Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Michael Leykauf

Oliver Maier

Rainer Pechtold

Steven R Falta

Donald H Keskula

Daniel C Di Fiore

Matthew A Lang

Joseph Nicholas Lovria

Ingo Hermann

A system and method for regulating the pressure within a volume between a pressure regulator and an injector that injects hydrogen gas into the anode side of a fuel cell stack. The method includes delaying a copy of the a pulsed signal that controls the opening and closing of the injector a predetermined period of time and provides a bias signal from a look-up table that is determined by a desired average mass flow of the hydrogen gas flow to the fuel cell stack and the pressure at an upstream location of the hydrogen gas flow from the pressure regulator. The method selects the bias signal as a pressure regulator control signal that controls the pressure regulator when the delayed pulse injector signal is high and selects an arbitrary value at or near zero as the pressure regulator control signal when a delayed pulse injector is low.

Advanced controls algorithm for an electronic pressure regulator system with pulsed disturbances

Systems and methods to diagnose valve leakage in a vehicle storing gaseous fuel in two or more vessels. A valve regulating the flow of the gaseous fuel from one of the vessels is closed and reopened, while the other vessels are providing gaseous fuel during a full run. The pressure spike from reopening the valve is analyzed to determine the rate of pressure change. Pressure spikes having a rate of change lower than a threshold parameter are indicative of a leaking valve.

Systems and methods to diagnose valve leakage in a vehicle

A system and method for controlling hydrogen gas flow to an anode side of a fuel cell stack using a pressure regulator in the event that an injector that normally injects the hydrogen gas into the fuel cell stack has failed in a stuck open position. During normal operation, the control of the injector is determined based on the pressure of an anode sub-system and the position of the pressure regulator is determined based on a supply pressure between the pressure regulator and the injector. If it is determined that the injector is stuck in an open position, then the position of the pressure regulator is controlled to the anode pressure instead of the supply pressure. If the pressure regulator is an electrical pressure regulator, then it is pulsed to mimic normal system operation. Alternately, another valve, such as a shut-off valve, can be employed to provide the flow pulsing.

Fuel cell operation with a failed open injector

A method and system for automatically calibrating a pressure sensor in a hydrogen storage system for a fuel cell vehicle. A low-range pressure sensor in the fuel cell system, which has much greater accuracy at low pressure readings, is used to calibrate a high-range pressure sensor in the hydrogen storage system. This calibration can only be done when a pressure regulator situated between the two sensors is in a fully open position. In such a condition, the high-range sensor can be calibrated to the value of the low-range sensor, thus improving the accuracy of the high-range sensor's readings. The calibration can be a simple setting of the high-range sensor to the value of the low-range sensor under static conditions, or the calibration can be done while gas is flowing from the hydrogen storage system to the fuel cell by accounting for the pressure drop between the two sensors.

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Darmstadt, Germany

Michael Leykauf