Patent Application
20230060056
The present invention relates, generally, to methods and systems for thermally managing sources of electrical current, and more particularly, to systems and methods for controlling a temperature of fuel cell and battery systems for powering a vehicle.
For a variety of reasons, including the mitigation of climate change, there has been an increase in the production of electrical vehicles including those powered by batteries and electrochemical fuel cells. Such electrical vehicles operate differently from and have thermal requirements different from traditional fossil fuel powered vehicles.
Traditional vehicles include an internal combustion engine located in a front of such a vehicle where the passenger compartment is located to a rear relative to the engine. A radiator may be located at a frontmost end of a vehicle such that air may pass through the radiator to cool liquid in fluid and thermal connection with the engine such that the engine may be cooled by such liquid flowing through the radiator and the engine.
Electric vehicles do not require that an engine be located in any particular location and the front of a vehicle may include a second storage compartment or frunk. Electric motors may be located in or near the wheels of a vehicle and batteries may be located at various locations in the vehicle including the chassis or frame of the vehicle.
Fuel cell electric vehicles may have fuel cells for generating electrical energy located at various portions of a vehicle including the traditional front portion, rear portion or roof of the vehicle. Hydrogen fuel storage containers may also be located at any of these indicated locations.
Fuel cells of Fuel cell electric vehicles may generate heat during operation, and it may be necessary to control a temperature of such fuel cells to promote efficient operation. The control of the temperature of a fuel cell in a vehicle may be done via flow of ambient air over the fuel cell while the vehicle is in motion and/or via a liquid in fluid communication with an interior or exterior of the fuel cell and a radiator.
Thus, a need exists for systems and methods for thermally managing sources of electrical current.
The present invention provides in a first aspect, an electrical generation system for a vehicle which includes a vehicle having a generator for producing electric current. The vehicle has a cavity having a fan and a radiator. The radiator is in fluid communication with the generator to allow a temperature of the generator to be controlled. An air inlet passage extends through a wall of the vehicle and is configured to direct air from outside the vehicle toward an inlet side of the radiator to provide increased static pressure of the air to the inlet side of the radiator compared to an ambient pressure of the air when the vehicle is in motion.
The present invention provides in a second aspect, a method for controlling a temperature of an electrical generator including connecting an electrical generator in a vehicle to a radiator in the vehicle via a conduit to provide fluid communication between the electrical generator and the radiator to allow the radiator to cool the electrical generator via a flow of fluid between the electrical generator and the radiator. Air flows from an outside of the vehicle to an inlet side of the radiator through an air inlet passage of the vehicle to provide an increased static pressure of the air to the inlet side of the radiator compared to an ambient pressure of the air when the vehicle is in motion
The present invention provides in a third aspect, a system for controlling a temperature of an electrical generator which includes a radiator in a vehicle coupled to an electrical generator in the vehicle via a conduit to provide fluid communication between the electrical generator and the radiator to allow the radiator to cool the electrical generator via a flow of fluid between the electrical generator and the radiator. An air inlet passage of the vehicle is configured to direct air from an outside of the vehicle to an inlet side of the radiator to provide an increase static pressure of the air to the inlet side of the radiator compared to an ambient pressure of the air when the vehicle is in motion.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be readily understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The present invention will be discussed hereinafter in detail in terms of various exemplary embodiments according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be obvious, however, to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures are not shown in detail in order to avoid unnecessary obscuring of the present invention.
Thus, all the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Moreover, in the present description, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “rear”, “right”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.
In accordance with the principals of the present invention, systems and methods for thermally managing a source of electric current for a vehicle are provided. In an exemplary embodiment depicted in
Generator 40 may be a fuel cell stack or a battery, such as a lithium ion battery, for powering vehicle 10. For example, generator 40 may be coupled directly to electric motors connected to one or more driveshafts to cause a movement of the vehicle or generator 40 may be coupled to a storage device (e.g., a battery) on another portion (e.g., outside cavity 20) of vehicle 10 which may itself be connected to one or more driveshafts to cause the movement of the vehicle.
Fuel source 50 may include one or more hydrogen canisters connected to electrical generator 40 (e.g., a fuel cell stack) to provide hydrogen to the generator to allow a production of electrical energy by the generator.
A cover 100 may be connected to top side 30 and may include a central solid portion 105 bounded by side open portions 110 and a rear open portion 120 bounded by lateral edges of cover 100 contacting top side 30. The open portions (e.g., side open portions 110 and rear open portion 120) may allow airflow therethrough while the solid portion inhibits any such airflow. The airflow is desirable to allow cooling of the generator via heat rejection from a coolant inside a radiator to the ambient as described below.
One or more fans 42 (
For example, a fan 46 of fans 42 may be attached to radiator 70 to form a fan-radiator assembly 77 as depicted in
As depicted in
In another example, radiator assembly 77 or radiator 70 may be located at another location, instead of top side 30. For example, assembly 77 may be located in a location or a compartment of a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 10) where air flow may be directed through radiator 70 via conduits or other passages for directing air flow. Such assembly could be located away from a front of the vehicle (e.g., vehicle 10) such that air may be directed thereto utilizing conduits, openings, and/or louvers (e.g., louvers 250) to provide a lower kinetic pressure and higher static pressure to the assembly, relative to ambient conditions, when the vehicle is in motion.
In an example, as vehicle 10 moves forward, air may enter through side portions 110 of cover 100 (
As described above, air may flow into fan entry cavity 43 via inlets 41. Generator 40 is depicted with inlets 41 on longitudinal sides (relative to a longitudinal dimension of vehicle 10) thereof and a top inlet 44 to cavity 43 such that air could enter cavity 43 via such side inlets 41 or top inlet 44. Further, air could flow from an opening (not shown) at a front of cover 100, through an opening (not shown) at front of vehicle 10, or from side portions 110 between tanks of fuel source 50 (e.g., hydrogen storage tanks) to top inlet 44. In another example not depicted, a generator (e.g., generator 40) could have a top covering top inlet 44 such that air may only enter cavity 43 via inlets 41.
Further, vehicle 10 may include air entry side portions 210 on opposite lateral longitudinal sides 200, or walls, of top side 30 relative to the longitudinal dimension of vehicle 10. Lateral sides 200 may have inner surfaces 205 which bound cavity 20 such that a venting portion 210 may allow a flow of air from an ambient environment past an outer surface 207 of one of lateral sides 200 into cavity 20. Such air flow from the ambient environment through venting portion 210 may allow a control of a temperature of generator 40 as described above relative to air flow through cover 100.
In an example, venting portion 210 may include louvers 250 as depicted in
As depicted in
As indicated above, a motion of vehicle 10 may result in air flow through cover 100 and/or louvers 250 toward the fan of generator 40. Although louvers 250 are depicted on lateral sides 200 of top side 30, such louvers could also be located on other portions of vehicle 10 to provide fluid communication with cavity 20, such as cover 100. In the case of such louvers being utilized, the kinetic energy due to the movement of the vehicle may convert part of the kinetic energy of a high-speed air stream passing the moving vehicle into a static pressure in front (e.g. in fan entry cavity 41 or a specially designed plenum) of the fan(s) (e.g., fans 42). Thus, the fan inlet air static pressure and density may therefore increase in a situation comparing a non-moving vehicle to a moving vehicle and further in the case where louvers (e.g., louvers 250) are present versus the situation where no louvers (e.g., louvers 250) or other air kinetic pressure conversion openings on lateral sides 207 and/or top cover 100 of vehicle 10 would be present, for example. A fan would thus be required to direct less volumetric air flow through a radiator (e.g., radiator 70) in the situation of a moving vehicle having louvers (e.g., louvers 250) directing air through a side or the top of a vehicle (thereby increasing air pressure and density at an incoming side of such a fan) than in the absence of such louvers since the louvers provide an increased static pressure in front (e.g., in fan entry cavity 41 or specially designed plenum) of the fan relative to a lack of such louvers. Sizes and dimensions for such louvers (e.g., louvers 250) utilized for air collector and kinetic energy diffusion may be optimized based on application parameters such as vehicle moving speed, fan and radiator size and performance, and a layout of the system components described above, for example.
Further, additional open space in a front and rear of fan-radiator assembly 77 may enable higher air flow rate through the fan-radiator assembly and may increase a heat rejection from the radiator to the environment (i.e., allowing better fuel cell power performance). As indicated above, coolant flows from generator 40 where the coolant is heated, enters the radiator (e.g., via coolant connections 78), and passes (or rejects) the heat to the air flowing through the radiator. Denser air (e.g., air with a higher pressure) may enter cavity 20 as described above and may provide more heat transfer from the radiator per unit time when flowing through the radiator relative to less dense or lower pressure air which promotes efficiency of the radiator and generator.
Further for a given heat rejection demand by an electrical generator, (e.g., generator 40) a fan size can be reduced when the louvers (e.g., louvers 250), are included as described above compared to a lack of such louvers, because a needed volumetric flow is reduced due to increased inlet air density to maintain a same mass flow rate. The needed static pressure across the fan(s) (e.g., at fan location 42) may be reduced due to increased fan inlet static pressure. Thus, a size and the power of the fans may therefore be reduced in the situation where venting portion 210 (e.g., including louvers 250) is utilized.
While several aspects of the present invention have been described and depicted herein, alternative aspects may be effected by those skilled in the art to accomplish the same objectives. Accordingly, it is intended to cover all such alternative aspects as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/235,948 filed on Aug. 23, 2021, which is incorporated herein by referenced in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63235948 | Aug 2021 | US |
