of the fuel cell from the result of the comparison of the measured opening time of the hydrogen purge valve to the pre-set threshold opening time value;
- and
- adjusting the operation of the fuel cell when the measured opening time of the hydrogen purge valve exceeds the pre-set threshold opening time value to decrease the humidity prevailing at the cathode of the fuel cell;
- thereby controlling the humidity in the fuel cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.