Coolant flow estimation for the thermal cycle of a fuel cell system using stack loss energy

摘要

A thermal subsystem for a fuel cell system calculates a desired volumetric flow or mass flow of a cooling fluid that is pumped through a fuel cell stack based solely on stack thermal energy loss and coolant fluid temperature. An algorithm calculates energy loss of the stack and then calculates the temperature of the stack based on the energy lost and the thermal energy dissipated by the stack. The algorithm uses the temperature of the stack and the temperature of the cooling fluid out of the stack to determine the dissipated heat energy. The algorithm then uses the temperature of the stack, the temperature of the cooling fluid into the stack, and the temperature of the cooling fluid out of the stack to determine the flow.