Fuel Cell System

摘要

A fuel cell (FC) system operating as its own hydrogen leak detector. The system including at least one cathode and cathode conduit for passage of oxidant to to the cathode and a housing containing one or more FCs and defining a plenum around the FC. A ventilation system forces air from the plenum into the cathode conduit and a control system monitors the FC voltage and detects a drop in voltage attributable to hydrogen in the cathode conduit. A control system may include actual cell voltage monitoring of the FC or of one or more cells in the FC stack and a processor for receiving inputs indicative of the operation of the FC or FC stack and/or to determine an expected voltage of FC(s) being monitored and whether the difference between the actual and expected voltage(s) exceeds a predetermined threshold indicative of a predetermined level of hydrogen in the cathode conduit.

主权项

1. A fuel cell system comprising:
a fuel cell including at least one cathode and a cathode conduit for passage of oxidant gas through or over the cathode; a housing containing said fuel cell and defining a plenum around the fuel cell; a ventilation system configured to force air from the plenum into the cathode conduit; a control system configured to monitor the fuel cell voltage and to detect a drop in voltage attributable to the presence of hydrogen in the cathode conduit; and wherein the housing defines a plenum confining all faces of the fuel cell except a cathode exhaust face thereof, the cathode exhaust face including a downstream end of the cathode conduit.