Membrane Hydration Control in Fuel Cells

Controlling humidity at the cathode inlet of a fuel cell stack using a differential pressure sensor and other sensors to measure relative humidity. The method involves placing a differential pressure sensor between the humidifier and the cathode inlet. The controller adjusts the humidifier and stack operation based on the differential pressure signal. This provides a low-cost, robust solution for measuring relative humidity in harsh fuel cell environments. It leverages existing sensors like mass airflow, temperature, and pressure to infer humidity.

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Fuel cell humidity control system using a fractional-order PID controller to improve fuel cell performance and stability by precisely managing humidity levels inside the fuel cell stack. The controller adjusts the anode air intake humidity based on feedback from an internal humidity sensor. It adds adjustable variables to the PID algorithm to compensate for load changes and reduce fluctuation. This allows stable humidity levels in the fuel cell under dynamic load conditions, improving efficiency and longevity.

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack design to improve performance and longevity by controlling moisture and temperature levels inside the stack. The stack has a permeable membrane outside the membrane electrode to allow water molecules to pass through when needed to keep the electrode moist. A water circulation system with a pump and temperature control circulates water around the stack. This allows regulating stack cell temperatures and removing/adding water as needed to prevent dry or flooded cells.

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A fuel cell system with configurable air flow bypasses to optimize humidity control for fuel cell performance and durability. The system has two bypass valves to route portions of the air streams around the humidifier and fuel cell stack. This allows flexible humidification levels based on operating conditions. It can dry out the humidifier and stack during shutdown to prevent freezing and growth. The valve configuration provides transient response compared to fixed bypasses. The valves are controlled by a system to determine optimal flow splits based on factors like target humidity, flow rate, and stack shutdown.

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A proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) humidity control method using sliding mode control to accurately regulate the fuel cell's membrane humidity. This improves fuel cell performance and longevity by preventing water flooding or dehydration issues. The method involves a sensor to monitor stack humidity, a controller implementing sliding mode control, and a humidifier at the cathode inlet. The controller adjusts humidifier output based on stack humidity, air flow, and other parameters to maintain optimal membrane hydration. This provides faster, more accurate humidity control compared to PID controllers.

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Optimizing fuel cell system performance and reducing degradation by dynamically adjusting cathode gas pressure and stoichiometry based on real-time measurements of membrane humidification and oxygen partial pressure at the cathode outlet. This prevents overly dry or wet conditions that can degrade the membrane or cause flooding. The adjustments aim to maintain optimal humidity levels without exceeding system limits. The optimization is done using a sensor, processor, and controller to iteratively fine-tune the cathode parameters for efficient and stable fuel cell operation.

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Fuel cell system with active humidification to precisely control humidity for optimal fuel cell performance. The system has a dedicated module to collect water discharged from the cathode and a humidification module to use that water to humidify intake air. A control module adjusts the water injection based on target humidity, environment, and stack data. This allows real-time optimization of humidity levels inside the fuel cell stack. An impedance spectrometer measures stack humidity to further refine the control.

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A method to accurately control moisture at the membrane of a fuel cell using a specialized model. The method involves obtaining the required humidity and temperature values of the fuel cell inlet air stream, providing them to a model that calculates the exact amount of water vapor to transfer across the humidifier membrane to achieve the desired membrane moisture. This analytically-derived, numerically stable solution is used to control the humidifier as the fuel cell operates. The model provides stable, accurate results compared to existing methods.

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Cathode humidity control for proton exchange membrane fuel cells to accurately maintain optimal humidity levels in the cathode region. The method involves determining the current cathode humidity, calculating the interference amount based on reaction conditions, and adjusting the humidifier power to compensate. This balances humidity needs without over-humidifying or drying out the cathode. By dynamically optimizing humidification based on real-time conditions, it prevents issues like water flooding or drying that can degrade fuel cell performance.

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Efficient heat dissipation system for low-pressure, normal-pressure high-power fuel cells that enables stable operation and extends the life of fuel cell stacks. The system uses dynamic adjustment of air flow rates to balance internal temperature and humidity. A controller calculates the minimum air flow needed for evaporative cooling based on factors like ambient conditions, stack power, and water generation. This optimizes cooling without excess air consumption. The system also recycles moisture from the stack exhaust to further reduce water needs. By dynamically balancing temperature and humidity, it stabilizes stack performance and prevents membrane degradation.

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) humidification system that provides faster and more accurate humidification control compared to existing methods. The system uses a simulation model in the humidification controller to calculate optimal humidification parameters based on real-time measurements. This allows quicker and more timely adjustment of humidifier settings compared to waiting for fault diagnosis. The model simulates calculations using the measured parameters and outputs control parameters to adjust the humidifiers. This enables more timely and accurate humidification compared to traditional methods where humidification is adjusted after fault diagnosis.

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Marine fuel cell system with flexible humidification to improve fuel cell performance and durability. The system uses a spray humidification technique to humidify the air entering the fuel cell stack. It extracts water from the surrounding environment using pumps and filters to provide a continuous water source for humidification. This allows flexible adjustment of the stack humidity without relying on internal air humidification. The system also includes sensors to monitor water levels and control valves to manage the water flow. This enables optimal stack humidification conditions for different operating conditions to prevent internal over-humidity or dryness that can degrade fuel cell performance and durability.

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Fuel cell humidification system for reducing the volume and power consumption of fuel cells in vehicles. The system eliminates the need for bulky membrane humidifiers and intercoolers. Instead, it uses a spray chamber, water pump, water distributor, and tank with a radiator and heater. The tank holds liquid water that is sprayed into the fuel cell air stream to humidify it. The radiator and heater adjust the water temperature to further optimize fuel cell performance. This reduces overall fuel cell volume compared to using intercoolers and membrane humidifiers, while also eliminating secondary coolant distribution and reducing air resistance.

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Fuel cell system that optimizes humidification to prevent fuel cell dehydration while minimizing fuel cell temperature rise. The system has a fuel cell stack, humidifier, exhaust flow path, and temperature control. A temperature sensor acquires stack temperature and a controller adjusts the stack temperature using a cooler. The humidifier is controlled based on stack temperature to maintain saturated steam in the exhaust. This prevents fuel cell dehydration and reduces temperature rise during operation.

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Humidity-controllable humidification system for fuel cell stacks that allows active adjustment of air humidity to optimize fuel cell performance. The system uses bypass valves and mixing chambers to recirculate and blend exhaust gas and humidifier output. This enables increasing or decreasing the humidity of the cathode air supply based on operating conditions. The bypass valves have control ports to adjust the recirculation ratios. A current density sensor can be used to optimize the humidity based on load.

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Fast and precise gas humidification control for fuel cells that improves on existing methods like bubbling, spraying, and membrane permeation. The humidification device uses a dew point temperature sensor to accurately measure the humidity level of the fuel cell gas after humidification. This allows real-time feedback control of the humidification process using a heater and cooler to adjust the gas temperature. The device also has a water management system to quickly adjust the water level and temperature in the humidifier. This enables rapid and precise humidity control for fuel cell applications.

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Humidifier for fuel cells that adjusts the humidification level based on fuel cell output without using solenoid valves. The humidifier has a housing, moisture transfer member, bypass flow path, and a flow rate adjustment valve. The valve is driven by the pressure difference between the housing and atmosphere to regulate dry air flow through the bypass. This allows adjusting humidification without solenoids, as the valve opens/closes based on stack output pressure.

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cell water balance system and control method to maintain optimal water content in the fuel cell for better performance. The system has separate air intakes for anode and cathode. It monitors parameters like hydrogen and air pressure, flow rates, and outlet humidity. By adjusting the air intake humidity based on the anode hydrogen humidity and cathode conditions, it balances water levels and prevents dryness or flooding.

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Active humidifier for fuel cells that adjusts the humidification based on cell output. The humidifier has an active blocking member that expands or contracts in response to gas temperature. This member partially closes or opens a bypass between the fuel cell stack and the humidifier when the cell is producing more or less power. This allows more or less exhaust gas to bypass the humidifier based on output needs to maintain optimal humidity. The active blocking member is made of temperature-sensitive materials like metals that expand/contract within certain temperature ranges.

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Fuel cell humidifier, fuel cell system, and humidity regulation method to improve fuel cell performance by optimizing humidity levels inside the cell stack. The humidifier has separate piping systems for intaking dry air and exhausting humid air. The dry air is introduced at the stack inlet and the humid air is exhausted at the stack outlet. This allows precise control over stack humidity without flooding or drying issues. The fuel cell system has dedicated piping for supplying dry air to the humidifier and exhausting humid air.

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Fuel cell water management technique that accurately and effectively controls the humidity of a fuel cell engine without additional hardware like membrane humidifiers. The technique involves monitoring the high-frequency impedance of the fuel cell stack and increasing the water pump speed if the impedance indicates flooding. When the pump speed reaches a set limit, it continues running at that speed to prevent excessive water buildup. This allows precise control of stack humidity without the volume and weight penalties of a separate membrane humidifier.

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Fuzzy logic-based humidity control for fuel cells operating in variable conditions to optimize water management and performance. The method involves calculating the optimal membrane water content for the next working condition, determining humidification/dehumidification based on urgency, load change, and fuzzy membership functions, and using fuzzy control to convert into motor speed to achieve real-time humidity adjustment.

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A fuel cell system that optimizes humidification of the fuel cell based on factors like current density, pressure drop, and water generation to prevent overhumidification. The system controls a humidifier in the oxidant gas supply line to the fuel cell. Humidity is adjusted based on resistance, current density, pressure drop, and water generation to match the actual water conditions in the cell. This prevents excessive humidification that can lead to water flooding and degradation.

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Fuel cell humidity regulation system that adjusts the humidity of air entering the fuel cell stack to optimize performance by using a humidifier and intercooler. The system regulates the temperature of cooling air passing through the intercooler to adjust the humidity level of air entering the humidifier. This allows fine-tuning the humidity of the air after humidification to match the stack's requirements.

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Air humidifier module for fuel cell systems that allows easy installation and removal, and integrates volume flow regulation to automatically adjust air humidity for fuel cells. The module is a standalone unit that can be quickly integrated into and removed from a fuel cell system. It contains a volume flow control device to regulate the air flow to achieve optimal humidity for the fuel cell stack. This eliminates the need for separate flow regulators in the fuel cell system and simplifies assembly/disassembly.

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Fuel cell system that prevents flooding in fuel cell stacks by controlling humidity levels. The system has a humidifier to add moisture to air going to the fuel cell stack. A controller adjusts the air supply rate based on humidifier water levels. If condensate exceeds a threshold, it increases air supply and bypasses some air around the stack to remove excess moisture before flooding occurs. This prevents condensation from accumulating in the stack and causing flooding.

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A self-regulating humidity control method for fuel cell systems that allows the system to maintain optimal humidity levels without relying on external sensors. The method involves estimating the humidity at the fuel cell stack inlet based on measurements of outlet humidity, environmental conditions, and humidifier performance degradation. This estimated inlet humidity is then used to adjust the cooling circuit temperature to compensate for any humidity imbalances. The self-regulation avoids relying on precise stack inlet humidity sensors, which can fail or degrade in fuel cell environments.

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A fuel cell humidifier with independent control of gas flow, relative humidity, temperature, and pressure for optimal fuel cell performance and durability. The humidifier has a gas management unit, humidifier, temperature control, and replenishment/drainage. The gas management unit controls dry gas flow to the humidifier. The humidifier has a guide cylinder for mixing dry gas with humidification water. The temperature control unit regulates humidifier water temperature. The replenishment/drainage unit adds/removes water as needed. This independent control allows optimizing humidification parameters for different fuel cell operating conditions.

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Fuel cell device with humidity and temperature control to prevent flooding and improve power generation. The device has valves to adjust the amount of humidified air supplied to the fuel cell stack versus unhumidified air. A humidifier extracts moisture from exhaust and adds it to the air supply. Valves also regulate air flow to maintain stack inlet-outlet pressure differential. By adjusting humidity, temperature, and air flow based on sensor feedback, it prevents flooding from excessive humidity or degradation from dry air. It also compensates for flow path changes to maintain stack airflow.

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An open-cathode-type fuel cell system that can humidify air coming into the fuel cell stack to prevent drying out of the electrolyte membrane. The system extracts moisture from the unreacted hydrogen and transfers it to the incoming air using a humidifying structure. This allows the fuel cell to operate without a separate humidifier.

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Humidifier for a fuel cell that adjusts humidification level and differential pressure based on fuel cell operating condition. The humidifier has a housing with a moist air supply port from the fuel cell stack and a moist air discharge port. A humidifying membrane allows dry air flow inside. A bypass flow path lets some moist air bypass the membrane. This allows continuous moist air flow to the cell even when membrane humidification is reduced. It also prevents excess humidity flooding when cell output is low. By adjusting bypass flow vs membrane humidification, optimal humidity and pressure can be maintained for the cell.

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Method for regulating humidity in a fuel cell system to ensure optimal hydration of the proton exchange membrane. The method uses a humidifier to adjust the humidity of the oxidant gas entering and leaving the fuel cell. When the humidity at both inlet and outlet exceeds thresholds, it reduces humidity by discharging residual gas instead of recycling it. When humidity is below thresholds, it increases humidity by recycling residual gas. This balances moisture levels to prevent flooding or dehydration of the membrane.

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Fuel cell cathode humidification system that can adapt to different fuel cell power levels and provide stable humidification under both small and large air flow rates. The system uses a combination of a humidifier, adjustable three-way valve, and stack exhaust monitoring to adjust humidity levels. It allows dry-wet switching and humidity tuning based on stack performance and airflow. The stack exhaust is shunted through the three-way valve to mix and humidify dry air. The humidifier humidifies the mixed air. This prevents overhumidification at high flow rates. The exhaust dew point is monitored to adjust humidifier parameters.

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Fuel cell air humidity regulation system to prevent water flooding in fuel cells and enable startup at low temperatures. The system has a humidifier with separate dry and wet air inlets/outlets that connects to the fuel cell. It also has a bypass valve to control humidity. The fuel cell's air intake is compressed and cooled. The cooled dry air enters the humidifier dry side, is humidified, then goes to the fuel cell. After the cell, the humid air exits and is bypassed back to the humidifier wet side. This recirculation maintains optimal humidity levels in the fuel cell stack without excessive humidity buildup.

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Monitoring humidity at the anode inlet manifold of a fuel cell stack to optimize hydrogen recirculation and manage excess fuel. By measuring the water content in the fuel stream entering the fuel cell anode, the system can determine the excess fuel ratio. This allows targeting the minimum level of excess fuel needed for optimal fuel cell performance without overloading the system. The humidity measurements can be used to determine when to operate blowers, ejectors, and bypass valves for fuel recirculation based on the target excess fuel ratio.

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Moisture control for fuel cell vehicles with multiple fuel cell stacks to optimize performance when stack temperatures differ due to varying environmental conditions. The control system adjusts humidity, pressure, and flow rate of the air supplied to the fuel cells to maintain similar operating conditions between front and rear stacks. This prevents flooding in cold conditions and drying in hot conditions for each stack.

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Humidification system for fuel cell vehicles that accurately controls the humidity of the air entering the fuel cell stack to optimize performance. The system has a humidifier and bypass connected between the intercooler and cathode inlet. The humidifier flow capacity can be adjusted based on the ambient air humidity to precisely control the cathode air humidity. This compensates for humidity changes due to air compression and cooling.

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Fuel cell stack humidity control device to precisely regulate the humidity of air supplied to the cathode of a fuel cell stack. The device has a stack, humidifier, intercooler, and controller. By adding bypass passages at the humidifier and intercooler, and connecting temperature sensors at the stack, the device allows precise control of cathode air humidity using the controller. This prevents dry or over-humid membranes, improving fuel cell performance, life, and reliability by avoiding membrane degradation.

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A system to automatically adjust humidity at the inlet of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack to optimize performance and longevity by maintaining the proper moisture level inside the stack. The system uses a humidity sensor at the stack inlet and an electric valve to regulate the amount of dry air that bypasses the stack. If the inlet humidity is too low, the valve opens to increase dry air and humidity. If the humidity is too high, the valve closes to decrease dry air and humidity. This allows the stack humidity to be dynamically adjusted without using mechanical valves or complex control logic.

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A fuel cell stack humidity control system that precisely adjusts the humidity of air entering the fuel cell stack cathode to optimize performance, reliability, and lifespan. The system uses an intercooler with multiple bypass passages and humidifier. A controller links temperature sensors on the bypass channels to the stack. By selectively bypassing air through the humidifier and intercooler, it can precisely control the stack cathode air humidity based on stack conditions. This prevents dry membrane or overhumidity issues that degrade fuel cell performance and lifetime.

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Closed-loop management of fuel cell membrane water content to improve reliability and durability by avoiding membrane dryness and flooding. The method involves real-time monitoring of membrane water content, followed by closed-loop control of cathode air humidity, stack temperature, and air metering ratio to maintain optimal membrane hydration levels during operation.

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Humidification system for fuel cell vehicles that increases the moisture content of air supplied to the fuel cell cathode without needing a separate water tank or fan. The system has an intake passage to supply air to the cathode and an exhaust passage to return cathode exhaust. An accumulator connects the bypass sections of both passages. In one intake state, the main intake path is used. In the other intake state, the bypass is open, and the accumulator fills with humid exhaust. This humid air is then mixed with the intake air. In the exhaust state, exhaust flows through the main path. This cyclic operation humidifies the intake air without needing a separate water source or fan.

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A fuel cell air humidification system that allows real-time adjustment of air humidity entering the fuel cell stack to optimize performance. The system has a humidifier connected to the cathode air inlet and anode outlet of the stack. A controller with pressure, temperature, and humidity sensors is placed between the humidifier and stack inlets/outlets. This allows monitoring and adjustment of air pressure, temperature, and humidity levels to optimize stack performance in real-time.

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Fuel cell system with improved humidification control to enhance performance and reliability. The system has multiple fuel cell stacks connected in series. It selectively supplies moisture from stacks with better humidity to stacks with poorer humidity. This balances humidity between stacks to prevent stack degradation. The moisture can come from air or hydrogen supplied to the stacks. The supply direction of air and hydrogen can be reversed between stacks based on humidity conditions.

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Intelligent water management system for proton exchange membrane fuel cells that optimizes humidification and liquid water removal based on fuel cell operating conditions. The system uses sensors to monitor membrane humidity, pressure drop, and water accumulation in the cathode channel. It adjusts atomizer flow, bubbler flow, and compressed air flow rates to efficiently humidify the membrane during low power, supplement water during normal power, and quickly discharge condensed water during high power. This ensures optimal membrane hydration and prevents channel clogging for improved fuel cell performance.

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A fuel cell humidifier that can dynamically adjust the humidification level based on the fuel cell load. The humidifier has a housing, a hollow fiber membrane module inside, and a flow path control unit. The flow path control unit has a rotatable plate inside the housing that can direct the flow of the humidification fluid into the module. Sensors detect the fuel cell load and the control unit signals the flow path plate to open one path or another based on the load requirement. This allows optimized humidification without over-humidification or dry-out issues.

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A fuel cell system that self-humidifies the reactant gas to prevent dry-out of the fuel cell membrane. The system has a humidification device with a shrinking-expanding diffusion pressure reducing pipe, a water droplet atomization network, and valves to connect the pipe to the fuel cell stack inlet and exhaust. The device humidifies the air by reducing its pressure and atomizing water before it enters the stack. Sensors monitor pressure and liquid level to optimize humidification. This allows on-demand humidification adjustment without external devices.

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Fuel cell membrane humidifier that automatically adjusts the exhaust gas flow rate based on the exhaust gas temperature. The humidifier has a flow rate control unit at the exhaust gas inlet that expands in a first temperature range and contracts in a second temperature range greater than the first range. This unit contains materials like bismuth oxides that change dimension with temperature. By expanding or contracting as the exhaust gas temperature varies, the control unit adjusts the exhaust gas flow rate into the humidifier. This allows optimizing humidification without complex valves or pumps.

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Cooling water system for proton exchange membrane fuel cell test benches that improves gas humidification and exhaust water separation efficiency. The system has separate branches for external cooling, fuel cell cooling, humidification, and exhaust gas heat preservation. It uses multiple heat exchangers, solenoid valves, and sensors to precisely control temperatures, pressures, humidity, and flow rates in each branch. This allows fast load response, stable fuel cell humidity, and condensing moisture in exhaust gas.

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Humidifier for fuel cell systems that can provide air with a specific dew point to prevent condensation inside fuel cells. The humidifier contains a chamber to hold the air, sensors to measure dew point, temperature, and humidity, a water vapor supply unit, a temperature control unit, and an air exhaust unit. A controller adjusts the water vapor and temperature based on the sensor readings to match the desired dew point. This allows the air to be conditioned before being supplied to the fuel cell to avoid condensation issues.

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