Artificial intelligent fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10901038-B2
Application number	US-201716067000-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2017
Priority date	Sep 26, 2016
Publication date	Jan 26, 2021
Grant date	Jan 26, 2021

Abstract

An artificial intelligent fuel cell system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include: a fuel cell stack in which a plurality of unit cells is combined for generating electric energy with an electrochemical reaction; a sensor unit which measures in real time data about each of the unit cells forming the fuel cell stack, temperature, pressure, humidity, and flow rates of reaction gases, and cooling water, and current and voltage data during an operation of a fuel cell; an artificial intelligent unit which collects the data measured by the sensor unit with a predetermined time interval, generates a model for predicting and controlling performance of the fuel cell through the learning and analysis of the collected data, compares the generated model with the data measured in real time and diagnoses a state of the fuel cell stack, and generates a control signal for changing an operation condition of the fuel cell stack; and a control unit which changes the operation condition of the fuel cell stack according to the generated control signal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An artificial intelligent fuel cell system, comprising:
a fuel cell stack in which a plurality of unit cells for generating electric energy with an electrochemical reaction is combined;
a sensor assembly configured to measure, in real time, data about each of the unit cells forming the fuel cell stack, temperature, pressure, humidity, and flow rates of reaction gases, and cooling water, and current and voltage data during an operation of the fuel stack;
an artificial intelligent processor configured to:
collect the data measured by the sensor assembly in a predetermined time interval,
learn and analyze the collected data by using machine learning and a time-series analysis,
generate a model for predicting and controlling performance of the fuel cell stack through the learning and analyzing of the collected data,
diagnose a state of the fuel cell stack by comparing the generated model with the data measured in real time, and
generate a control signal for changing an operation condition of the fuel cell stack; and
a controller configured to change the operation condition of the fuel cell stack according to the generated control signal,
wherein the artificial intelligent processor includes:
a performance predicting and diagnosing assembly which compares the generated model with the measured data, distinguishes a change in performance over time of the fuel cell stack into the first state and the second state, and diagnoses the performance change state, and generates a control signal for changing an operation condition of the fuel cell stack according to the diagnosed state of the fuel cell stack and makes the control unit change the operation condition of the fuel cell stack, and
wherein the first state is a temporary and short-term performance degradation state, and the second state is a long-term and irreversible performance degradation state.

2. The artificial intelligent fuel cell system of claim 1 , wherein the artificial intelligent processor includes:
a data collecting assembly which collects the data about the temperature, the pressure, the humidity, the flow rates, the current, and the voltage measured by the sensor unit in real time with a predetermined time interval; and
a data learning and model generating assembly which learns and analyzes the data collected by using the machine learning and the time-series analysis and generates the model for predicting and controlling performance of the fuel cell.

3. The artificial intelligent fuel cell system of claim 2 , wherein the data learning and model generating assembly includes:
a machine learning assembly which generates the data collected as a model for predicting performance through a machine learning algorithm, and makes the performance predicting and diagnosing assembly compare a prediction value from the generated model with a measurement value of the measured data and diagnose a state of the fuel cell stack; and
a time series analyzing assembly which performs a time-series trend analysis analyzing a time trend pattern by using the prediction value and the measurement values, and makes the performance predicting and diagnosing assembly distinguish the change in performance over time of the fuel cell stack into the first state and the second state and diagnose the performance change state.

4. The artificial intelligent fuel cell system of claim 3 , wherein the machine learning assembly feeds a variance that is a difference between the prediction value and the measurement value back to the generated prediction model and corrects the generated prediction model, and makes the performance predicting and diagnosing assembly diagnose the performance change state of the fuel cell stack according to time by using the corrected prediction model.

5. A method of controlling an artificial intelligent fuel cell system, the fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack having a plurality of unit cells, the method comprising:
measuring, in real-time, data about each of the unit cells forming a fuel cell stack, temperature, pressure, humidity, and flow rates of reaction gases, and cooling water, and current and voltage data during an operation of the fuel cell stack;
collecting the measured data in a predetermined time interval;
learning and analyzing the data collected data by using machine learning and a time-series analysis;
generating a model for predicting and controlling performance of the fuel cell stack through the learning and analysis of the collected data;
comparing the generated model with the data measured in real time and diagnosing a state of the fuel cell stack;
generating a control signal for changing an operation condition of the fuel cell stack according to the diagnosed state; and
changing the operation condition of the fuel cell stack according to the generated control signal,
wherein the diagnosing of the state of the fuel cell stack includes comparing the generated model with the measured data, distinguishing a change in performance over time of the fuel cell stack into the first state and the second state, and diagnosing the performance change state, and
wherein the first state is a temporary and short-term performance degradation state, and the second state is a long-term and irreversible performance degradation state.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the learning and analyzing the data collected by using the machine learning through a machine learning algorithm and the time-series analysis through a time-series trend analysis and generating the model for predicting and controlling performance of the fuel cel.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
feeding a variance that is a difference between a prediction value of the generated model and a measurement value measured in real time back to the generated prediction model and correcting the generated prediction model; and
distinguishing the change in performance over time of the fuel cell stack into the first state and the second state by using the corrected prediction model, and diagnosing the performance change state.

8. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for implementing the method of claim 5 is recorded.

Assignees

• Lg Chemical Ltd

Inventors

• Kong Chang Sun
• Yang Jae Choon

Classifications

• H01M8/04574

  Current · CPC title

• H01M8/04544

  Voltage · CPC title

• H01M8/04492

  Humidity; Ambient humidity; Water content · CPC title

• H01M8/0438

  Pressure; Ambient pressure; Flow · CPC title

• H01M8/0432

  Temperature; Ambient temperature · CPC title