Compressed gas tank arrangement for a combustion machine

Abstract

A vehicle, system, and method include a first tank configured to contain compressed gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, and a second tank fluidly couplable to the first tank and an internal combustion engine, the second tank configured to store the gaseous fuel from the first tank in a communal cavity with a non-combustible liquid, such as water, without a bladder or physical separation barrier therebetween, and to selectively deliver the gaseous fuel via a first outlet, and the non-combustible liquid via a second outlet, to the internal combustion engine. A turbine may be disposed between the first and second tanks. One or more condensers may condense water from engine exhaust and/or an air conditioning system and pump the liquid water into the second tank. Pressure within the second tank may be controlled via fuel supplied by the first tank and/or liquid supplied via the condensers and pump.

Claims

1. A vehicle system comprising: a first tank configured to contain compressed gaseous fuel; a second tank fluidly couplable to the first tank and an internal combustion engine, the second tank configured to store gaseous fuel from the first tank in a communal cavity with a non-combustible liquid, and to selectively deliver the gaseous fuel via a first outlet, and the non-combustible liquid via a second outlet, to the internal combustion engine; and a turbine disposed within a fluid path between the first tank and the second tank.

2. The vehicle system of claim 1 further comprising a condenser having an inlet coupled to an exhaust path of the internal combustion engine and an outlet coupled to the second tank.

3. The vehicle system of claim 2 further comprising a pump disposed in a fluid path between the condenser and the second tank.

4. The vehicle system of claim 3 further comprising an air conditioning condenser fluidly coupled to the pump.

5. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the first tank is configured for a maximum internal pressure between 350 bar and 750 bar, and the second tank is configured for a maximum internal pressure between 30 bar and 350 bar.

6. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the second tank is configured to deliver gaseous fuel with a pressure between 10 bar and 30 bar to the internal combustion engine.

7. The vehicle system of claim 1 wherein the second tank comprises a gas inlet with an associated gas inlet valve, a gas outlet with an associated gas outlet valve, a liquid inlet with an associated liquid inlet valve, and a liquid outlet with an associated liquid outlet valve.

8. The vehicle system of claim 1 further comprising a controller programmed to control a valve disposed between the first tank and the second tank to pressurize the second tank using the compressed gaseous fuel from the first tank to a pressure above the higher of a minimum fuel injection pressure and a minimum liquid injection pressure for the internal combustion engine.

9. A method for controlling a vehicle having in internal combustion engine, the method comprising, by a controller: controlling flow of pressurized gaseous fuel from a first tank to a turbine to drive the turbine, and from an outlet of the turbine to at least one of a second tank and the internal combustion engine, the second tank containing gaseous fuel and an incombustible liquid within a common cavity without a physical barrier therebetween; supplying the incombustible liquid from an exhaust of the internal combustion engine to the second tank; and controlling injection of the gaseous fuel and the incombustible liquid from the second tank to the internal combustion engine.

10. The method according to claim 9 further comprising increasing the flow of pressurized gaseous fuel from the first tank when pressure within the second tank falls below a corresponding threshold.

11. The method according to claim 10 further comprising controlling a pump to supply the incombustible liquid from the exhaust to the second tank.

12. The method according to claim 11 wherein the pump is controlled in response to pressure within the second tank.

13. The method according to claim 9 further comprising condensing the incombustible liquid from the exhaust of the internal combustion engine.

14. A vehicle comprising: an internal combustion engine; a first fuel tank configured to contain pressurized gaseous fuel; a second fuel tank fluidly coupled to the first fuel tank and configured to contain the gaseous fuel and a non-combustible liquid within a communal cavity without a physical separation barrier therebetween; a turbine disposed between an outlet of the first fuel tank and an inlet of the second fuel tank and configured to be driven by pressurized gaseous fuel exiting the first fuel tank; a condenser coupled to an exhaust flow from the internal combustion engine and having an outlet coupled to an inlet of the second fuel tank; and a controller programmed to control flow of the pressurized gaseous fuel from the first fuel tank to at least one of the second fuel tank and the internal combustion engine, to control flow of the incombustible liquid from the condenser to an input of the second fuel tank, and to control flow of the incombustible liquid from an outlet of the second fuel tank to an inlet of the internal combustion engine.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 further comprising an air conditioning condenser, wherein an output of the air conditioning condenser is coupled to an input of the second fuel tank.

16. The vehicle of claim 14 further comprising a pump disposed between the condenser coupled to the exhaust flow and the inlet of the second fuel tank.

17. The vehicle of claim 16 wherein the controller is further programmed to control the pump to pump the incombustible liquid into the second fuel tank to maintain pressure within the second fuel tank above an associated minimum pressure.

18. The vehicle of claim 17 wherein the controller is further programmed to control the flow of the pressurized gaseous fuel from the first fuel tank to the second fuel tank to maintain pressure within the second fuel tank above the associated minimum pressure.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows schematically a representative engine arrangement according to the disclosure.

(2) FIG. 2 shows schematically a representative vehicle according to the disclosure.

(3) FIG. 3 shows schematically, in the form of a flow diagram, operation of a system or method according to the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) As required, detailed embodiments of the claimed subject matter are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely representative and may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the claimed subject matter.

(5) FIG. 1 shows schematically an engine arrangement 1 according to a representative configuration of the claimed subject matter. The engine arrangement 1 comprises a gas tank arrangement 2, an internal combustion engine 3, a condenser 4, and optionally an air conditioning condenser 5 connected to an air conditioning system (not shown). The gas tank arrangement 2 comprises a first tank 6 and a second tank 7.

(6) The first tank has a gas inlet with an inlet valve 11 connected to a filler connector 12. In addition, the first tank 6 has a gas outlet which is fluidly connected via a flow channel 8 to a gas inlet 13 of the second tank 7. The first tank 6 and/or the flow channel 8 comprises a valve 9 and is fluidly connected to a gas turbine 10 for obtaining energy. The first tank 6 is configured for storing a gas 25, such as hydrogen, with a maximum pressure of between 350 bar and 750 bar.

(7) The second tank 7 comprises a gas inlet 13 and a gas outlet 13 for routing gas into the tank and delivering gas from the tank. The gas inlet or gas outlet 13 is shown as one element in FIG. 1. It may however also be two elements which are configured and arranged separately from one another. The gas inlet and/or the gas outlet 13 is arranged in a vertically upper region of the second tank 7. The second tank 7 is designed to store a gas, for example hydrogen, with a maximum pressure between 30 bar and 350 bar.

(8) The second tank 7 furthermore comprises a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet 15, which in the variant shown are designed as one element. In principle, a liquid inlet with an inlet valve, and a separate liquid outlet with an outlet valve, may also be provided. The liquid inlet and/or liquid outlet 15 is arranged in a vertically lower region of the second tank 7. Advantageously, the gas inlet and/or gas outlet 13 is arranged vertically above the liquid inlet and/or a liquid outlet 15. In FIG. 1, the gas, such as hydrogen, stored in the second tank 7 is designated with reference sign 25, and the liquid, such as water, stored in the second tank 7 is designated with reference sign 24. The gas stored in the first tank 6 is also designated with reference sign 25.

(9) The liquid outlet 15 is connected to a flow channel 20 which comprises a valve 19 and is fluidly connected to the internal combustion engine 3. The liquid 24 may be selectively injected into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine 3 to reduce or eliminate knocking during combustion. The pressure for the water injection may be controlled by means of the gas 25 stored in the second tank 7, and made available such that the water is supplied with a pressure above an established minimum or desired pressure.

(10) Furthermore, gaseous fuel, for example hydrogen, is supplied to the internal combustion engine 3 via a flow channel 21, which fluidly connects the second tank 7 to the internal combustion engine 3 and may include a valve 14. The gaseous fuel is supplied to the internal combustion engine 3 with a pressure within a desired pressure range, for example with an operating pressure between 10 bar and 30 bar.

(11) The internal combustion engine 3 is connected to an exhaust gas line 23 in which the exhaust gas is discharged. The exhaust gas line 23 comprises a condenser 4 in which condensation water is extracted from the exhaust gas. The water collected by means of the condenser 4 is supplied to the fluid inlet 15 of the second tank 7 via a flow channel 26 which preferably comprises a valve 17. For this, in the variant shown, a pump, such as a water pump 16, is arranged between the condenser 4 and the fluid inlet 15. In the variant shown, the pump 16 is arranged downstream of the valve 17.

(12) The engine arrangement 1 shown in FIG. 1 is furthermore fluidly connected to a condenser 5 which can be connected to an air conditioning system. A flow channel 22 with a valve 18 is arranged between the condenser 5 and the fluid inlet 15 of the second tank 7. By means of the flow channel 22, condensation water collected in the condenser 5 is supplied to the second tank 7. The flow channel 22 is connected to the liquid pump 16.

(13) The system illustrated in FIG. 1 may include an electronic control module, controller, and or processor 40 that may be programmed to receive inputs from various sensors and be programmed to control various actuators to control operation of the system. Two or more electronic modules, controllers, and/or processors 40 may communicate via one or more vehicle networks. The vehicle network may include a plurality of channels for communication. One channel of the vehicle network may be a serial bus such as a Controller Area Network (CAN). One of the channels of the vehicle network may include an Ethernet network defined by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802 family of standards. Additional channels of the vehicle network may include discrete connections between modules or controllers and associated actuators and sensors and may include power signals from a vehicle battery. Different signals may be transferred over different channels of the vehicle network. For example, video signals may be transferred over a high-speed channel (e.g., Ethernet) while control signals may be transferred over CAN or dedicated connections. The vehicle network may include any hardware and software components that aid in transferring signals and data between modules. The vehicle network is not shown in FIG. 1 but it may be implied that the vehicle network may connect to any electronic module, controller, or processor that is present in a vehicle system. A vehicle system controller (40) may coordinate the operation of the various components including other modules, controllers, and processors. As referred to in this disclosure, a controller or processor may refer to one or more controllers, processors, or modules that may perform distributed processing of a particular function or task. The controllers, processors, or modules may be in communication with one or more other controllers, processors, and/or modules to coordinate tasks or functions. However, the simplified description of various tasks or functions (or portions thereof) described in this disclosure may be performed by different controllers, processors, and/or modules that do not communicate or coordinate with one another as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.

(14) In particular, controller 40 may be programed to control the operation of one or more valves 9, 11, 14, 17, 18, and 19 to control the flow of pressurized gaseous fuel from first fuel tank 6 to second fuel tank 7 and to internal combustion engine 3. Similarly, controller 40 may be programmed to control the operation of one or more valves to control the flow of an incombustible liquid 24 from condenser 4 into second fuel tank 7, as well as controlling injection of the incombustible fluid 24 into internal combustion engine 3 to reduce or eliminate engine knock, for example. Controller 40 may also control operation of internal combustion engine 3, turbine 10, and pump 16. In various configurations, controller 40 is programmed to control the flow of pressurized gaseous fuel from first tank 6 into second tank 7 to maintain pressure within second tank 7 above a corresponding minimum threshold. Similarly, controller 40 may be programmed to control the flow of incombustible liquid from exhaust flow condenser 4 and/or air conditioning condenser 5 into second tank 7 to maintain pressure within second tank 7 above the corresponding minimum threshold suitable for injection of the liquid 24 and/or gaseous fuel 25 into internal combustion engine 3. Flow control may be provided by controlling one or more valves 9, 11, 14, 17, 18, 19, pump 16, turbine 10 or various other components not specifically illustrated.

(15) FIG. 2 shows schematically a representative vehicle configuration according to the disclosure, for example a motor vehicle 27. The motor vehicle 27 comprises an engine arrangement 1 as illustrated and described with reference to FIG. 1, and an air conditioning system 28 with a condenser 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the condenser 5 is fluidly connected to the second tank 7 of the engine arrangement 1. Instead of or in addition to the air conditioning system 28, the vehicle 27 may also comprise other or further elements which produce condensation water during operation. These elements, like the air conditioning system 28 shown, may be fluidly connected to the engine arrangement 1 so that the condensation water can be supplied to the second tank 7.

(16) Control logic or functions performed by or distributed among one or more controllers, modules, processors, etc. is generally represented in the diagram of FIG. 3. This illustration provides a representative control strategy, algorithm, and/or logic that may be implemented using one or more processing strategies such as event-driven, interrupt-driven, multi-tasking, multi-threading, and the like. As such, various steps or functions illustrated may be performed in the sequence illustrated, in another sequence, in parallel, or in some cases omitted. Although not always explicitly illustrated, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that one or more of the illustrated steps or functions may be repeatedly performed individually and/or in combination. Similarly, the order of processing is not necessarily required to achieve the features and advantages of the claimed subject matter as described herein, but is provided for ease of illustration and description. The control logic may be implemented primarily in software executed by a microprocessor-based vehicle, engine, and/or powertrain controllers, generally represented by controller 40 of FIG. 1. Of course, the control logic may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware in one or more controllers depending upon the particular application. When implemented in software, the control logic may be provided in one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage devices or media having stored data representing code or instructions executed by a computer to control the vehicle or its subsystems. The computer-readable storage devices or media may include one or more of a number of known physical devices which utilize solid state, electric, magnetic, and/or optical storage to keep executable instructions and associated calibration information, operating variables, and the like.

(17) FIG. 3 shows schematically, in the form of a flow diagram, a controller implemented method according to the disclosure for operating a gas tank arrangement 2 and an engine arrangement 1. In a first step 31, the first tank 6 is filled with a gaseous fuel, e.g. hydrogen, via the filler connector 12 and the valve 11.

(18) In a next step 32, gaseous fuel 25 is supplied to the second tank 7 by means of the first tank 6, i.e. from the first tank 6. Here, the second tank 7 is may be filled with gaseous fuel, e.g. hydrogen, with a pressure of at least 10 bar, for example, such as with a pressure between 30 bar and 350 bar. The second tank 7 is filled by means of the flow channel 8 and valve 9 via the gas inlet 13. Here, the pressure difference between the first tank 6 and the second tank 7 is advantageously used to obtain energy by means of the gas turbine 10.

(19) In a third step 33, gaseous fuel is supplied from the second tank 7 to a combustion machine, for example an internal combustion engine 3 operated with hydrogen. The fuel, e.g. hydrogen, is supplied to the combustion machine with an established operating pressure within an established pressure range, e.g. with a pressure between 10 bar and 3 bar.

(20) In step 34, liquid, e.g. water, which is recovered at least partially during operation of the combustion machine 3, for example by condensation, is conducted to the second tank 7. As FIG. 1 shows, water vapor may be condensed in the condenser 4 before moving through the flow channel 26 via operation of the pump 16. In addition, liquid, e.g. condensation water, may be supplied to the second tank 7 from further components, e.g. a condenser of an air conditioning system 5, as shown in FIG. 1.

(21) In a next step 35, liquid is supplied from the second tank 7 to the combustion machine 3. The gaseous fuel 25 present in the second tank 7 may be used to pressurize the liquid 24 also present in the tank. The pressure may be controlled to a desired level that may be above an associated minimum pressure necessary for injection of the liquid into the combustion machine 3. Injection of water from the second tank 7 to the combustion machine 3 may be used to control the combustion process to reduce knock, for example.

(22) The processes, methods, or algorithms disclosed herein can be deliverable to/implemented by a processing device, controller, or computer, which can include any existing programmable electronic control unit or dedicated electronic control unit. Similarly, the processes, methods, or algorithms can be stored as data and instructions executable by a controller or computer in many forms including, but not limited to, information stored on various types of non-transitory storage media including information permanently stored on non-writable storage media such as ROM devices and information alterably stored on writeable storage media such as optical, magnetic, or solid state media. The processes, methods, or algorithms can also be implemented in a software executable object. Alternatively, the processes, methods, or algorithms can be embodied in whole or in part using suitable hardware components, such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), state machines, controllers or other hardware components or devices, or a combination of hardware, software, and firmware components

(23) While representative embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the claimed subject matter. The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments that may not be specifically illustrated or described.