Ballard Power Systems Corporation

Zhaoyu Wang

Graham Edward Hill

Ross William Johnston Bailey

Stephan Lutz

Karl D Inglehart

Hong The Nguyen

A method for locating a fluid leak in a fuel cell stack is disclosed. The method comprises pressurizing a first fluid stream passage with a tracer fluid, introducing a flow fluid to a second fluid stream passage, maintaining a substantially constant flow of the flow fluid through the second fluid stream passage toward an exit point of the fuel cell stack, inserting a probe, adapted to monitor for the presence of the tracer fluid in the flow fluid, into the exit point, moving the probe through the second fluid stream passage and monitoring for the presence of the tracer fluid in the flow fluid at various locations of the second fluid stream passage. An apparatus for locating a fluid leak in a fuel cell stack is also provided.

Method and apparatus for locating internal transfer leaks within fuel cell stacks

A fuel cell resistance test system includes a contact head having a plurality of spaced electrical contacts for contacting multiple ones of the fuel cells composing the stack. In one embodiment, a plurality of selectively actuable switches produce a short between respective pairs of adjacent ones of the electrical contacts. A processor opens each of the switches, one at a time in succession, to apply a defined voltage from a voltage source, successively across pairs of adjacent ones of the electrical contacts. A current sensor measures a resulting current and the processor or other computer determines whether a short exists based on the magnitude of the defined voltage and the magnitude of the resulting current. Alternatively, the test system may include a current source and a voltage sensor.

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Cambridge, Canada

Zhaoyu Wang