Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Daniel I Harris

Gary M Robb

Steven G Goebel

Patrick Frost

Joseph Nicholas Lovria

Bruce Jeffrey Clingerman

Balasubramanian Lakshmanan

John P Salvador

Daniel C Di Fiore

Derek R Lebzelter

Michael D Cartwright

Matthew A Lang

Daniel T Folmsbee

William Henry Pettit

Glenn William Skala

Manish Sinha

Abdullah Basar Alp

Steven D Burch

Thomas W Tighe

David A Arthur

Pinkhas A Rapaport

Matthew C Kirklin

Victor W Logan

Sriram Ganapathy

Aaron R Rogahn

Akbar Chowdhury

Kiran Mallavarapu

Jon R Sienkowski

Swaminatha P Kumaraguru

Edward George Himes

James K Leary

Robert J Moses

Dieter Kaimann

A system and method for limiting voltage cycling of a fuel cell stack during a stand-by mode by providing power from a battery to the stack while the stack is turned off. The method includes monitoring the voltage of each of the fuel cells in the fuel cell stack and determining an average cell voltage of the fuel cells in the fuel cell stack. The method also determines whether the average cell voltage of the fuel cells in the fuel cell stack has fallen below a predetermined voltage value and, if so, applies a voltage potential to the fuel cell stack to increase the average cell voltage above the predetermined voltage value.

Powering a fuel cell stack during standby

A method for purging water from a fuel cell stack at fuel cell system shutdown. The method includes determining a stack water generation request to control the rate of drying of membranes in the stack and determining a cathode catalytic heating water generation request. A maximum charge a battery in the fuel cell system can accept is also determined. An ancillary power request for powering components of the fuel cell system during shutdown is determined. The method allocates how much of the water generation request will be fulfilled by operating the fuel cell stack to charge the battery and to provide the power needed for the ancillary power request, and how much of the water generation request will be fulfilled by cathode catalytic heating that produces water and heat in a cathode side of the fuel cell stack.

Subzero ambient shutdown purge operating strategy for PEM fuel cell system

A fuel cell system is disclosed with a fuel cell stack having a plurality of fuel cells, the fuel cell stack including an anode supply manifold and an anode exhaust manifold, a sensor for measuring at least one of an environmental condition affecting the fuel cell stack and a characteristic of the fuel cell stack, wherein the sensor generates a sensor signal representing the measurement of the sensor; and a processor for receiving the sensor signal, analyzing the sensor signal, and controlling a flow rate of a fluid flowing into the anode supply manifold based upon the analysis of the sensor signal.

Variable anode flow rate for fuel cell vehicle start-up

Methods and systems for enhancing the performance of fuel cells in fuel cell vehicles. Some embodiments comprise a current control module for controlling the application of a load to the fuel cell and a voltage monitoring module for monitoring one or more voltages within the fuel cell. The current control module may be configured to apply a delay period before applying a load to the fuel cell after the fuel cell has reached an open circuit voltage. In other embodiments, a fixed delay period may be applied before applying a load to the fuel cell after the fuel cell has reached an open circuit voltage or, for example, an incremental set of delay periods that increase as measured temperature decreases.

Systems and methods for enhancing fuel cell vehicle startup

A system and method for reducing the frequency of stack stand-by mode events, if necessary, as a fuel cell stack ages and experiences lower performance. The method determines an irreversible voltage loss of the fuel cell stack at predetermined time intervals and determines a stack voltage degradation variable based on the irreversible voltage loss. The method also determines if the stack voltage degradation variable indicates that the fuel cell stack will not meet predetermined stack end-of-life voltage requirements and calculates a maximum allowed voltage degradation rate of the fuel cell stack. The method calculates a maximum number of stand-by mode events per unit time that can be allowed to prevent the stack from exceeding the maximum allowed degradation rate and controls the number of stand-by mode events based on the calculated maximum number of stand-by mode events.

Adaptive limitation of standby mode to enhance fuel cell system life

A method including shutting down an electrochemical fuel cell stack wherein anode pressure is controlled according to a stack discharge fuel consumption estimate.

Fuel cell stack shutdown operation controlling anode pressure using discharge fuel consumption estimate

A fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack having a plurality of fuel cells, the fuel cell stack including an anode supply manifold and an anode exhaust manifold, a first valve in fluid communication with at least one of the anode supply manifold and the anode exhaust manifold, wherein the first valve includes an inlet for receiving a fluid flow and an outlet for exhausting a fluid, a sensor for measuring at least a fluid pressure at the inlet and the outlet of the first valve, wherein the sensor generates a sensor signal representing the pressure measurement, and a processor for receiving the sensor signal, analyzing the sensor signal, and determining a composition of a fluid in the fuel cell system based upon the analysis of the sensor signal.

System and method for observing anode fluid composition during fuel cell start-up

A fuel cell system is disclosed with a fuel cell stack having a plurality of fuel cells, the fuel cell stack including an external electrical circuit adapted to control current from the fuel cell stack, a sensor for measuring at least one of an environmental condition affecting the fuel cell stack and a characteristic of the fuel cell stack, wherein the sensor generates a sensor signal representing a measurement of the sensor, and a processor for receiving the sensor signal, analyzing the sensor signal, and controlling an adaptive load applied to the external electrical circuit based upon the analysis of the sensor signal.

Adaptive loading of a fuel cell

A method for controlling cathode air flow at system start-up by controlling a stack by-pass valve. The method includes determining a concentration of hydrogen in a cathode side of the fuel cell stack. The method also includes determining a volumetric flow rate through a cathode compressor, determining a volumetric flow rate through the cathode side and determining a fraction of volumetric flow rate through the cathode side to the total flow through the compressor. The method determines a modeled hydrogen outlet concentration from the fuel cell stack based on the volumetric flow rate through the compressor, the fraction of volumetric flow rate through the compressor to the total flow through the compressor and the concentration of hydrogen in the cathode side. The method uses a desired fraction of volumetric flow rate through the cathode side and the total flow through the compressor to determine the position of the by-pass valve.

Optimized cathode fill strategy for fuel cell

A system and method for preventing anode reactant starvation. The system includes a hydrogen source, an anode bleed valve, and a cell voltage monitor. The system also includes an anode sub-system pressure sensor and a controller configured to control the anode sub-system. The controller determines the average cell voltage and estimates the hydrogen molar fraction and/or nitrogen molar fraction in the anode sub-system. The controller also receives measurement data from the cell voltage monitor and the pressure sensor, and determines whether there is a decrease in the minimum cell voltage in response to changes in the anode pressure. If the controller detects a decrease in the minimum cell voltage in response to changes in the anode pressure, the controller corrects for the decrease by increasing anode pressure and/or by decreasing the molar fraction of nitrogen in the anode sub-system.

Diagnosis and remediation of low anode hydrogen partial pressure in a PEM fuel cell system

A system for determining the concentration of hydrogen in an anode sub-system of a fuel cell system. The fuel cell system includes at least one fuel cell, an anode inlet, an anode outlet, an anode recirculation line, a source of hydrogen gas and an injector for injecting the hydrogen gas. First and second acoustic sensors are provided in the anode recirculation line and are spaced a known distance from each other. A controller that is responsive to the output signals from the first and second acoustic sensors determines the concentration of hydrogen gas in the anode recirculation line based on the time between when the controller receives the sensor signal from the first sensor and receives the sensor signal from the second sensor.

Anode gas composition utilizing H2 injection pressure wave propagation rates

A system and method for quickly heating a fuel cell stack at fuel cell system start-up. The fuel cell system includes a three-way valve positioned in the anode exhaust that selectively directs the anode exhaust gases to the cathode input of the fuel cell stack so that hydrogen in the anode exhaust gas can be used to heat the fuel cell stack. During normal operation when the fuel cell stack is at the desired temperature, the three-way valve in the anode exhaust can be used to bleed nitrogen to the cathode exhaust.

Methods and controls for hydrogen to cathode inlet of a fuel cell system

A method for filling a fuel cell system with a fuel during start-up is disclosed, the method including the steps of providing a fuel cell stack having a plurality of fuels cells, each fuel cell having an active area, the fuel cell stack including an anode supply manifold and an anode exhaust manifold, the anode supply manifold and in fluid communication with a source of fuel; providing an anode sub-system in fluid communication with an anode side of the fuel cell stack; and supplying the fuel to the fuel cell stack substantially uniformly and substantially simultaneously to compress any fluids in the fuel cell stack into a volume between an end of each active area adjacent to the anode exhaust manifold and an outlet of the anode sub-system.

Compression fill of anode of a fuel cell system

A method for reducing the probability of an air/hydrogen front in a fuel cell stack is disclosed that includes closing anode valves for an anode side of the fuel cell stack to permit a desired quantity of hydrogen to be left in the anode side upon shutdown and determining a schedule to inject hydrogen during the time the fuel cell stack is shutdown. The pressure on an anode input line is determined and a discrete amount of hydrogen is injected into the anode side of the stack according to the determined schedule by opening anode input line valves based on the determined pressure along the anode input line so as to inject the hydrogen into the anode side of the stack.

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Honeoye Falls, NY, United States of America

Daniel I Harris