Procedure for detecting the state of permeability of the ion exchange polymer membrane of a fuel cell
AssigneeCampagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin
InventorsGino Paganelli, Lionel Fragniere
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An automated method or procedure for detecting a permeability state of a membrane of a fuel cell stack is provided. The procedure is sensitive enough to detect a defective membrane, and is accurate enough to enable correct maintenance of the fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack is formed of a stack of electrochemical cells each having an anode and a cathode sandwiching a polymeric ion-exchange membrane therebetween. The fuel cell stack includes a fuel gas supply system on the anode side of the electrochemical cells, and includes an oxidant gas supply system on the cathode side of the electrochemical cells.
Claims6
A method for detecting a permeability state of a polymeric ion-exchange membrane of a fuel cell stack formed of a stack of electrochemical cells, each cell including an anode and a cathode sandwiching a polymeric ion-exchange membrane therebetween, the fuel cell stack including a fuel gas supply system on an anode side of the electrochemical cells and an oxidant gas supply system on a cathode side of the electrochemical cells, the method comprising, upon each shutdown of the fuel cell stack, steps of:
- for each cell of a plurality of cells of the fuel cell stack, continuously measuring a residual voltage at terminals of the cell;
- for each cell of the cells, measuring a time interval between a latest shutdown of the fuel cell stack and a moment that the residual voltage measured for the cell drops below a predetermined voltage value;
- for each cell of the cells, recording the time interval measured for the cell, and comparing the time interval measured with both of:
- (a) previous time intervals measured for previous shutdowns of the cell, and
- (b) other time intervals measured for the latest shutdown, for other ones of the cells;
- and,
- for each cell of the cells, if a difference between the time interval measured for the cell and one of (a) and (b) becomes greater than a predetermined threshold, activating a warning signal that indicates that the fuel cell stack requires an inspection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.