Driving control method of fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018175416-A1
Application number	US-201715792531-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 24, 2017
Priority date	Dec 16, 2016
Publication date	Jun 21, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of controlling the driving of a fuel cell system includes: determining whether the fuel cell system enters idle stop in which air supply to the fuel cell stack stops; dropping a DC-link terminal voltage controlled by a DC-DC converter up to a first set voltage by controlling an operation of the DC-DC converter connected to a DC-link terminal outputting generation power of the fuel cell stack at the time of entering the idle stop; and dropping a voltage of the fuel cell stack to reduce an oxide of platinum which is a catalyst of a fuel cell by allowing the anode exhaust gas to flow backward into a cathode of the fuel cell stack by performing the hydrogen purge in an idle stop state of opening the hydrogen purge valve after the voltage of the DC-link terminal drops.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of controlling driving of a fuel cell system, in which hydrogen purge is performed by opening a hydrogen purge valve to discharge anode exhaust gas of a fuel cell stack through a cathode outlet of the fuel cell stack, the method comprising:
determining, by a controller, whether the fuel cell system enters idle stop in which air supply to the fuel cell stack stops; dropping, by the controller, a DC-link terminal voltage controlled by a DC-DC converter up to a first set voltage by controlling an operation of the DC-DC converter connected to a DC-link terminal outputting generation power of the fuel cell stack when entering the idle stop; and dropping, by the controller, a voltage of the fuel cell stack to reduce an oxide of platinum, which is a catalyst of a fuel cell, by allowing the anode exhaust gas to flow backward into a cathode of the fuel cell stack by performing the hydrogen purge in an idle stop state of opening the hydrogen purge valve after the voltage of the DC-link terminal drops.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
closing, by the controller, an air cut-off valve at a cathode outlet of the fuel cell stack or reducing an opening level of the air cut-off valve before performing the hydrogen purge after dropping the voltage of the DC-link terminal.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set voltage is a voltage value in a potential area in which a reduction reaction of PtO as the oxide of the platinum may occur in cells of the fuel cell stack.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the controller performs a step of performing the hydrogen purge for dropping the voltage of the fuel cell stack when a determined fuel cell driving condition is satisfied after the dropping of the DC-link terminal voltage while the fuel cell system enters the idle stop.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein a determined fuel cell driving condition includes a condition in which an idle stop maintenance time from the time when the fuel cell system enters the idle stop is more than a first set time.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein a determined fuel cell driving condition is a condition in which the voltage of the fuel cell stack drops to be low to a second set voltage or less, and
wherein the second set voltage is less than the first set voltage.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the second set voltage is a voltage value in which a reduction reaction of PtO2 as the oxide of the platinum starts in cells of the fuel cell stack.

8 . The method of claim 2 , wherein a determined fuel cell driving condition includes a condition in which the voltage of the fuel cell stack drops to be a second set voltage or less,
wherein the second set voltage is less than the first set voltage.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the second set voltage is set in the controller as a voltage value in which a reduction reaction of PtO2 as the oxide of the platinum starts in cells of the fuel cell stack.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a purge time of opening the hydrogen purge valve at the time of performing the hydrogen purge for dropping the voltage of the fuel cell stack is set as a second set time.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
performing, by the controller, the hydrogen purge during normal driving, which allows the anode exhaust gas of the fuel cell stack to be discharged to outside while being mixed with cathode exhaust gas when a hydrogen purge condition is satisfied after the idle stop state is cancelled and the fuel cell system is switched to a normal driving state.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein a hydrogen purge time is set in the controller when the hydrogen purge valve opens during the normal driving of the fuel cell system as a third set time, and
first hydrogen purge during the normal driving is performed for a time acquired by subtracting the second set time from the third set time after the idle stop state is cancelled and the fuel cell system is switched to a normal driving state.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the controller performs performing the hydrogen purge for dropping the stack voltage when a determined fuel cell driving condition is satisfied after the dropping of the DC-link terminal voltage while the fuel cell system enters the idle stop, and performs the hydrogen purge for the third set time when the hydrogen purge for dropping the stack voltage is not performed in the previous idle stop entering state at the time of performing the first hydrogen purge during the normal driving after the idle stop state is cancelled and the fuel cell system is switched to a normal driving state.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the controller opens the air-cut valve at the cathode outlet of the fuel cells tack to discharge the anode exhaust gas of the fuel cell stack to the outside while being mixed with cathode exhaust gas in the hydrogen purge during the normal driving.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein a hydrogen purge time is set in the controller when the hydrogen purge valve opens during normal driving of the fuel cell system is set as a third set time, and
the controller performs hydrogen purge for second stack voltage drop for a time acquired by subtracting the second set time from the third set time when the hydrogen purge for dropping the stack voltage in the idle stop state is consecutively repeatedly performed without the hydrogen purge during the normal driving of the fuel cell system.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the controller consecutively performs the hydrogen purge in the idle stop state up to a maximum of two times.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the controller skips the hydrogen purge during a normal driving one time even though the determined hydrogen purge condition is hereafter satisfied while the fuel cell system is switched to a normal driving state when the hydrogen purge for dropping the stack voltage in the idle stop state is consecutively repeatedly performed without the hydrogen purge during the normal driving of the fuel cell system.

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Motors Corp

Inventors

• Kim Dae Jong
• Choi Sung Bum
• Yoon Jong Jin

Classifications

• B60L50/72

  Constructional details of fuel cells specially adapted for electric vehicles · CPC title

• H01M8/04201

  Reactant storage and supply, e.g. means for feeding, pipes · CPC title

• B60L53/20

  characterised by converters located in the vehicle · CPC title

• H01M8/04559

  of fuel cell stacks · CPC title

• H01M8/04231 Primary

  Purging of the reactants · CPC title