Coolant fan control for fuel cell systems

摘要

A control system and method for operating a cooling fan in a coolant system of fuel cell power plant having a high temperature coolant loop and a low temperature coolant loop. The fan controller generates a fan control signal based on a first control signal from the high temperature coolant loop and a second control signal from the low temperature coolant loop. The first control signal is a function of the waste heat energy in the high temperature coolant loop, and the second control signal is a function of the temperature in the low temperature coolant loop. The fan control signal may also be generated based on a third control signal which is a function of a localized ambient temperature such as the under hood temperature of a vehicle. The control system allows operation of a single coolant fan assembly based on a plurality of independent control signals associated with various coolant subsystems in the fuel cell power plant.