Method and system for effecting and determining a defect on a pem fuel cell
AssigneeAVL List GmbH
InventorsTanner BRUHN, Laurent ALLOUCHERY
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a system (100) and method for inducing and determining a specific fault and/or impairment on a PEM fuel cell (10). In addition to a measurement of operating parameters, a comparison of measurement signals with reference signals and a determination of whether a specific fault and/or impairment is present, a control of operating parameters in a test operation is in particular carried out according to provided stress factor patterns in which critical settings and/or courses of operating parameters are stored for the purpose of inducing faults and/or impairments on the fuel cell under test (10).
Claims15
System for inducing and determining a specific fault and/or impairment on a PEM fuel cell comprising:
- a measuring module for measuring at least one operating parameter of the fuel cell and for outputting a fingerprint pattern with a temporal signal course of a measurement signal, comprising at least one sensor for registering the at least one operating parameter on the fuel cell;
- a comparison module for comparing the signal course of the measurement signal from the output fingerprint pattern with a signal course of a reference signal from a reference pattern, wherein different reference patterns with signal courses of reference signals characteristic of different specific faults and/or impairments are provided in the comparison module;
- a determination module for determining whether the specific fault and/or impairment for which the signal course of the reference signal from the reference pattern used for comparison is characteristic has occurred, at least gradually, wherein the determination module is configured to base the determination on a common intersection between the signal courses of the measurement signal from the fingerprint pattern and the reference signal from the reference pattern;
- wherein the system further comprises:
- a test bench module with a fuel gas test supply for supplying a fuel gas to an anode section of the fuel cell in a test operation and an oxidation gas test supply for supplying an oxidising gas to a cathode section of the fuel cell in the test operation, as well as an electrical test load for dissipating electrical power from the fuel cell in the test operation;
- a control module for controlling operating parameters of the test operation of the fuel cell on the test bench module, wherein at least one stress factor pattern is provided in the control module, in which pattern settings and/or critical courses of operating parameters are stored for the purpose of inducing faults and/or impairments on the fuel cell in the test operation.
Method for inducing and determining a specific fault and/or impairment on a PEM fuel cell, comprising the following steps:
- measuring at least one operating parameter of the fuel cell by registering the at least one operating parameter on the fuel cell by means of at least one sensor, and outputting a fingerprint pattern with a temporal signal course of a measurement signal;
- comparing the signal course of the measurement signal from the output fingerprint pattern with a signal course of a reference signal from a reference pattern by providing different reference patterns with signal courses of reference signals characteristic of different specific faults and/or impairments;
- determining whether the specific fault and/or impairment for which the signal course of the reference signal from the reference pattern used for comparison is characteristic has occurred, at least gradually, wherein the determination is based on a common intersection between the signal courses of the measurement signal from the fingerprint pattern and the reference signal from the reference pattern;
- wherein the steps
- carrying out a test operation on a test bench with a fuel gas test supply for supplying a fuel gas to an anode section of the fuel cell in a test operation and an oxidation gas test supply for supplying an oxidation gas to a cathode section of the fuel cell in the test operation, as well as an electrical test load for dissipating electrical power from the fuel cell in the test operation;
- and
- controlling operating parameters of the test operation of the fuel cell on the test bench in accordance with at least one stress factor pattern in which settings and/or progressions of the operating parameters over time are stored for the purpose of inducing faults and/or impairments on the fuel cell in the test operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.