US Patent Application 17804117. CONTROLLING PEMFC STACK FLOODING simplified abstract
Contents
CONTROLLING PEMFC STACK FLOODING
Organization Name
Inventor(s)
David Ginter of Peoria IL (US)
David T. Montgomery of Edelstein IL (US)
CONTROLLING PEMFC STACK FLOODING - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17804117 titled 'CONTROLLING PEMFC STACK FLOODING
Simplified Explanation
The patent application describes a system for detecting the humidity level at the cathode of a fuel cell stack and determining the probability of flooding based on this humidity level. The system includes a stack of PEMFCs (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells), each with an exhaust, voltage detector, humidity detector, and controller.
- The system measures the voltage at the anode of the PEMFCs and determines the humidity level at the exhaust.
- Based on the voltage and humidity level, the controller takes actions to prevent flooding of the fuel cell stack.
- These actions may include reducing the load on the PEMFC, increasing the air flow at the cathode, decreasing the inlet humidity, or increasing the temperature of the PEMFCs.
Original Abstract Submitted
A system for detecting humidity level at a cathode of a fuel cell stack including one or more PEMFCs and determining a flooding probability of the stack based on the humidity level, includes a stack including a plurality of PEMFCs, each PEMFC including an exhaust; voltage detector; humidity detector; and controller. The controller may be configured to: receive a voltage as measured at an anode of one or more of the PEMFCs with the voltage detector; determine a humidity level at the exhaust of the one or more of the PEMFCs; and implement one or more actions based on the voltage and the humidity level, the actions including: reduce a load on the PEMFC; increase an air flow at a cathode of the one or more PEMFCs; decrease an inlet humidity at an inlet to the one or more PEMFCs; or increase a temperature of the one or more PEMFCs.
