Inerting a fuel cell with a wettable substrate
US6379827B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 16, 2000 |
| Grant date | Apr 30, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 16, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E60/50
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A fuel cell system (10) having a membrane/electrode assembly (MEA) (16) is provided with the means and technique for quickly inerting the MEA without requiring a nitrogen purge. A first fine pore plate (14) is positioned at an anode side of the MEA and defines a coolant flow field (36) and typically also, a fuel reactant flow field (48). A second fine pore plate (12) is positioned at a cathode side of the MEA and defines a lo coolant flow field (36) and typically also, an oxidant reactant flow field (38). A respective wettable substrate (22,26) is positioned between the MEA and each of the first and second fine pore plates, and is adjacent to the fine pore plates. Various means (50,56,61,60,70,78,66,54,77) drive and control the oxidant flow field, the fuel reactant flow field, and the coolant flow field such that the pressure of the two reactant flow fields is sufficiently greater (&Dgr;P1) than the pressure of the coolant flow field during on load operation to substantially exclude coolant from the reactant flow fields and limit the availability of coolant to the wettable substrates. However, those means drive and control the reactant flow fields and the coolant flow field to such…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.