Patent ID: 11894588
Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G  Y | IPC G  H

Claim 0:
1. A computer for a fuel cell propulsion system of a motor vehicle, the fuel cell propulsion system having a fuel cell stack, a coolant passage having a coolant section coupled to the fuel cell stack and flowing a coolant through the fuel cell stack, with the coolant passage further including an inlet positioned upstream of the coolant section and an outlet positioned downstream of the coolant section, at least one temperature sensor attached to the inlet or to the outlet and generating a temperature signal associated with a temperature of the coolant at the inlet or the outlet, at least one pressure sensor generating a pressure signal associated with a pressure drop of the coolant across the fuel cell stack, and a pump for pumping the coolant through the coolant passage to remove the waste heat from the fuel cell stack, the computer comprising:
at least one processor receiving the temperature signal from the at least one temperature sensor and the pressure signal from the at least one pressure sensor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions such that the at least one processor is programmed to:
determine a feedback correction based on the temperature of the coolant and the pressure drop of the coolant across the fuel cell stack, wherein the feedback correction is an adjustment calculated using a proportional integral controller to meet a target flow rate of the coolant; and
generate a pump command signal by summing the feedback correction with a nominal pump command, with the pump command signal actuating the pump to operate at a target pump speed for pumping the coolant at the target flow rate.