Method for controlling fuel cell system
AssigneeHonda Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsNobuki KOIWA, Osamu OGAMI, Shinya WATANABE, Takashi YAMAMOTO
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for controlling a fuel cell system includes supplying an oxidant gas, via an oxidant gas supply channel, to a cathode electrode of a fuel cell. The oxidant gas is moistened to be supplied to the cathode electrode with a humidifier. An opening degree of a bypass channel valve is decreased via a feedforward control to a first opening degree when an impedance has reached a lower limit value. The opening degree of the bypass channel valve is increased via the feedforward control to a second opening degree when the impedance has reached an upper limit value. The first opening degree is smaller than the second opening degree.
Claims16
A method for controlling a fuel cell system,
- the fuel cell system including
- a fuel cell that includes a membrane electrode assembly in which a solid polymer electrolyte membrane is sandwiched between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode and that generates electric power by causing an electrochemical reaction between a fuel gas that is supplied through a fuel gas supply channel to the anode electrode and an oxidant gas that is supplied through an oxidant gas supply channel to the cathode electrode,
- an oxidant gas supply mechanism that includes a rotational driving unit and that supplies the oxidant gas to the oxidant gas supply channel as the rotational driving unit rotates,
- a humidifier that moistens the oxidant gas supplied from the oxidant gas supply mechanism,
- a bypass channel that branches off from the oxidant gas supply channel and that bypasses the humidifier,
- a bypass channel valve that is disposed in the bypass channel and that closes or opens the bypass channel, and
- an impedance measuring unit that measures an impedance of the fuel cell,
- the method comprising:
- operating the bypass channel valve by performing feedforward control so as to close the bypass channel to a predetermined opening degree when the impedance measured by the impedance measuring unit has reached a predetermined lower limit value, and operating the bypass channel valve by performing feedforward control so as to open the bypass channel to a predetermined opening degree when the impedance measured by the impedance measuring unit has reached a predetermined upper limit value, so that the impedance is between the lower limit value and the upper limit value.
A method for controlling a fuel cell system, comprising:
- supplying an oxidant gas, via an oxidant gas supply channel, to a cathode electrode of a fuel cell that includes a membrane electrode assembly including a solid polymer electrolyte membrane which is sandwiched between an anode electrode and the cathode electrode;
- supplying a fuel gas to the anode electrode of the fuel cell to generate electric power via an electrochemical reaction between the fuel gas and the oxidant gas;
- moistening the oxidant gas to be supplied to the cathode electrode with a humidifier provided in the oxidant gas supply channel;
- measuring an impedance of the fuel cell;
- decreasing an opening degree of a bypass channel valve via a feedforward control to a first opening degree when the impedance has reached a lower limit value, the bypass channel valve being provided in a bypass channel that bypasses the humidifier;
- and
- increasing the opening degree of the bypass channel valve via the feedforward control to a second opening degree when the impedance has reached an upper limit value, the first opening degree being smaller than the second opening degree.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.