U.S. patent application number 12/526197 was filed with the patent office on 2010-07-15 for method for filling a hydrogen storage container.
Invention is credited to Robert Adler, Helmut Mayer, Markus Mayer, Georg Siebert, Martin Stehrlein.
Application Number | 20100175778 12/526197 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39259531 |
Filed Date | 2010-07-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100175778 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Adler; Robert ; et
al. |
July 15, 2010 |
METHOD FOR FILLING A HYDROGEN STORAGE CONTAINER
Abstract
Described is a method for filling a storage container with a
gaseous, pressurized medium, preferably with gaseous, pressurized
hydrogen. According to the invention, a determination of the
internal storage container pressure takes place at the onset of the
filling process by means of a pressure test impact and a filling
process with time-controlled pressure increase up to the desired
internal storage container pressure takes place subsequently as a
function of the established internal storage container
pressure.
Inventors: |
Adler; Robert; (Gerasdorf,
AT) ; Mayer; Helmut; (Rust im Tullnerfeld, AT)
; Mayer; Markus; (Vosendorf, AT) ; Siebert;
Georg; (Wien, AT) ; Stehrlein; Martin; (Rust,
AT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
The BOC Group, Inc.
575 MOUNTAIN AVENUE
MURRAY HILL
NJ
07974-2082
US
|
Family ID: |
39259531 |
Appl. No.: |
12/526197 |
Filed: |
February 12, 2008 |
PCT Filed: |
February 12, 2008 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2008/001060 |
371 Date: |
March 2, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
141/4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F17C 2250/0626 20130101;
Y02E 60/32 20130101; F17C 13/025 20130101; F17C 5/007 20130101;
F17C 5/06 20130101; F17C 2250/032 20130101; F17C 2223/0123
20130101; F17C 2225/0123 20130101; F17C 2225/036 20130101; F17C
2260/023 20130101; F17C 7/00 20130101; F17C 2223/036 20130101; F17C
2221/012 20130101; F17C 2270/0168 20130101; F17C 2270/0139
20130101; Y02E 60/321 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
141/4 |
International
Class: |
B65B 31/00 20060101
B65B031/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 13, 2007 |
DE |
10 2007 012 080.1 |
Claims
1. A method for filling a storage container with a gaseous,
pressurized medium, preferably with gaseous, pressurized hydrogen,
characterized in that a determination of the internal storage
container pressure takes place at the onset of the filling process
by means of a pressure test impact and that a filling process with
time-controlled pressure increase up to the desired internal
storage container pressure takes place subsequently as a function
of the established internal storage container pressure.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a method for filling a storage
container with a gaseous, pressurized medium, preferably with
gaseous, pressurized hydrogen.
[0002] Generic methods for filling a storage container are used,
for example, when filling vehicle storage containers or tanks,
respectively, with pressurized hydrogen. Vehicle tanks can be
filled up to pressures of 700 bar at 15.degree. by means of such
filling processes.
[0003] It is required hereby that the filling process can be
realized for the most diverse vehicle tank sizes without an
overfilling and/or overheating of the vehicle tank. Currently, the
hydrogen filling station communicates with the vehicle, which is to
be fueled, either via a communication cable, which, as a rule, is
integrated in the filling coupling or via an infrared
interface.
[0004] Due to the information received from the vehicle tank, which
is to be filled, such as pressure, temperature, etc., a special
controlled-flow control valve is actuated by means of a PLC
evaluation so as to be able to independently fuel different vehicle
tank sizes. The afore-mentioned controlled-flow control valve has
the object of holding the flow-through within a predetermined range
and to prevent the exceeding of a flow-through upper limit. The
control does not only serve for or determine, respectively, the
correction of the current mass flow rate, but furthermore initiates
a fueling interruption in the event that the flow-through is too
low or too high.
[0005] With presently realized filling stations for gaseous,
pressurized hydrogen, the hydrogen flow-through is limited to
maximally 100 g/s by means of a firmly adjusted choke. However,
with comparatively small vehicle tank sizes--this refers to storage
volumes comprising a capacity of less than 75 liters--the result
can be an overheating of the vehicle tank, which is to be filled,
due to the negative Joule-Thompson effect and due to the adiabatic
compression of the hydrogen. The filling of such vehicle tanks is
thus not possible with common filling stations for gaseous,
pressurized hydrogen.
[0006] However, due to the fact that the automobile industry
demands the independence of the vehicle tank design and thus also
of the vehicle tank size, the person of skill in the art is
assigned the object of specifying a generic method for filling a
storage container with a gaseous, pressurized medium, preferably
with hydrogen, which avoids the afore-mentioned disadvantages and
which provides for a filling of the most diverse vehicle tank
sizes, without leading to an overfilling and/or overheating of the
vehicle tank.
[0007] To solve this object, a generic method for filling a storage
container with a gaseous, pressurized medium, preferably with
hydrogen, is proposed, said method being characterized in that a
determination of the internal storage container pressure takes
place at the onset of the filling process by means of a pressure
test impact and that a filling process with time-controlled
pressure increase up to the desired internal storage container
pressure takes place subsequently as a function of the established
internal storage container pressure.
[0008] According to the invention, a determination of the internal
storage container pressure now takes place at or prior to the
onset, respectively, of the actual filling process. A so-called
pressure test impact, which on the one hand checks the
impermeability of the established mechanical connection between
coupling and vehicle, and which on the other hand, provides for a
clear determination of the internal storage container pressure, is
realized for this purpose after the fixing of the fueling coupling
to the vehicle, which is to be fueled.
[0009] As a function of the internal storage container pressure,
which is established in such a manner, a filling process with
time-controlled pressure increase up to the desired internal
storage container pressure is then realized. For this purpose, the
final pressure is computed as a function of the parameters storage
container, temperature, gas temperature, compressibility and
Joule-Thompson effect, after establishing the starting pressure.
The fueling or filling process, respectively, is finished when this
computed final pressure or the maximum operating pressure, which is
permissible for the maximum operating temperature, of the storage
container, which is to be fueled, has been reached.
[0010] The method according to the invention for filling a storage
container with a gaseous, pressurized medium, preferably with
hydrogen, effectively avoids an overfilling and/or overheating of
the storage container, which is to be filled, independent on the
storage volume thereof.
[0011] The method according to the invention for filling a storage
container furthermore encompasses the advantage that, due to the
realized, controlled pressure increase, the storage container,
which is to be filled, can accommodate more mass of medium, which
is to be stored, because the temperature increase can be controlled
and is the same for each storage container size due to the method
according to the invention. The complicated control engineering,
which has been required until now, as well as the afore-mentioned
components, such as infrared interface, etc., are no longer
necessary.
[0012] The fact that the filling or fueling process, respectively,
is less extensive, because the connection of a communication cable,
which "connects" the vehicle, which is to be fueled, to the filling
station, which was required up to now, represents further
advantages of the method according to the invention for filling a
storage container with a gaseous, pressurized medium; this is
advantageous in particular when the filling procedure is performed
by unqualified personnel. The disadvantages connected with the
infrared interfaces, which were used up to now, such as
interruption due to an incident, for example, can be avoided from
now on.
[0013] It is emphasized that the method according to the invention
for filling a storage container with a gaseous, pressurized medium
is not limited to the filling of a storage container with gaseous,
pressurized hydrogen. Instead, the method according to the
invention can be used in all media, for which a controlled pressure
increase is desired or required during the filling process.
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