Fuel cell virtual sensor
AssigneeWoodward, Inc.
InventorsYi Han, Gregory James Hampson
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Abstract
The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes determining an electrical current output of a fuel cell stack configured to generate electrical current from hydrogen provided in a hydrogen recirculation loop, determining an efficiency level of the fuel cell stack, determining a nitrogen diffusion rate based on the determined electrical current output and the determined efficiency level, and determining a nitrogen concentration in the hydrogen recirculation loop based on the determined nitrogen diffusion rate.
Claims17
A method for estimating nitrogen levels in fuel cells, the method comprising:
- determining an electrical current output of a fuel cell stack configured to generate electrical current from hydrogen provided in a hydrogen recirculation loop;
- determining an efficiency level of the fuel cell stack;
- determining a nitrogen diffusion rate based on the determined electrical current output and the determined efficiency level;
- and
- determining a nitrogen concentration in the hydrogen recirculation loop based on the determined nitrogen diffusion rate.
A fuel cell control system comprising:
- first circuitry configured to determine an electrical current output of a fuel cell stack configured to generate electrical current from hydrogen provided in a hydrogen recirculation loop;
- second circuitry configured to determine an efficiency level of the fuel cell stack;
- third circuitry configured to determine a nitrogen diffusion rate based on the determined electrical current output and the determined efficiency level;
- and
- fourth circuitry configured to determine a nitrogen concentration in the hydrogen recirculation loop based on the determined nitrogen diffusion rate and provide a purge signal based on the nitrogen concentration and a predetermined nitrogen concentration threshold value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.