Audi Ag

Doosan Fuel Cell America, Inc.

Hyaxiom, Inc.

Utc Power Corporation

Doosan Fuel Cell Americak, Inc.

Timothy William Patterson, Jr

Robert Mason Darling

Jonathan Daniel O'Neill

Michael L Perry

Thomas Harry Madden

Christopher John Carnevale

Paravastu Badrinarayanan

Eric O'Brien

Kristoffer H Ridgeway

Chandrasekhar V Nori

Carl Anthony Reiser

Tommy Skiba

Glenn Michael Allen

Eric Livaich

Joshua Preston

Kevin A Arpin

Ke Gong

Patrick Michael Brown

Roopnarine Sukhram

Dante Misseri

Jonathan O'Neil

An illustrative example hydrogen concentration sensor includes a hydrogen chamber configured to isolate hydrogen within the hydrogen chamber from gas outside the hydrogen chamber. A hydrogen evolving electrode is configured to generate pure hydrogen within the hydrogen chamber. A reference electrode is situated to be exposed to pure hydrogen within the hydrogen chamber. A detection electrode associated with the reference electrode is situated to be exposed to gas outside the hydrogen chamber. The detection electrode is configured to provide an indication of a concentration of hydrogen in the gas outside the hydrogen chamber.

Hydrogen concentration sensor

An illustrative example fuel cell component includes a plate with a plurality of flow channels in at least one side of the plate. Each of the flow channels has a length between an inlet and an outlet. Each of the flow channels has a width and a depth, which are transverse to the length. At least some of the flow channels include a portion near the inlet and the width or the depth of the portion is greater than the width or depth along a majority of the length of those flow channels.

Fuel cell component including scale-accommodating flow channels

An illustrative example fuel cell assembly includes at least one cooler and a plurality of fuel cells each having an anode and a cathode. Each of the anodes includes an anode flow plate configured to allow fuel to flow through the anode. The anode flow plates have a respective flow resistance that varies among at least some of the anodes based on a distance between the corresponding anode and the cooler.

Fuel cell assembly including varied flow resistance

An illustrative example fuel cell manifold assembly includes a metal manifold pan. A polymer material liner that is self-supporting includes a primary wall situated adjacent an interior of the manifold pan. The liner has a channel around a periphery of the liner and a portion of the manifold is received in the channel. A reactant conduit adapter is received through respective openings in the manifold pan and the liner. The reactant conduit adaptor includes a flange that is received against an interior surface on the primary wall of the liner with an interface between the flange and the interior surface being sealed. Another portion of the reactant conduit adaptor is adjacent an exterior of the manifold pan that faces in an opposite direction from the interior surface on the primary wall.

Fuel cell manifold assembly including a self-supporting polymer material liner

An illustrated example method of making a porous carbon composite includes mixing a carbon-based material, a binder and pore former particles to establish a mixture. The mixture is placed into a mold where it is subjected to pressure at an ambient temperature to form a compacted body. Subsequently, the compacted body is heated to a temperature that causes at least partial removal of the pore former particles to establish pores in place of at least some of the pore former particles.

Method of making a porous fuel cell component

Fuel cell reactant flow field plates () are formed by extruding long sections () of carbonaceous material, either with straight grooves () formed by the extrusion die, or by end milling or arbor milling, and then cut to a proper size, including cuts in which the edges of the plates are at an angle with respect to the grooves. Cooler plates are formed of water-permeable material () in which hydrophobic material () is impregnated so as to define coolant channels (-) with inlets and outlets (). A two-layer cooler plate is formed by stamping voids in one layer () that define coolant flow channels () with inlets () and outlets () while a second layer () is stamped with voids () that define coolant inlet and exit headers; juxtaposition of the layers, with or without bonding, form the cooler plate. A cooler plate () is made by corrugating thin metal sheet, providing coolant channels () for cathodes and coolant channels () for anodes when interposed therebetween.

Extruded carbon fuel cell components

A method of manufacturing a plate for a fuel cell includes the steps of providing flow channels in a fuel cell plate. Multiple fuel cell plates are joined into a cell stack assembly. A blocking plate is affixed to the fuel cell plate and at least partially obstructs the flow channels. The blocking plate is affixed to the fuel cell plate after the plates have been arranged into the cell stack assembly. The resulting fuel cell provides a fuel cell plate having a perimeter with an edge. The fuel cell plate includes flow channels extending to the edge. The blocking plate is affixed to the fuel cell plate at the edge to at least partially block the flow channel. In this manner, an inexpensive fuel cell plate may be used, and the blocking plate can be configured to create terminated flow channels, which may be used to provide an interdigitated flow field.

Flow field configuration for fuel cell plate

An illustrative example embodiment of a fuel cell manifold device includes a self-supporting polymer material liner body including a generally planar primary wall and a plurality of side walls. The side walls respectively extend generally perpendicularly from the primary wall. Interior surfaces on the primary wall and the side walls collectively define a cavity. The primary wall has a length and a width that is smaller than the length. The primary wall includes a plurality of ribs situated width wise along the primary wall. The ribs are spaced apart from each other in a lengthwise direction. The ribs allow for some thermal expansion of the liner body.

An exemplary fuel cell component includes a generally planar body having a total area defined by a length and width of the body. A first portion of the total area is occupied by a first fuel cell features that renders the first portion unusable for at least one fuel cell function. A second portion of the total area is occupied by a second fuel cell feature that renders the second portion unusable for the fuel cell function. A third portion of the total area is considered an active area of the component that is useful for the fuel cell function. An aspect ratio of the length to the width of the generally planar body is dependent on a dimension of the first portion and a dimension of the second portion.

Fuel cell component having dimensions selected to maximize a useful area

The fuel flow channels () of the end fuel cell () at the anode end () of a fuel cell stack are significantly deeper than the fuel flow field channels () of the remaining fuel cells () in the stack, whereby fuel starvation caused by ice in the fuel flow channels is avoided during cold startup. The fuel flow field channels of the end cell () at the anode end of the stack is between about 0.15 mm and about 1.5 mm deeper than the fuel flow field channels in the remaining fuel cells of the stack, or between about 35% and about 65% deeper than the fuel flow field channels in the remaining fuel cells of the stack.

Avoiding fuel starvation of anode end fuel cell

An example fuel cell assembly includes a plate having channels configured to facilitate movement of a fuel cell fluid near an area of active flow of fuel cell. The channels include portions having a varying depth that extend laterally outside of the area of active flow.

Fuel cell fluid channels

The fuel cell device includes an electrode assembly. A gas diffusion layer is on each side of the electrode assembly. A solid, non-porous plate is adjacent each of the gas diffusion layers. A hydrophilic soak up region is near an inlet portion of at least one of the gas diffusion layers. The hydrophilic soak up region is configured to absorb liquid water from the electrode assembly when the fuel cell device is shutdown.

Fuel cell device having a liquid soak up region

Fuel cell systems and related methods involving accumulators with multiple regions of differing water fill rates are provided. At least one accumulator region with a relatively more-rapid fill rate than another accumulator region is drained of water at shutdown under freezing conditions to allow at least that region to be free of water and ice. That region is then available to receive water from and supply water to, a fuel cell nominally upon start-up. The region having the relatively more-rapid fill rate may typically be of relatively lesser volume, and may be positioned either relatively below or relatively above the other region(s).

Apparatus and method for fuel cell start from freezing without melting ice

A fuel cell power plant () has vertical fuel cells () each sharing a half of a hybrid separator plate () which includes a solid fuel flow plate () having horizontal fuel flow channels () on one surface and coolant channels () on an upper portion of the opposite surface, bonded to a plain rear side of a porous, hydrophilic oxidant flow field plate () having vertical oxidant flow channels (). Coolant permeates through the upper portion of the porous, hydrophilic oxidant flow field plates and enters the oxidant flow channels, where it evaporates as the water trickles downward through the oxidant flow field channels, thereby cooling the fuel cell.

Hybrid bipolar plate for evaporatively cooled fuel cells

An example method of controlling a fuel cell power plant based on provided power includes selectively varying an electrical resistance of the variable resistive device responsive to at least one of a power provided by the fuel cell power plant, a current provided by the fuel cell power plant, or a voltage decay rate.

Growing community of inventors

West Hartford, CT, United States of America

Timothy William Patterson, Jr