System and method for maintaining and establishing operational readiness in a fuel cell backup system of a nuclear reactor system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9748006-B2
Application number	US-92475310-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 4, 2010
Priority date	Oct 1, 2010
Publication date	Aug 29, 2017
Grant date	Aug 29, 2017

Abstract

A method and apparatus for maintaining or establishing a readiness state in a fuel cell backup system of a nuclear reactor system are disclosed. A method includes maintaining a readiness state of a fuel cell system within a set of readiness parameters, the readiness parameters a function of a characteristic of the nuclear reactor system. Another method includes monitoring a nuclear reactor system characteristic and, responsive to the monitored nuclear reactor system characteristic, establishing a readiness state of a fuel cell system. An apparatus includes a fuel cell system associated with a nuclear reactor system and a fuel cell control system configured to maintain a readiness state of the fuel cell system. Another apparatus includes a fuel cell system associated with a nuclear reactor system, a nuclear reactor characteristic monitoring system, and a fuel cell control system configured to establish a readiness state of the fuel cell system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a fuel cell associated with a nuclear reactor;
a nuclear reactor monitoring system operably coupled to a core of the nuclear reactor and configured to monitor a temperature of the core nuclear reactor; and
a fuel cell control system communicatively coupled to the nuclear reactor monitoring system,
wherein the nuclear reactor monitoring system is further configured to transmit the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor to the fuel cell control system,
wherein the fuel cell control system includes a heat transfer system, wherein the heat transfer system includes a heat supply loop, the heat supply loop in thermal communication with a waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor and one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell, wherein the heat transfer system is configured to selectively transfer thermal energy from the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor to the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell to establish a readiness state of the fuel cell within a set of readiness parameters in response to receipt of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor from the nuclear reactor monitoring system by increasing the temperature of the fuel cell, wherein the readiness parameters are a function of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the readiness parameters are a variable function of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fuel cell control system includes a reactant control system.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the reactant control system adjusts a condition of at least one reactant of the fuel cell.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the reactant control system includes a reactant supply control system, wherein the reactant supply control system adjusts a supply condition of at least one reactant of the fuel cell.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the reactant control system includes a reactant pump control system.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the reactant control system includes a reactant valve control system.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fuel cell control system comprises:
a fuel cell control system including a configuration control system, wherein the configuration control system establishes a readiness state of the fuel cell within a set of readiness parameters in response to the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor from the nuclear reactor monitoring system by adjusting an electrical coupling configuration of two or more fuel cells.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the configuration control system includes configuration control circuitry for adjusting an electrical coupling configuration of two or more fuel cells.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the configuration control system includes switching circuitry for adjusting an electrical coupling configuration of two or more fuel cells.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat supply loop in thermal communication with the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor and the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell selectively transfers thermal energy from the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor to the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell to establish an electrical output level of the fuel cell within an acceptable electrical output range, in response to the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor from the nuclear reactor monitoring system, wherein the acceptable electrical output range is a function of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat supply loop in thermal communication with the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor and the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell selectively transfers thermal energy from the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor to the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell to establish a temperature of the fuel cell within an acceptable temperature range, in response to the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor from the nuclear reactor monitoring system, wherein the acceptable temperature range is a function of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat supply loop in thermal communication with the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor and the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell selectively transfers thermal energy from the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor to the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell to establish a pressure of the fuel cell within an acceptable pressure range, in response to the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor from the nuclear reactor monitoring system, wherein the acceptable pressure range is a function of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat supply loop in thermal communication with the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor and the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell selectively transfers thermal energy from the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor to the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell to establish a humidity of the fuel cell within an acceptable humidity range, in response to the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor from the nuclear reactor monitoring system, wherein the acceptable humidity range is a function of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat supply loop in thermal communication with the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor and the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell selectively transfers thermal energy from the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor to the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell to establish a reactant stream temperature of the fuel cell within an acceptable reactant stream temperature range, in response to the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor from the nuclear reactor monitoring system, wherein the acceptable reactant stream temperature range is a function of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat supply loop in thermal communication with the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor and the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell selectively transfers thermal energy from the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor to the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell to establish a pressure of a reactant stream of the fuel cell within an acceptable pressure range, in response to the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor from the nuclear reactor monitoring system, wherein the acceptable pressure range of the reactant stream is a function of the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear reactor.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat supply loop in thermal communication with the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor and the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell selectively transfers thermal energy from the waste heat rejection loop of the nuclear reactor to the one or more bipolar plates of the fuel cell to establish a humidity level of a reactant stream of the fuel cell within an acceptable humidity range, in response to the monitored temperature of the core of the nuclear re

Assignees

• Hyde Roderick A
• Tegreene Clarence T
• Walter Joshua C
• Terrapower Llc

Inventors

• Hyde Roderick A
• Tegreene Clarence T
• Walter Joshua C

Classifications

• Y02E30/40

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• G21D3/04

  Safety arrangements (emergency protection of reactor G21C9/00) · CPC title

• H01M8/0494

  of fuel cell stacks · CPC title

• H01M8/04828

  Humidity; Water content · CPC title

• H01M8/04298

  Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems · CPC title