Method for estimating power of fuel cell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9739835-B2
Application number	US-201514862581-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 23, 2015
Priority date	Feb 16, 2015
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method for estimating a power of a fuel cell. The method includes estimating a predictive current at a predetermined voltage in a controller, based on a present current-voltage characteristic of the fuel cell while the temperature of the fuel cell is being raised, estimating a first power, based on the estimated predictive current and the predetermined voltage, after the step of estimating the predictive current, estimating a second power based on a cell voltage rate while estimating the first power, and calculating an available power of the fuel cell, based on the first power and the second power, after the step of estimating the first power and the step of estimating the second power are performed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for estimating a power of a fuel cell, comprising:
estimating a predictive current at a predetermined voltage in a controller, based on a present current-voltage characteristic of a fuel cell while a temperature of the fuel cell is being raised;
estimating a first power, based on the estimated predictive current and the predetermined voltage, after the step of estimating the predictive current;
estimating a second power based on a cell voltage rate while estimating the first power; and
calculating an available power of the fuel cell, based on the first power and the second power, after the step of estimating the first power and the step of estimating the second power are performed.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining whether an engine start is a cold start before the step of estimating the predictive current,
wherein when it is determined that the engine start is the cold start, the step of estimating the predictive current is performed after a temperature-raising operation of the fuel cell is performed.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined voltage is a reference voltage capable of operating high-voltage components of a vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predictive current is estimated based on a current-voltage gradient that is predetermined by the present current-voltage characteristic of the fuel cell while the temperature of the fuel cell is being raised.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell voltage rate is a ratio of a lowest voltage of multiple cells to an average voltage of the multiple cells, and increases with an increase in a voltage of a cell outputting the lowest voltage.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the second power increases with an increase in the cell voltage rate.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the second power is estimated as a positive value when the cell voltage rate is equal to or greater than a first reference value, as zero when the cell voltage rate is equal to or greater than a second reference value and less than the first reference value, and as a negative value when the cell voltage rate is less than the second reference value.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the available power of the fuel cell is a sum of the first power and the second power.

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Dae Jong

Classifications

• H01M8/04619

  of fuel cell stacks · CPC title

• G01R31/3647

  for determining the ability of a battery to perform a critical function, e.g. cranking · CPC title

• H01M8/04305 Primary

  Modeling, demonstration models of fuel cells, e.g. for training purposes · CPC title

• H01M2220/20

  Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane · CPC title

• G01R31/385 Primary

  Arrangements for measuring battery or accumulator variables (for monitoring G01R31/382) · CPC title