Method, system and apparatus for testing electrochemical cells
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for testing for a short circuit in at least one electrochemical cell, comprising:
- a gas supply for supplying a non-fuel gas to an anode side and a cathode side of the at least one electrochemical cell;
a voltage supply for supplying a test voltage across the at least one electrochemical cell; and
a voltage monitor for measuring a cell voltage of each at least one electrochemical cell.
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Abstract
Embodiments of the invention relate to apparatus, systems and methods for testing for short-circuited cells within an electrochemical cell stack. In order to test for a short-circuit, each cell in the stack is supplied with a non-fuel gas at both the anode and cathode sides of the cell. A voltage is supplied across the whole electrochemical cell stack and the individual electrical potentials (ie. voltages) between the anode and cathode of each cell is measured. If the voltage measured across the anode and cathode of a cell is below a certain amount, the cell is determined to be short-circuited.
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55 Claims
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1. An apparatus for testing for a short circuit in at least one electrochemical cell, comprising:
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a gas supply for supplying a non-fuel gas to an anode side and a cathode side of the at least one electrochemical cell;
a voltage supply for supplying a test voltage across the at least one electrochemical cell; and
a voltage monitor for measuring a cell voltage of each at least one electrochemical cell. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for testing for a short circuit in at least one electrochemical cell, comprising:
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supplying a non-fuel gas to an anode side and a cathode side of the at least one electrochemical cell;
supplying a test voltage across the at least one electrochemical cell; and
measuring a cell voltage of the at least one electrochemical cell. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A system for testing a plurality of electrochemical cells connected in series, the system comprising:
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a gas supply for supplying a non-fuel gas to an anode side and a cathode side of each at least one electrochemical cell of the plurality of electrochemical cells;
a voltage supply for supplying a first voltage across the plurality of electrochemical cells; and
a voltage monitor for measuring a second voltage between respective electrodes at the anode side and cathode side of each electrochemical cell. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification