Research and Analysis on Cold Start of Fuel Cell Bus in Low Temperature Environment

Abstract

Based on the characteristics of the components of the fuel cell bus, and on the premise of satisfying the best matching of fuel cell system, power cell system, driving system and transmission system, the purging control strategy of fuel cell system is designed. Taking the fuel cell system as the control variable, the conditions of the cold start heating energy source switching and the target temperature of the fuel cell system starting are determined by the total energy demand and the power cell energy. The integrated thermal management system and the purging control strategy of the fuel cell system proposed in this paper can meet the needs of the fast start of the fuel cell bus at -30°C. Through the energy compensation in the low temperature environment, the scheme can provide the heating energy needed for the start-up of the fuel cell system in time and meet the requirements of constant heating power of the fuel cell. The experimental results show that the output power of the fuel cell is from 42% to 75% of the rated power, and the waste heat utilization accounts for 32% - 100% of the total power.

A Review of Fuel Cell Powertrains for Long-Haul Heavy-Duty Vehicles: Technology, Hydrogen, Energy and Thermal Management Solutions

“…Start current variation strategy is thus a trade-off between improving heat generation while minimising more ice formation due to the FC's running and respecting the upper bound of the onboard energy storage due to surplus power generation. Saturation of the CL due to excessive water formation and its freezing from this strategy before the temperature reaches melting point can also lead to a failed cold start [288,289].…”

“…FC cold start using active voltage control has been found to be more effective and efficient than the external heating technique [289]. • Dry purge shut down: Purging of residual water just after the previous shut-down using air or hydrogen can be carried out to minimise ice formation and thus promote faster cold starts [288,291].…”