US-12623103-B2 - Fire extinguishing system for a vehicle

US12623103B2US 12623103 B2US12623103 B2US 12623103B2US-12623103-B2

Abstract

A fire extinguishing system for a vehicle includes: a first water tank in which fuel cell exhaust water from a fuel cell stack of a fuel cell system is stored; a first pump for pumping the fuel cell exhaust water; a coolant pump for pumping coolants of a water cooling system provided in the vehicle; a turbulence generator provided to pass through the fuel cell exhaust water pumped by the first pump and the coolants pumped by the coolant pump, and configured to generate a turbulent flow of the fuel cell exhaust water and coolants passing therethrough; and a battery fire suppression nozzle provided in a battery pack mounted on the vehicle. The nozzle is supplied with a fire extinguishing water, which is a mixture of fluids passing through the turbulence generator and is configured to supply the fire extinguishing water to the inside of the battery pack.

Inventors

Hyeon Gi Shin

Assignees

HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
KIA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20221220
Priority Date: 20220914

Claims (19)

1 . A fire extinguishing system for a vehicle, the fire extinguishing system comprising: a fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack configured to be mounted on the vehicle; a first water tank configured to store fuel cell exhaust water generated and discharged from the fuel cell stack; a first pump fluidly connected to the first water tank and configured to pump the fuel cell exhaust water stored in the first water tank; a second water tank configured to store supplemental water sourced externally of the vehicle; a second pump fluidly connected to the second water tank and configured to pump the supplemental water; a cooling circuit comprising a plurality of coolant tanks configured to store a plurality of coolants, the plurality of coolants comprising a battery coolant, a fuel cell stack coolant, and a power electronic system coolant, the plurality of coolant tanks comprising: a battery coolant tank configured to store the battery coolant; a fuel cell stack coolant tank configured to store the fuel cell stack coolant; a power electronic system coolant tank configured to store the power electronic system coolant; and a coolant pump fluidly connected to each coolant tank of the plurality of coolant tanks through corresponding outlet pipes and configured to pump one or more of the plurality of coolants to a downstream path; a turbulence generator fluidly connected to an outlet of the first pump, an outlet of the second pump, and an outlet of the coolant pump, the turbulence generator comprising a mixing chamber with an internal flow disturbing structure and configured to generate a turbulent mixture of the fuel cell exhaust water, the supplemental water, and at least one coolant of the plurality of coolants passing therethrough; a battery pack configured to be mounted on the vehicle and including a battery fire suppression nozzle disposed therein, the battery fire suppression nozzle configured to receive the turbulent mixture from the turbulence generator and to discharge the mixture into an interior of the battery pack for fire suppression; and a first branch pipe branched from an outlet pipe of the first pump and connected to the second water tank, and wherein the outlet pipe of the first pump is connected to a fuel cell exhaust water inlet port of the turbulence generator.
2 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 1 , further comprising a filter disposed, between the first water tank and the first pump, the filter configured to remove impurities from the fuel cell exhaust water before the fuel cell exhaust water is pumped by the first pump.
3 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 1 , wherein a first flow control valve is disposed between the outlet pipe of the first pump and the first branch pipe, the first flow control valve configured to control a flow direction of the fuel cell exhaust water so that the water flows to a selected one of the turbulence generator and the second water tank.
4 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 3 , further comprising: a second flow control valve disposed at an outlet pipe of the second pump, the second flow control valve configured to control a flow direction of the supplemental water, and a controller configured to control operation of the first pump, the second pump, and operation of opening and closing of the first and second flow control valves.
5 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to: control the first and second flow control valves to cause the fuel cell exhaust water pumped by the first pump to pass through the second water tank and be supplied to the turbulence generator by the second pump along with the supplemental water; or cause the fuel cell exhaust water and the supplemental water to be separately pumped by the first pump and the second pump to the turbulence generator.
6 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 1 , wherein the corresponding outlet pipes of the battery coolant tank, the fuel cell stack coolant tank, and the power electronic system coolant tank are combined together and connected to the inlet of the coolant pump; and each of the corresponding outlet pipes includes an opening and closing valve whose operation is controlled by the controller to selectively supply a corresponding coolant of the plurality of coolants.
7 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to open the valve of the battery coolant tank, when a battery fire detector detects a fire in the battery pack, so that the battery coolant is supplied to the turbulence generator and the battery pack.
8 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to open the valve of the power electronic system coolant tank when a reignition is detected in the battery pack by a temperature sensor, so that the power electronic system coolant is supplied to the turbulence generator and the battery pack.
9 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to open the valve of the fuel cell stack coolant tank when a further reignition is detected, so that the fuel cell stack coolant is supplied to the turbulence generator and the battery pack.
10 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 6 , wherein the controller is further configured to gradually increase an amount of fire extinguishing water filled in the battery pack each time a reignition occurs.
11 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 1 , further comprising an opening and closing valve disposed between the coolant pump and the turbulence generator, the opening and closing valve being controlled by the controller.
12 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 1 , further comprising: a third branch pipe branched from the outlet pipe of the turbulence generator and connected to a tire fire suppression nozzle; and a third flow control valve disposed between the outlet pipe and the third branch pipe and configured to control a flow direction of the fire extinguishing water to either the battery fire suppression nozzle or the tire fire suppression nozzle.
13 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 12 , further comprising an operation device connected to the controller and configured to be operated by a driver to extinguish a tire fire, wherein the controller controls the third flow control valve based on signals from a tire fire detector and the operation device.
14 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 12 , wherein the third branch pipe includes a hose connection port configured for detachable connection to a hose to allow use of the fire extinguishing water outside of the vehicle.
15 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 1 , wherein the battery pack comprises: a battery module including a plurality of battery cells; and a battery casing configured to enclose and seal the battery module, wherein the battery fire suppression nozzle is disposed in the battery casing to allow the fire extinguishing water to fill the battery casing.
16 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 15 , wherein a plurality of battery packs are provided in the vehicle; the outlet pipe of the turbulence generator is branched and connected to each battery pack of the plurality of battery packs; and a fourth flow control valve is disposed at a branching point and controlled by a controller to direct the fire extinguishing water.
17 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 16 , wherein the controller selectively opens the fourth flow control valve to supply the fire extinguishing water only to at least one battery pack, of the plurality of battery packs, determined to be on fire by a battery fire detector.
18 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to gradually increase an amount of the fire extinguishing water filled in the battery pack each time a reignition is detected.
19 . The fire extinguishing system of claim 18 , wherein the system is configured to increase a ratio of a space filled with the fire extinguishing water relative to a total internal space of the battery pack so that the ratio reaches a predetermined value each time the reignition is detected.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0115758, filed Sep. 14, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. BACKGROUND Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a fire extinguishing system for a vehicle and, more particularly, the system is capable of automatically and quickly suppressing a fire occurring in a battery or in or at the tires of a vehicle. Description of the Related Art In general, there is a risk of fire in a vehicle since a number of heat sources exist in a vehicle and since various electrical wires are provided in a tangled manner. In addition to parts related to electricity, a fire may also occur in or at the tires of vehicles that generate heat due to friction. Recently, as the use of eco-friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles increases, the risk of fire due to external impact or internal short circuits in batteries or high-voltage electrical wiring is increasing. Eco-friendly vehicles run by driving a motor with electric power charged in a battery and may be all considered as electric vehicles in a broad sense. Such an electric vehicle is equipped with a high-voltage battery pack that supplies power to a motor. The high-voltage battery pack supplies power to electronic systems in the vehicle, such as a motor, while repeatedly charging and discharging as the vehicle is driving. A battery pack of an electric vehicle typically has a battery casing, a battery module disposed inside the battery casing, and a battery management system (BMS). The BMS detects voltage, electric current, temperature of cells composing the battery module, and controls an operation of the cells. In addition, the battery pack is configured to prevent fire by blowing a fuse or cutting off a relay connected to an inverter when an internal circuit experiences an overcurrent flow. However, in an electric vehicle, a fire may occur inside the battery pack while driving due to various causes such as a collision or malfunction of parts. If the fire in the battery pack is not properly extinguished, it may lead to burnout of the vehicle, resulting in significant damage to the vehicle and potential loss of life. A fire in a battery may spread in a short amount of time due to internal and external structures and materials in the battery. In the case of public transportation vehicles such as buses, a large number of passengers are on board. Therefor rapid response to a fire for passenger safety is essential, and failure of initial response may lead to a major disaster. Nevertheless, the provision of a fire extinguisher provided and used in a vehicle as a method to respond to a fire is widely known. Even in this case, if a driver fails to use the fire extinguisher in a timely manner, an initial fire response may fail and the fire may spread throughout the vehicle, increasing a risk of personal injury. Even if the driver or passenger inside of the vehicle quickly recognizes an occurrence of a fire, extinguishing the fire with only a small fire extinguisher provided in the vehicle is difficult. If a fire hydrant is located near the vehicle or a fire engine is located near the fire site, the fire may be extinguished by spraying water on the vehicle. In addition, there is a need for a countermeasure in case a reignition or a thermal runaway occurs in the battery pack after a first fire is extinguished. SUMMARY Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made to solve the above concerns. An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a fire extinguishing system for a vehicle. Specifically, the system is capable of automatically and quickly suppressing a fire occurring in a vehicle battery or in or at the tires. In particular, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a fire extinguishing system for a vehicle. The system is capable of suppressing a fire occurring in a battery or tires using fuel cell exhaust water in a fuel cell vehicle. In order to achieve the above objectives, a fire extinguishing system is provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The fire extinguishing system includes a first water tank in which the fuel cell exhaust water generated and discharged from a fuel cell stack of a fuel cell system mounted on a vehicle is stored, a first pump for pumping the fuel cell exhaust water stored in the first water tank, and a coolant pump for pumping coolants of a water cooling system provided in the vehicle. The system also includes a turbulence generator provided to allow the fuel cell exhaust water pumped by the first pump and the coolants pumped by the coolant pump to pass therethrough and to generate a turbulent flow of the fuel cell exhaust water and coolants so that fluids are mixed. Additionally, the system includes a battery fire suppression nozzle provided in a battery pack mounted on the vehicle and being supplied wi