FUEL CELL MULTI-PORT MANIFOLDING

摘要

A fuel cell system can be equipped with a multi-port manifold system to supply various fluids in a more pressure efficient manner and to provide greater variability in fuel cell footprint. The multiple ports can be provided for inlet of reactants, exhaust of reactants and reaction products, inlet and outlet of coolants, or combinations of these fluid flows. A reactant enters an active area (16) from multiple inlet ports (12) via a set of connecting channels (14), and exits the active area into multiple outlet ports (18) via another set of connecting channels (20). Supply of gases to these ports can be provided by manifolding at the end cap of the fuel cell stack or along the length of the fuel cell.