Systems and methods to diagnose valve leakage in a vehicle
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsOliver Maier, Michael Leykauf
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods to diagnose valve leakage in a vehicle storing gaseous fuel in two or more vessels. A valve regulating the flow of the gaseous fuel from one of the vessels is closed and reopened, while the other vessels are providing gaseous fuel during a full run. The pressure spike from reopening the valve is analyzed to determine the rate of pressure change. Pressure spikes having a rate of change lower than a threshold parameter are indicative of a leaking valve.
Claims19
A method for detecting a tank valve leak in a fuel cell-powered vehicle storing anode reactant as part of a gaseous fuel system, the fuel system including a plurality of connected vessels having tank valves regulating the flow of anode reactant therefrom, the method comprising:
- utilizing a processor to send a valve close command to a tank valve at a first time, when the remaining tank valves in the plurality are open such that the anode reactant being delivered from at least one of the connected vessels to at least one anode in a fuel cell stack remains uninterrupted even during the closure of the tank valve;
- utilizing the processor to send a valve open command to the tank valve at a second time;
- receiving, at the processor, pressure data measured from the gaseous fuel system;
- using the pressure data and the processor to determine a derivative pressure differential signal representative of the rate of change in the pressure of the anode reactant being delivered from the gaseous fuel system as a function of time;
- and
- using the pressure differential signal to determine if a valve leak condition exists by comparing the pressure differential signal to a threshold parameter.
A controller to diagnose a tank valve leak in a fuel cell-powered vehicle storing anode reactant in a gaseous fuel system, the fuel system including a plurality of connected vessels having tank valves regulating the flow of anode reactant therefrom, the controller comprising:
- one or more processors;
- and
- a non-transitory memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the one or more processors to:
- send a valve close command to a tank valve at a first time and a valve open command to the tank valve at a second time, when the remaining tank valves in the plurality are open to receive the anode reactant being delivered from at least one of the connected vessels to at least one anode in a fuel cell stack through the open tank valves in a substantially uninterrupted manner;
- receive pressure data from a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the fuel system;
- use the pressure data to determine a derivative pressure differential signal representative of the rate of change in the pressure of the anode reactant being delivered from the fuel system as a function of time;
- and
- using the pressure differential signal to determine if a valve leak condition exists by comparing the pressure differential signal to a threshold parameter stored in the memory.
A propulsion system for a fuel cell-powered vehicle comprising:
- a fuel cell stack;
- two or more anode reactant storage vessels in selective fluid communication with the fuel cell stack;
- at least one valve coupled to each vessel that regulates the flow of the anode reactant from each vessel to at least one anode in the fuel cell stack, wherein the valves are connected by a common fuel line;
- a pressure sensor that measures the pressure in the common fuel line;
- and
- a controller that closes the at least one valve of a vessel while the valves of the other vessels are open to receive anode reactant from the other vessels through the open tank valves in a substantially uninterrupted manner, reopens the at least one valve, receives pressure measurements from the pressure sensor, determines a derivative pressure differential signal representative of the rate of change of the pressure over time from when the valve is reopened, and determine if a valve leak condition exists for the at least one valve by using the pressure differential signal to compare the pressure differential signal to a threshold parameter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.