Dynamics of Water Crossover in Fuel Cell and Application to Freeze Driveaway Reliability

Reliable driveaway from frozen condition is one of the challenging design and control problem for fuel cell applications. Different approaches for warmup from frozen conditions have been developed by OEMs, e.g. low voltage inefficient operation, or use of coolant heaters. However, most methods result in water generation which risk icing and blocking the valves and rendering them nonfunctional till they thaw. One such valve is the anode drain valve which is needed to remove water that crosses over across the membrane to anode side. This work discusses characterization of dynamics of water crossover to anode balance of plant via step response experiments on full scale systems, and development of an online estimator to detect onset of anode water crossover via this online observer. In addition, detection via voltage dip-based feedback is also presented. Building on this understanding, an operational approach is developed for warmup and driveaway with a frozen valve and demonstrated via freeze cold start tests.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.4271/2020-01-0853
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01487191
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of SAE International.
• Authors:
  • Sinha, Manish
  • Edamana, Biju
  • Cartwright, Michael
• Conference:
  • WCX SAE World Congress Experience
  • Location: Detroit Michigan, United States
  • Date: 2020-4-21 to 2020-4-23
• Publication Date: 2020-4-14

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Serial:
  • SAE Technical Paper
  • Publisher: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
  • ISSN: 0148-7191
  • EISSN: 2688-3627
  • Serial URL: http://papers.sae.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Anodes; Cold starts (Driving); Drains; Driveways; Engine starters; Freezing; Fuel cells; Heaters; Reliability; Water
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01739327
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: SAE International
• Report/Paper Numbers: 2020-01-0853
• Files: TRIS, SAE
• Created Date: May 15 2020 11:07AM