Method of qualifying at least a portion of a fuel cell system and an apparatus employing same
First Claim
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1. A method for enabling qualification of at least a portion of a fuel cell system, the method comprising:
- electronically obtaining at least one result of a test of the at least a portion of a fuel cell system before incubation of the system;
electronically comparing the at least one result to at least one qualifying criteria; and
providing an indication before the incubation of the system that the fuel cell system is not functioning properly in response to the comparison.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method for enabling qualification of at least a portion of a fuel cell system. The method includes electronically obtaining at least one result of a test of the at least a portion of a fuel cell system and electronically comparing the at least one result to at least one qualifying criteria.
15 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for enabling qualification of at least a portion of a fuel cell system, the method comprising:
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electronically obtaining at least one result of a test of the at least a portion of a fuel cell system before incubation of the system;
electronically comparing the at least one result to at least one qualifying criteria; and
providing an indication before the incubation of the system that the fuel cell system is not functioning properly in response to the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for enabling qualification of a fuel cell stack, the method comprising:
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electronically obtaining at least one measurement of voltage drop from an open circuit voltage test on a plurality of fuel cells of the fuel cell stack before incubation of the fuel cell stack;
electronically comparing the at least one measurement of voltage drop to a qualifying criteria; and
providing an indication before incubation of the fuel cell stack that reactant gases in the fuel cell stack are at least one of being distributed to all fuel cells of the fuel cell stack and that the reactant gases are not being distributed to all of the fuel cells, based on the comparison of the at least one measurement of voltage drop to a qualifying criteria. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for enabling qualification of a fuel cell stack, the method comprising:
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applying a load to the fuel cell stack;
electronically obtaining at least one measurement of voltage drop from a voltage drop test across a plurality of fuel cells of the fuel cell stack before incubation of the fuel cell stack;
electronically comparing the at least one measurement of voltage drop of the voltage drop test to a qualifying criteria; and
providing at least one of an indication regarding formation of dive through holes in fluid flow plates of the fuel cell stack are properly formed and an indication that the dive through holes are not properly formed, in response to the comparison of the at least one measurement of voltage drop of the voltage drop test to the qualifying criteria. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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34. A method for enabling qualification of a fuel cell stack, the method comprising:
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applying a load to the fuel cell stack;
electronically obtaining at least one measurement of voltage drop from a voltage drop test across a plurality of fuel cells of the fuel cell stack;
electronically comparing the at least one measurement of voltage drop of the voltage drop test to a qualifying criteria; and
providing at least one of an indication regarding installation of a membrane in at least one fuel cell of the fuel cell stack such that a cathode portion of the membrane faces a cathode portion of the at least one fuel cell and an anode portion of the membrane faces an anode portion of the at least one fuel cell and an indication that the membrane is improperly installed such that the cathode portion of the membrane does not face the cathode portion of the at least one fuel cell and the anode portion of the membrane does not face the anode portion of the at least one fuel cell, in response to the comparison of the at least one measurement of voltage drop of the voltage drop test to the qualifying criteria. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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36. A method for enabling qualification of a fuel cell stack, the method comprising:
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providing a flow rate of reactant gases to the fuel cell stack to mimic minimum power output for the fuel cell stack to produce electricity;
applying a load to the fuel cell stack to mimic low electrical demand, electronically obtaining at least one measurement of voltage drop from a voltage drop test across a plurality of fuel cells of the fuel cell stack;
electronically comparing the at least one measurement of voltage drop of the voltage drop test to a qualifying criteria; and
providing at least one of an indication that all fuel cells of the fuel cell stack are adequately producing electricity and an indication that all of the fuel cells are not adequately producing electricity, in response to the comparison of the at least one measurement of voltage drop of the voltage drop test to the qualifying criteria. - View Dependent Claims (37)
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38. At least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of qualifying at least a portion of a fuel cell system, said method comprising:
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electronically obtaining at least one result of a test on the at least a portion of a fuel cell system before incubation of the system;
electronically comparing the at least one result to at least one qualifying criteria; and
electronically indication before the incubation of the system the fuel cell system is not functioning properly in response to the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (39)
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Specification