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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