CN-115241489-B - Fuel cell system and aircraft

Abstract

The invention provides a fuel cell system and an aircraft, wherein the fuel cell system can prevent the icing of an air exhaust and water discharge valve in a fuel gas system even under the condition of high altitude. The fuel cell system is used for an aircraft, and is characterized by comprising a fuel cell, a fuel gas system for supplying fuel gas to the fuel cell, a cooling system for adjusting the temperature of the fuel cell, a height sensor, a temperature sensor, and a control unit for controlling a three-way valve so that a refrigerant circulates in a heating channel and driving a circulation pump and a water heater to heat the refrigerant to raise the temperature of the refrigerant when the rise of the height measured by the height sensor is detected and when the temperature of an air/water discharge valve measured by the temperature sensor is less than a predetermined temperature.

Inventors

• YUKI OKAMOTO
• Shinagawa tomotaka
• SHINOZAKI YOSHIHIRO

Assignees

• 丰田自动车株式会社
• 丰田自动车株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260421

Application Date

20220418

Priority Date

20210423

Claims (2)

1. 1. A fuel cell system for use in an aircraft, the fuel cell system characterized by: A fuel cell; a fuel gas system that supplies a fuel gas to the fuel cell; A cooling system that adjusts a temperature of the fuel cell; a height sensor; Temperature sensor, and The control part is used for controlling the control part to control the control part, The fuel gas system includes a fuel gas supply unit, and a gas/water discharge valve capable of discharging fuel off-gas discharged from the fuel cell to the outside, The cooling system includes a refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant circulates inside and outside the fuel cell, and a heating flow path that branches from the refrigerant flow path and is disposed in the vicinity of the gas/water discharge valve and that circulates the refrigerant to heat the gas/water discharge valve, The heating channel includes a circulation pump for circulating the refrigerant in the heating channel, a water heater for heating the refrigerant, and a three-way valve for controlling the supply of the refrigerant from the refrigerant channel and circulating the refrigerant in the heating channel, The position where the heating flow path is arranged near the gas/water discharge valve is a position where the temperature of the refrigerant is transmitted from the heating flow path to the gas/water discharge valve to heat the gas/water discharge valve, When the rise in the height measured by the height sensor is detected and when the temperature of the gas/water discharge valve measured by the temperature sensor is less than a predetermined temperature, the control unit controls the three-way valve so that the refrigerant circulates in the heating flow path, and drives the circulation pump and the water heater to heat the refrigerant to rise the temperature of the refrigerant, When the rise in the height measured by the height sensor is not detected or when the temperature of the gas/water discharge valve measured by the temperature sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the control unit stops driving at least one of the circulation pump and the water heater.
2. 2. An aircraft, characterized in that, A fuel cell system comprising the fuel cell system of claim 1.

Description

Fuel cell system and aircraft Technical Field The present disclosure relates to fuel cell systems and aircraft. Background A Fuel Cell (FC) is a power generation device that is configured by 1 single cell (hereinafter, simply referred to as a cell) or a fuel cell stack (hereinafter, simply referred to as a stack) in which a plurality of single cells are stacked, and that extracts electric energy by an electrochemical reaction between a fuel gas such as hydrogen and an oxidizing gas such as oxygen. Among them, the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas actually supplied to the fuel cell are often mixed with a gas that does not contribute to oxidation/reduction. The case where the oxidant gas is air including oxygen is particularly frequent. Hereinafter, the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas may be simply referred to as "reaction gas" or "gas" without particular distinction. In addition, the single cells and the fuel cell stack formed by stacking the single cells are sometimes referred to as a fuel cell. Various studies have been made with respect to fuel cells. For example, patent document 1 discloses an aircraft equipped with a fuel cell. Patent document 1 Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2017-081559 When the fuel cell is mounted on an aircraft, the fuel cell is caused to generate power in a state of high altitude and low temperature, as compared with a state of being mounted on a vehicle. In the fuel gas system, if the height is high and the temperature is low, the temperature of the gas/water discharge valve is lowered, and the produced water freezes, so that the gas/water discharge cannot be performed. Since water cannot be discharged, the nitrogen concentration increases, the hydrogen partial pressure decreases (hydrogen is partially deficient), and hydrogen deficiency occurs in the fuel cell, which reduces the durability of the fuel cell, and the necessity of output limitation and the necessity of system stop occur. Disclosure of Invention The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-described actual circumstances, and a main object thereof is to provide a fuel cell system capable of preventing the gas/water discharge valve in the fuel gas system from freezing even in a high-altitude condition. The fuel cell system of the present disclosure is a fuel cell system for an aircraft, characterized in that, The fuel cell system includes: A fuel cell; a fuel gas system for supplying a fuel gas to the fuel cell; A cooling system for adjusting the temperature of the fuel cell; a height sensor; Temperature sensor, and The control part is used for controlling the control part to control the control part, The fuel gas system includes a fuel gas supply unit, and a gas/water discharge valve capable of discharging fuel off-gas discharged from the fuel cell to the outside, The cooling system includes a refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant circulates inside and outside the fuel cell, and a heating flow path that branches from the refrigerant flow path and is disposed in the vicinity of the gas/water discharge valve and that circulates the refrigerant to heat the gas/water discharge valve, The heating channel includes a circulation pump for circulating the refrigerant in the heating channel, a water heater for heating the refrigerant, and a three-way valve for controlling the supply of the refrigerant from the refrigerant channel and circulating the refrigerant in the heating channel, When the rise in the height measured by the height sensor is detected and when the temperature of the gas/water discharge valve measured by the temperature sensor is lower than a predetermined temperature, the control unit controls the three-way valve so that the refrigerant circulates in the heating flow path, and drives the circulation pump and the water heater to heat the refrigerant and raise the temperature of the refrigerant. The aircraft of the present disclosure is provided with the fuel cell system described above. According to the fuel cell system of the present disclosure, freezing of the gas/water discharge valve in the fuel gas system can be prevented even in the case of high height. Drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a fuel cell system of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the fuel cell system of the present disclosure. Reference numerals illustrate: The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, a fuel gas supply unit, a 21-fuel gas supply flow path, a 22-fuel exhaust flow path, a 23-gas/water discharge valve, a 24-gas/liquid separator, a 25-circulation flow path, a 26-injector (injector), a 31-refrigerant supply unit, a 32-refrigerant flow path, a 33-radiator, a 41-heating flow path, a 42-circulation pump, a 43-water heater, a 44-three-way valve, a 50-control unit, a 60-height sensor, a 70-temperature sensor, and a 100-fuel cell system. Detailed Description The fuel cell system of the present disclosure is a fuel cell sys