CN111409415B - Fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus, method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a fuel cell stack heat management device, a method and a system, wherein the system comprises: the system comprises a fuel cell stack, an energy accumulator, a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor heat exchanger and a radiator assembly; the fuel cell stack and the accumulator form an accumulator loop through a cooling liquid pipeline; the fuel cell stack and the outdoor heat exchanger form a coupling air-conditioning loop through a cooling liquid pipeline; the outdoor heat exchanger, the compressor and the indoor heat exchanger form a vehicle-mounted air conditioning loop through cooling liquid pipelines; the fuel cell stack and the radiator assembly form a system heat dissipation loop through a cooling liquid pipeline. The embodiment of the invention can improve the utilization efficiency of the waste heat of the fuel cell stack and ensure that the fuel cell stack is at a proper working temperature.

Description

Fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus, method and system

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of fuel cell stacks, in particular to a fuel cell stack heat management device, method and system.

Background

As a new type of green power source, fuel cell engines are widely used in the automotive field due to their advantages of zero pollution, high efficiency, long mileage, etc. The fuel cell stack can generate a large amount of waste heat during the operation process, and how to reuse the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is a hot spot of current research.

In the prior art, the heating of the passenger compartment in winter is realized by exchanging heat between the fuel cell stack coolant and the air circulation system of the air conditioner and heating the air blown over the surface of the radiator of the air conditioner by using the fuel cell stack coolant.

However, the inventor finds that the passenger compartment is heated by using the residual heat of the fuel cell stack only in winter, and the residual heat of the fuel cell stack exchanges heat with air, so that the heat exchange efficiency is low, the residual heat of the fuel cell stack is not fully utilized, and the utilization rate of the residual heat of the fuel cell stack is low.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a fuel cell stack heat management device, method and system, which are used for improving the utilization rate of waste heat of a fuel cell stack.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus, including:

the system comprises a fuel cell stack, an energy accumulator, a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor heat exchanger and a radiator assembly;

the fuel cell stack and the accumulator form an accumulator loop through a cooling liquid pipeline;

the fuel cell stack and the outdoor heat exchanger form a coupling air-conditioning loop through a cooling liquid pipeline;

the outdoor heat exchanger, the compressor and the indoor heat exchanger form a vehicle-mounted air conditioning loop through cooling liquid pipelines;

the fuel cell stack and the radiator assembly form a system heat dissipation loop through a cooling liquid pipeline.

As an embodiment of the invention, the inlet end of the accumulator is provided with a first temperature sensor, and the outlet end of the accumulator is provided with a second temperature sensor.

As an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: the electric water pump, the first three-way valve and the second three-way valve;

the inlet end of the electric water pump is connected with the first end of the fuel cell stack;

a first end of the first three-way valve is connected with an outlet end of the electric water pump, a second end of the first three-way valve is connected with an inlet end of the energy accumulator, and a third end of the first three-way valve is connected with a first end of the outdoor heat exchanger;

and a first end of the second three-way valve is connected with an outlet end of the energy accumulator, a second end of the second three-way valve is connected with a second end of the fuel cell stack, and a third end of the second three-way valve is connected with a second end of the outdoor heat exchanger.

As an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: a third three-way valve;

the third three-way valve is arranged between the first three-way valve and the first end of the outdoor heat exchanger; and a first end of the third three-way valve is connected with a third end of the first three-way valve, a second end of the third three-way valve is connected with a first end of the outdoor heat exchanger, and a third end of the third three-way valve is connected with a first end of the radiator assembly.

As an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: a fourth three-way valve;

the fourth three-way valve is arranged between the second three-way valve and the second end of the outdoor heat exchanger; and a first end of the fourth three-way valve is connected with a third end of the second three-way valve, a second end of the fourth three-way valve is connected with a second end of the outdoor heat exchanger, and a third end of the fourth three-way valve is connected with a second end of the radiator assembly.

As an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: a four-way reversing valve and an expansion valve;

the first end of the four-way reversing valve is connected with the first end of the compressor, the second end of the four-way reversing valve is connected with the second end of the compressor, the third end of the four-way reversing valve is connected with the third end of the outdoor heat exchanger, and the fourth end of the four-way reversing valve is connected with the first end of the indoor heat exchanger;

and the first end of the expansion valve is connected with the second end of the indoor heat exchanger, and the second end of the expansion valve is connected with the fourth end of the outdoor heat exchanger.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a fuel cell stack thermal management method, which is applied to the fuel cell stack thermal management device in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner, and includes:

if a fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected, an energy accumulator loop is started, and the energy accumulator loop is closed after the fuel cell stack is started;

if the fuel cell stack is detected to be in an open state, detecting the temperature of the fuel cell stack;

if the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be greater than a first preset temperature threshold value, the energy accumulator loop is started again, and the working mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected;

and if the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected to be in a heating working mode, starting a coupling air conditioner loop and a vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop, and switching the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop to the heating mode.

As an embodiment of the present invention, after the detecting that the temperature of the fuel cell stack is greater than the first preset temperature threshold, the method further includes:

and if the inlet end temperature of the accumulator is detected to be the same as the outlet end temperature of the accumulator, closing the accumulator loop again.

As an embodiment of the present invention, after detecting that the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is in a heating operation mode, starting a coupled air-conditioning loop and a vehicle-mounted air-conditioning loop, and switching the vehicle-mounted air-conditioning loop to the heating mode, the method further includes:

and if the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be greater than a second preset threshold value, starting a system heat dissipation loop, wherein the second preset threshold value is greater than the first preset threshold value.

As an embodiment of the present invention, after detecting the operating mode of the vehicle air conditioner, the method further includes:

and if the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected to be in the refrigeration mode, starting a coupling air conditioner loop and a vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop, and switching the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop to the refrigeration mode.

As an embodiment of the present invention, the starting an accumulator circuit if a fuel cell stack start command is detected includes:

and if a fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected and the temperature of the fuel cell stack is less than a third preset threshold value, starting an energy accumulator loop.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a fuel cell stack thermal management device, which is applied to the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner, and includes:

the fuel cell system comprises a first starting module, a second starting module and a control module, wherein the first starting module is used for starting an energy accumulator loop if a fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected, and closing the energy accumulator loop after the fuel cell stack is started;

the detection module is used for detecting the temperature of the fuel cell stack if the fuel cell stack is detected to be in an opening state;

the second starting module is used for starting the energy accumulator loop again and detecting the working mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner if the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be greater than a first preset temperature threshold value;

and the third starting module is used for starting the coupling air conditioner loop and the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop and switching the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop to the heating mode if the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected to be in the heating working mode.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a fuel cell stack thermal management system, including: the fuel cell stack thermal management device and the controller according to the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the embodiment of the invention;

the controller comprises at least one memory and a processor; the memory stores computer-executable instructions; the at least one processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory to cause the at least one processor to perform a method of fuel cell stack thermal management according to the second aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the embodiment of the present invention.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle, including: a fuel cell stack thermal management system according to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, where computer-executable instructions are stored, and when a processor executes the computer-executable instructions, the method for thermal management of a fuel cell stack according to the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the present invention is implemented.

The embodiment of the invention provides a fuel cell stack heat management device, a method and a system, wherein the fuel cell stack heat management device comprises: the heat exchanger comprises a fuel cell stack, an energy accumulator, an outdoor heat exchanger, a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger and a radiator assembly. The fuel cell stack and the accumulator form an accumulator circuit via a coolant line. The fuel cell stack and the outdoor heat exchanger form a coupled air-conditioning loop through a cooling liquid pipeline. The outdoor heat exchanger, the compressor and the indoor heat exchanger form a vehicle-mounted air conditioning loop through cooling liquid pipelines. The fuel cell stack and the radiator assembly form a system heat dissipation loop through a cooling liquid pipeline. The cold start and waste heat storage of the fuel cell stack are realized through the energy accumulator loop, the heat exchange between the waste heat of the fuel cell stack and a vehicle-mounted air conditioner is realized through the coupling air conditioner loop and the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop, and the heat dissipation of the fuel cell stack is realized through the system heat dissipation loop. The embodiment of the invention can improve the utilization efficiency of the waste heat of the fuel cell stack and ensure that the fuel cell stack is at a proper working temperature.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a first structural schematic diagram of a fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram ii of a thermal management apparatus for a fuel cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram three of a thermal management device of a fuel cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a method for thermal management of a fuel cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a first structural schematic diagram of a thermal management device of a fuel cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram ii of a thermal management apparatus for a fuel cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a fuel cell stack thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

In the prior art, when the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is reused, the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is mainly used for heating the passenger compartment, for example, the fuel cell stack cooling liquid exchanges heat with an air circulation system of an air conditioner, and the fuel cell stack cooling liquid is used for heating air blown through the surface of an air conditioner radiator, so that the passenger compartment is heated in winter. However, this method exchanges heat with air by using the residual heat of the fuel cell stack, and has low heat exchange efficiency, does not fully utilize the residual heat of the fuel cell stack, and does not consider the problem of cold start of the fuel cell stack.

Under a low-temperature environment, cooling liquid inside the fuel cell stack can freeze, so that gas diffusion is blocked in the starting process, and even the starting fails. Therefore, before the fuel cell stack is cold started, the fuel cell stack needs to be preheated and de-iced, and the temperature inside the fuel cell stack is raised, so that the successful start of the fuel cell stack is ensured. After the fuel cell stack is started, the fuel cell stack can generate a large amount of waste heat in the operation process, the waste heat of the fuel cell stack needs to be efficiently utilized and dissipated, and the fuel cell stack is ensured to be at a proper working temperature.

Based on this, the embodiment of the present invention provides a fuel cell stack heat management device, which, in a low temperature environment, heats up and then starts a fuel cell stack, and after the fuel cell stack is successfully started, can realize efficient utilization and heat dissipation of the waste heat of the fuel cell stack, and ensure that the fuel cell stack is at an appropriate working temperature.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 1, the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus according to the embodiment includes: afuel cell stack 101, anaccumulator 102, anoutdoor heat exchanger 103, acompressor 104, anindoor heat exchanger 105, and aradiator assembly 106.

Thefuel cell stack 101 and theaccumulator 102 form an accumulator circuit by means of coolant lines.

Thefuel cell stack 101 and theoutdoor heat exchanger 103 form a coupled air conditioning loop through coolant piping.

Theoutdoor heat exchanger 103, thecompressor 104, and theindoor heat exchanger 105 form an on-vehicle air conditioning circuit through coolant lines.

Thefuel cell stack 101 and theradiator assembly 106 form a system heat dissipation circuit through a coolant line.

In the embodiment of the present invention, thefuel cell stack 101 is manufactured by stacking a plurality of fuel cell units and then performing processes such as sealing and compressing, and includes a unit, a sealing member, an end plate, a strapping tape, a current collecting plate, and other components.

Theaccumulator 102 is an energy storage and utilization device. Theaccumulator 102 is filled with phase-change material, and external heat is brought into the accumulator through the fluid medium to realize energy storage, and meanwhile, the energy extraction is realized through the flow of the fluid medium.

Before thefuel cell stack 101 is started at a low temperature, the coolant flows through the accumulator loop, and thefuel cell stack 101 is preheated by the energy stored in theaccumulator 102, so that the temperature inside thefuel cell stack 101 is raised, and the successful start of the fuel cell stack is ensured.

After thefuel cell stack 101 is started, the coolant flows through the accumulator circuit, and the residual heat of the fuel cell stack is stored in theaccumulator 102 for use in cold start.

The coupling of the air conditioning circuit and the vehicle-mounted air conditioning circuit realizes the heat exchange between the waste heat of thefuel cell stack 101 and the vehicle-mounted air conditioner.

When the ambient temperature is lower than the refrigerant evaporation temperature of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner, the difficulty of heat absorption and evaporation of the refrigerant is greatly increased, the heating capacity of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is greatly reduced, even the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is in a supercooling protection shutdown state, and the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is subjected to heat exchange with the vehicle-mounted air conditioner evaporator, so that the waste heat recycling of the fuel cell stack can be realized, and the stable and efficient work of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner can be ensured.

Under the high-temperature environment, when the fuel cell stack is in a high-power operation condition, an ideal heat dissipation effect is difficult to obtain by independently depending on a system heat dissipation loop, and the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is subjected to heat exchange with a vehicle-mounted air conditioner condenser to realize the high-efficiency discharge of the waste heat of the fuel cell stack by combining the heat dissipation loop with the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop.

The system heat dissipation loop dissipates heat from thefuel cell stack 101 to operate thefuel cell stack 101 in a suitable temperature range to avoid being in an inefficient operating region.

The fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: afuel cell stack 101, anaccumulator 102, anoutdoor heat exchanger 103, acompressor 104, anindoor heat exchanger 105, and aradiator assembly 106. Thefuel cell stack 101 and theaccumulator 102 form an accumulator circuit by means of coolant lines. Thefuel cell stack 101 and theoutdoor heat exchanger 103 form a coupled air conditioning loop through coolant piping. Theoutdoor heat exchanger 103, thecompressor 104, and theindoor heat exchanger 105 form an on-vehicle air conditioning circuit through coolant lines. Thefuel cell stack 101 and theradiator assembly 106 form a system heat dissipation circuit through a coolant line. The cold start and waste heat storage of the fuel cell stack are realized through the energy accumulator loop, the heat exchange between the waste heat of the fuel cell stack and a vehicle-mounted air conditioner is realized through the coupling air conditioner loop and the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop, and the heat dissipation of the fuel cell stack is realized through the system heat dissipation loop. The embodiment of the invention can improve the utilization efficiency of the waste heat of thefuel cell stack 101 and ensure that thefuel cell stack 101 is at a proper working temperature.

Fig. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a second fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 2, the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus according to the embodiment further includes: afirst temperature sensor 107 and asecond temperature sensor 108.

Afirst temperature sensor 107 is provided at the inlet end of theaccumulator 102 for sensing the temperature at the inlet end of theaccumulator 102.

Asecond temperature sensor 108 is provided at the outlet end of theaccumulator 102 for sensing the temperature at the outlet end of theaccumulator 102.

If the temperature at the inlet end of theaccumulator 102 detected by thefirst temperature sensor 107 is the same as the temperature at the outlet end of theaccumulator 102 detected by thesecond temperature sensor 108, it indicates that the energy stored in theaccumulator 102 reaches the upper limit, and it is necessary to stop the residual heat of thefuel cell stack 101 from being continuously stored in theaccumulator 102, so as to prevent theaccumulator 102 from being damaged.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram three of a fuel cell stack heat management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 3, the fuel cell stack heat management apparatus 100 according to the embodiment further includes: anelectric water pump 109, a first three-way valve 110, a second three-way valve 111, a third three-way valve 112, a fourth three-way valve 113, a four-way selector valve 114, and anexpansion valve 115.

The inlet end of theelectric water pump 109 is connected to the first end of thefuel cell stack 101.

A first end of the first three-way valve 110 is connected with an outlet end of theelectric water pump 109, a second end of the first three-way valve 110 is connected with an inlet end of theaccumulator 102, and a third end of the first three-way valve 110 is connected with a first end of theoutdoor heat exchanger 103.

A first end of the second three-way valve 111 is connected to an outlet end of theaccumulator 102, a second end of the second three-way valve 111 is connected to a second end of thefuel cell stack 101, and a third end of the second three-way valve 111 is connected to a second end of theoutdoor heat exchanger 103.

The third three-way valve 112 is disposed between the first three-way valve 110 and the first end of theoutdoor heat exchanger 103. A first end of the third three-way valve 112 is connected to a third end of the first three-way valve 110, a second end of the third three-way valve 112 is connected to a first end of theoutdoor heat exchanger 103, and a third end of the third three-way valve 112 is connected to a first end of theradiator assembly 106.

The fourth three-way valve 113 is provided between the second three-way valve 111 and the second end of theoutdoor heat exchanger 103. A first end of the fourth three-way valve 113 is connected to a third end of the second three-way valve 111, a second end of the fourth three-way valve 113 is connected to a second end of theoutdoor heat exchanger 103, and a third end of the fourth three-way valve 113 is connected to a second end of theradiator assembly 106.

The first end of the four-way reversing valve 114 is connected with the first end of thecompressor 104, the second end of the four-way reversing valve 114 is connected with the second end of thecompressor 104, the third end of the four-way reversing valve 114 is connected with the third end of theoutdoor heat exchanger 103, and the fourth end of the four-way reversing valve 114 is connected with the first end of theindoor heat exchanger 105.

A first end of theexpansion valve 115 is connected to a second end of theindoor heat exchanger 105, and a second end of theexpansion valve 115 is connected to a fourth end of theoutdoor heat exchanger 103.

In the embodiment of the present invention, thefuel cell stack 101, theelectric water pump 109, the first three-way valve 110, theaccumulator 102, and the second three-way valve 111 constitute an accumulator circuit through coolant lines.

Before the fuel cell stack is cold started at a low temperature, the first end and the second end of the first three-way valve 110 and the first end and the second end of the second three-way valve 111 are opened, namely, an energy storage loop is opened, and cooling liquid flows through the energy storage loop to preheat thefuel cell stack 101 through energy in theenergy storage device 102. After thefuel cell stack 101 is started, the first and second ends of the first three-way valve 110 and the first and second ends of the second three-way valve 111 are closed, i.e., the accumulator circuit is closed. If it is detected that the temperature of thefuel cell stack 101 is greater than the first preset temperature, the first and second ends of the first three-way valve 110 and the first and second ends of the second three-way valve 111 are opened again, that is, the accumulator circuit is opened again, and the coolant flows through the accumulator circuit to store the residual heat of thefuel cell stack 101 in theaccumulator 102.

Thefuel cell stack 101, theelectric water pump 109, the first three-way valve 110, the third three-way valve 112, thefuel radiator assembly 106, the fourth three-way valve 113 and the second three-way valve 111 form a system heat radiation loop through a cooling liquid pipeline.

By opening the first, second, and third ends of the first three-way valve 110, the third and first ends of the third three-way valve 112, the fourth and first ends of the fourth three-way valve 113, and the second and third ends of the second three-way valve 111, the system heat dissipation path is opened, and the coolant flows through the system heat dissipation loop to dissipate the residual heat of thefuel cell stack 101 through theradiator assembly 106.

Thefuel cell stack 101, theelectric water pump 109, the first three-way valve 110, the third three-way valve 112, theoutdoor heat exchanger 103, the fourth three-way valve 113, and the second three-way valve 111 constitute a coupled air-conditioning loop through coolant lines.

By opening the first, second and third ends of the first three-way valve 110, the first and second ends of the third three-way valve 112, the first and second ends of the fourth three-way valve 113, and the first, second and third ends of the second three-way valve 111, the coupled air-conditioning loop is opened, and the coolant flows through the coupled air-conditioning loop to couple the residual heat of thefuel cell stack 101 into the vehicle-mounted air conditioner.

Thecompressor 104, the four-way selector valve 114, theindoor heat exchanger 105, theexpansion valve 115, and theoutdoor heat exchanger 103 form an on-vehicle air conditioning circuit through coolant lines.

By sequentially opening the first end and the fourth end of the four-way selector valve 114, the first end and the second end of theexpansion valve 115, and the third end and the second end of theselector valve 114, the coolant sequentially flows through thecompressor 104, theindoor heat exchanger 105, theoutdoor heat exchanger 103, and thecompressor 104, so that the heating operation mode of the vehicle air conditioner is realized, at this time, theindoor radiator 105 is equivalent to a condenser, and theoutdoor radiator 103 is equivalent to an evaporator, so that the passenger compartment is heated.

By sequentially opening the second and third ends of the four-way selector valve 114, the first and second ends of theexpansion valve 115, and the fourth and first ends of the four-way selector valve 114, the cooling fluid flows through thecompressor 104, theoutdoor heat exchanger 103, theindoor heat exchanger 105, and thecompressor 104 in sequence, thereby realizing the cooling operation mode of the vehicle air conditioner, wherein theindoor radiator 105 is equivalent to an evaporator, and theoutdoor radiator 103 is equivalent to a condenser. The waste heat of thefuel cell stack 101 is dissipated through the vehicle-mounted air conditioner.

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a fuel cell stack thermal management method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the method of the present embodiment is applied to the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus shown in fig. 1 to 3. As shown in fig. 4, the fuel cell stack heat management method of the present embodiment includes:

and step S101, if a fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected, starting an energy storage loop, and closing the energy storage loop after the fuel cell stack is started.

In the embodiment of the invention, whether the fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected is judged by detecting the fuel cell engine starting instruction. And if the fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected, starting an energy accumulator loop, and preheating the fuel cell stack through the energy accumulator. And when the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be increased to a preset temperature threshold value, starting the fuel cell stack and closing the energy accumulator circuit. Wherein the preset temperature threshold value indicates that the temperature of the fuel cell stack is in a state in which start-up is possible.

The accumulator circuit is opened by opening the first and second ends of the first three-way valve and the first and second ends of the second three-way valve in the embodiment shown in fig. 3. The cooling liquid in the cooling liquid pipeline flows through the electric water pump, the energy accumulator, the fuel cell stack and the electric water pump in sequence, and the fuel cell stack is preheated by the energy in the energy accumulator. And after the fuel cell stack is successfully started, closing the first end and the second end of the first three-way valve and the first end and the second end of the second three-way valve, stopping the energy accumulator from supplying heat to the fuel cell stack, and keeping the fuel cell stack in a normal running state.

Step S102, if the fuel cell stack is detected to be in the opening state, detecting the temperature of the fuel cell stack.

In the embodiment of the invention, after the fuel cell stack is successfully started, the temperature of the fuel cell stack and the working mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner are detected. The mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is divided into a working mode and a non-working mode, and the working mode is divided into a cooling mode, a heating mode, a ventilation mode and the like.

And step S103, if the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be greater than the first preset temperature threshold value, the energy accumulator loop is started again, and the working mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected.

When the temperature of the fuel cell stack is greater than the first temperature threshold value, the fuel cell stack is in a working condition that heat dissipation is needed, and at the moment, an energy accumulator loop is started. The accumulator circuit is opened by opening the first and second ends of the first three-way valve and the first and second ends of the second three-way valve in the embodiment shown in fig. 3. The cooling liquid in the cooling liquid pipeline flows through the electric water pump, the energy accumulator, the fuel cell stack and the electric water pump in sequence, and the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is stored in the path of the energy accumulator for use during cold starting.

And step S104, if the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected to be in the heating working mode, starting the coupling air conditioner loop and the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop, and switching the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop to the heating mode.

Under the low-temperature environment, the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is utilized to heat the passenger compartment by coupling the air conditioning loop and the vehicle-mounted air conditioning loop.

By opening the first, second and third ends of the first three-way valve, the first and second ends of the third three-way valve, the first and second ends of the fourth three-way valve, and the first, second and third ends of the second three-way valve in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the coupled air-conditioning path is opened to couple the waste heat of the fuel cell stack into the vehicle-mounted air conditioner.

By sequentially opening the first end and the fourth end of the four-way reversing valve, the first end and the second end of the expansion valve and the third end and the second end of the through valve, cooling liquid sequentially flows through the compressor, the indoor heat exchanger, the outdoor heat exchanger and the compressor, the heating working mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is realized, at the moment, the indoor radiator is equivalent to a condenser, and the outdoor radiator is equivalent to an evaporator, so that the passenger compartment is heated.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the fuel cell stack is preheated through the energy accumulator loop before the fuel cell stack is started, so that the starting failure caused by icing inside the fuel cell in a low-temperature environment can be avoided. After the fuel cell is started, the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is stored in the energy accumulator through the energy accumulator loop, and the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is utilized to heat a passenger compartment through the coupling air-conditioning loop and the vehicle-mounted air-conditioning loop, so that the high-efficiency utilization of the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is realized.

As an embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the embodiment shown in fig. 4, after step S103, the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

if it is detected that the inlet end temperature of the accumulator is the same as the outlet end temperature of the accumulator, the accumulator circuit is closed again.

In the embodiment of the invention, the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor of the embodiment shown in fig. 2 are used for respectively detecting the inlet temperature of the accumulator and the outlet temperature of the accumulator, the inlet temperature of the accumulator is the same as the outlet temperature of the accumulator, which indicates that the energy stored in the accumulator reaches the upper limit, and the residual heat of the fuel cell stack needs to be stopped being continuously stored in the accumulator, so that the accumulator is prevented from being damaged.

As an embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the embodiment shown in fig. 4, after step S104, the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

and if the detected temperature of the fuel cell stack is greater than a second preset threshold value, starting a system heat dissipation loop, wherein the second preset threshold value is greater than the first preset threshold value.

In the embodiment of the invention, the temperature of the fuel cell stack is greater than the second preset threshold value, which indicates that the heat dissipation requirements are difficult to meet by virtue of the energy accumulator loop, the coupling air-conditioning loop and the vehicle-mounted air-conditioning loop.

By opening the first, second and third ends of the first three-way valve, the first and third ends of the third three-way valve, the first and third ends of the fourth three-way valve, and the first, second and third ends of the second three-way valve in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the system heat dissipation path is opened, and the coolant flows through the system heat dissipation loop to dissipate the residual heat of the fuel cell stack through the radiator assembly.

As an embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the embodiment shown in fig. 4, after step S103, the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

and if the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected to be in the refrigeration mode, starting the coupling air conditioner loop and the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop, and switching the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop to the refrigeration mode.

In the embodiment of the invention, under a high-temperature environment, if a large amount of waste heat cannot be discharged in time in the operation process of the fuel cell, the internal overheating of the fuel cell stack can be caused to reduce the output performance, and the system is even in overheating protection and stops. And (4) radiating by using a radiating system of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner in a high-temperature environment.

In the embodiment of the invention, the coupling air-conditioning path is opened by opening the first end, the second end and the third end of the first three-way valve, the first end and the second end of the third three-way valve, the first end and the second end of the fourth three-way valve and the first end, the second end and the third end of the second three-way valve in the embodiment shown in fig. 3, and the waste heat of the fuel cell stack is coupled into the vehicle-mounted air conditioner.

By sequentially opening the second end and the third end of the four-way reversing valve, the first end and the second end of the expansion valve, and the fourth end and the first end of the four-way reversing valve, the cooling liquid sequentially flows through the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, the indoor heat exchanger and the compressor, so that the refrigeration working mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is realized, at the moment, the indoor radiator is equivalent to an evaporator, and the outdoor radiator is equivalent to a condenser. The waste heat of the fuel cell stack is dissipated through the vehicle-mounted air conditioner.

As an embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the embodiment shown in fig. 4, if a fuel cell stack start command is detected in step S101, the method for starting an accumulator circuit includes:

and if the fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected and the temperature of the fuel cell stack is less than a third preset threshold value, starting an energy accumulator loop.

In the embodiment of the invention, the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected by the temperature sensor. When the temperature of the fuel cell stack is lower than the third preset threshold value, the temperature of the fuel cell stack is low, and the fuel cell stack cannot be started normally. A temperature of the fuel cell stack greater than or equal to the third preset threshold indicates that the fuel cell stack can be started normally without opening the accumulator circuit.

The embodiment of the invention utilizes the energy accumulator to preheat the fuel cell stack and then starts the fuel cell stack only when the temperature of the fuel cell stack is lower, and directly starts the fuel cell stack without preheating the fuel cell stack when the temperature of the fuel cell stack is higher, thereby saving the energy in the energy accumulator.

Fig. 5 is a first structural schematic diagram of a thermal management device for a fuel cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the thermal management device 50 for a fuel cell is applied to the thermal management apparatus for a fuel cell stack shown in fig. 1 to 3 described above. The method comprises the following steps: afirst opening module 501, adetection module 502, asecond opening module 503, and athird opening module 504. The specific functions of the modules are as follows.

Thefirst starting module 501 is configured to start an accumulator circuit if a fuel cell stack start instruction is detected, and close the accumulator circuit after the fuel cell stack is started.

The detectingmodule 502 is configured to detect a temperature of the fuel cell stack if the fuel cell stack is detected to be in an on state.

Thesecond starting module 503 is configured to, if it is detected that the temperature of the fuel cell stack is greater than the first preset temperature threshold, start the accumulator circuit again, and detect a working mode of the vehicle air conditioner.

And athird opening module 504, configured to open the coupling air-conditioning loop and the vehicle-mounted air-conditioning loop and switch the vehicle-mounted air-conditioning loop to the heating mode if it is detected that the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is in the heating operating mode.

As an embodiment of the present invention, thesecond opening module 503 is further configured to close the accumulator circuit again if the inlet end temperature of the accumulator is detected to be the same as the outlet end temperature of the accumulator.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a second fuel cell stack thermal management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 6, the thermal management apparatus 500 for a fuel cell according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes: and afourth starting module 505, configured to start the system heat dissipation loop if it is detected that the temperature of the fuel cell stack is greater than a second preset threshold, where the second preset threshold is greater than the first preset threshold.

As an embodiment of the present invention, thethird opening module 504 is further configured to, if it is detected that the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is in the cooling mode, open the coupling air-conditioning loop and the vehicle-mounted air-conditioning loop, and switch the vehicle-mounted air-conditioning loop to the cooling mode.

As an embodiment of the present invention, thefirst starting module 501 is specifically configured to start the accumulator circuit if a stack start command is detected and the temperature of the fuel cell stack is less than a third preset threshold.

The thermal management device for a fuel cell stack provided by the embodiment of the present invention can be used for implementing the above method embodiments, and the implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and the details of this embodiment are not repeated herein.

Fig. 7 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a fuel cell stack thermal management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, the fuel cell stack thermal management system 70 according to the present embodiment includes: a fuel cell stack thermal management device 701 according to any of the embodiments of fig. 1-3 described above, and at least oneprocessor 702 andmemory 703. The fuel cell stack thermal management device 70 also includes acommunication component 704. The fuel cell stack thermal management device 701, theprocessor 702, thememory 703, and thecommunication unit 704 are connected by abus 705.

In particular implementations, execution of computer-executable instructions stored by thememory 703 by the at least oneprocessor 702 causes the at least oneprocessor 702 to perform a fuel cell stack thermal management method as performed by the fuel cell stack thermal management system 70 described above.

For a specific implementation process of theprocessor 702, reference may be made to the above method embodiments, which implement the principle and the technical effect similarly, and details of this embodiment are not described herein again.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 7, it should be understood that the Processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose processors, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the present invention may be embodied directly in a hardware processor, or in a combination of the hardware and software modules within the processor.

The memory may comprise high speed RAM memory and may also include non-volatile storage NVM, such as at least one disk memory.

The bus may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended ISA (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, the buses in the figures of the present application are not limited to only one bus or one type of bus.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement a fuel cell stack thermal management method as performed by the above fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus.

The computer-readable storage medium may be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile memory device or combination thereof, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disk. Readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

An exemplary readable storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the readable storage medium. Of course, the readable storage medium may also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the readable storage medium may reside in an Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC). Of course, the processor and the readable storage medium may also reside as discrete components in the apparatus.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or a portion of the steps of implementing the above-described method embodiments may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs steps comprising the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and not to limit the same; while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims (12)

1. A fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus, comprising:

the system comprises a fuel cell stack, an energy accumulator, a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor heat exchanger and a radiator assembly;

the fuel cell stack and the accumulator form an accumulator loop through a cooling liquid pipeline;

the fuel cell stack and the outdoor heat exchanger form a coupling air-conditioning loop through a cooling liquid pipeline;

the outdoor heat exchanger, the compressor and the indoor heat exchanger form a vehicle-mounted air conditioning loop through cooling liquid pipelines;

the fuel cell stack and the radiator assembly form a system heat dissipation loop through a cooling liquid pipeline;

the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus further comprises: the electric water pump, the first three-way valve and the second three-way valve;

the inlet end of the electric water pump is connected with the first end of the fuel cell stack;

a first end of the first three-way valve is connected with an outlet end of the electric water pump, a second end of the first three-way valve is connected with an inlet end of the energy accumulator, and a third end of the first three-way valve is connected with a first end of the outdoor heat exchanger;

a first end of the second three-way valve is connected with an outlet end of the accumulator, a second end of the second three-way valve is connected with a second end of the fuel cell stack, and a third end of the second three-way valve is connected with a second end of the outdoor heat exchanger;

the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus further comprises: a third three-way valve;

the third three-way valve is arranged between the first three-way valve and the first end of the outdoor heat exchanger; a first end of the third three-way valve is connected with a third end of the first three-way valve, a second end of the third three-way valve is connected with a first end of the outdoor heat exchanger, and a third end of the third three-way valve is connected with a first end of the radiator assembly;

the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus further comprises: a fourth three-way valve;

the fourth three-way valve is arranged between the second three-way valve and the second end of the outdoor heat exchanger; and a first end of the fourth three-way valve is connected with a third end of the second three-way valve, a second end of the fourth three-way valve is connected with a second end of the outdoor heat exchanger, and a third end of the fourth three-way valve is connected with a second end of the radiator assembly.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inlet end of the accumulator is provided with a first temperature sensor and the outlet end of the accumulator is provided with a second temperature sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a four-way reversing valve and an expansion valve;

the first end of the four-way reversing valve is connected with the first end of the compressor, the second end of the four-way reversing valve is connected with the second end of the compressor, the third end of the four-way reversing valve is connected with the third end of the outdoor heat exchanger, and the fourth end of the four-way reversing valve is connected with the first end of the indoor heat exchanger;

and the first end of the expansion valve is connected with the second end of the indoor heat exchanger, and the second end of the expansion valve is connected with the fourth end of the outdoor heat exchanger.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus further comprises a fuel cell stack thermal management device, the fuel cell stack thermal management device comprising:

the fuel cell system comprises a first starting module, a second starting module and a control module, wherein the first starting module is used for starting an energy accumulator loop if a fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected, and closing the energy accumulator loop after the fuel cell stack is started;

the detection module is used for detecting the temperature of the fuel cell stack if the fuel cell stack is detected to be in an opening state;

the second starting module is used for starting the energy accumulator loop again and detecting the working mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner if the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be greater than a first preset temperature threshold value;

and the third starting module is used for starting the coupling air conditioner loop and the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop and switching the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop to the heating mode if the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected to be in the heating working mode.

5. A fuel cell stack thermal management method applied to the fuel cell stack thermal management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising:

if a fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected, an energy accumulator loop is started, and the energy accumulator loop is closed after the fuel cell stack is started;

if the fuel cell stack is detected to be in an open state, detecting the temperature of the fuel cell stack;

if the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be greater than a first preset temperature threshold value, the energy accumulator loop is started again, and the working mode of the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected;

and if the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected to be in a heating working mode, starting a coupling air conditioner loop and a vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop, and switching the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop to the heating mode.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein after re-opening the accumulator circuit if the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be greater than the first predetermined temperature threshold, further comprising:

and if the inlet end temperature of the accumulator is detected to be the same as the outlet end temperature of the accumulator, closing the accumulator loop again.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein if the vehicle air conditioner is detected to be in a heating operation mode, then starting a coupling air conditioning loop and the vehicle air conditioning loop, and after switching the vehicle air conditioning loop to the heating mode, further comprising:

and if the temperature of the fuel cell stack is detected to be greater than a second preset threshold value, starting a system heat dissipation loop, wherein the second preset threshold value is greater than the first preset threshold value.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein after detecting the operation mode of the vehicle air conditioner, the method further comprises:

and if the vehicle-mounted air conditioner is detected to be in the refrigeration mode, starting a coupling air conditioner loop and a vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop, and switching the vehicle-mounted air conditioner loop to the refrigeration mode.

9. The method of any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein said opening an accumulator circuit if a stack start command is detected comprises:

and if a fuel cell stack starting instruction is detected and the temperature of the fuel cell stack is less than a third preset threshold value, starting an energy accumulator loop.

10. A fuel cell stack thermal management system, comprising: the fuel cell stack thermal management device and controller of any one of claims 1 to 4;

the controller comprises at least one memory and a processor; the memory stores computer-executable instructions; execution of computer-executable instructions stored by the memory by the at least one processor causes the at least one processor to perform the fuel cell stack thermal management method of any of claims 5 to 9.

11. A vehicle, characterized by comprising: the fuel cell stack thermal management system of claim 10.

12. A computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor, implement a fuel cell stack thermal management method according to any one of claims 5 to 9.

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