A hybrid powerplant can include a fuel cell cycle system configured to generate a first power using a fuel and an oxidizer. The powerplant can also include a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO.sub.2) cycle system operatively connected to the fuel cell cycle to receive heat from the fuel cell cycle to cause the sCO.sub.2 cycle system to generate a second power.

A hybrid powerplant can include a fuel cell cycle system configured to generate a first power using a fuel and an oxidizer. The powerplant can also include a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO.sub.2) cycle system operatively connected to the fuel cell cycle to receive heat from the fuel cell cycle to cause the sCO.sub.2 cycle system to generate a second power.

A fuel cell system performance recovery method includes applying a DC current load pulse waveform to one or more of the fuel cells for a recovery period sufficient to desorb a contaminant from the one or more fuel cells.

Systems and methods for simulating gas flow dynamics of a real hydrogen fuel cell system using a computer, wherein the real hydrogen fuel cell system includes a gas container volume network having gas container volumes interconnected by gas transport lines. The method includes defining volume element and flow channel classes, defining a plurality of volume instances and a plurality of flow channel instances, for each flow channel instance, creating a first interconnection representation that defines a source container volume and a destination container volume for the flow channel instance, wherein the first interconnection representation mimics a portion of the gas container volume network of the real hydrogen fuel cell system, and simulating, using the first interconnection representation, a thermodynamic state for each of the volume instances, the thermodynamic state representing thermodynamic parameter(s) in each container volume of the gas container volume network of the real hydrogen fuel cell system.

A linear time varying model predictive control (LTV-MPC) framework is developed for degradation-conscious control of automotive polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems. A reduced-order nonlinear model of the entire system is derived first. This nonlinear model is then successively linearized about the current operating point to obtain a linear model. The linear model is utilized to formulate the control problem using a rate-based MPC formulation. The controller objective is to ensure offset-free tracking of the power demand, while maximizing the overall system efficiency and enhancing its durability. To this end, the fuel consumption and the power loss due to auxiliary equipment are minimized. Moreover, the internal states of the fuel cell stack are constrained to avoid harmful conditions that are known stressors of the fuel cell components.

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for fuel cell regeneration after degradation.

A fuel cell system in which a controller unit is prevented from being disassembled in an unconventional manner. The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack configured to generate electricity; a cable; a controller unit connected to the full cell stack through the cable to control the fuel cell system; a connector configured to connect the controller unit to the cable, where the connector has an insertion portion, and the insertion portion is inserted into the controller unit; a protector fixed onto the controller unit to protect the controller unit; and a bracket supporting the protector. The bracket has a cable support portion, and the cable support portion is configured to support the cable. A displaceable distance of the cable between the connector and the cable support portion is less than a length of the insertion portion.

A fuel cell system in which a controller unit is prevented from being disassembled in an unconventional manner. The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack configured to generate electricity; a cable; a controller unit connected to the full cell stack through the cable to control the fuel cell system; a connector configured to connect the controller unit to the cable, where the connector has an insertion portion, and the insertion portion is inserted into the controller unit; a protector fixed onto the controller unit to protect the controller unit; and a bracket supporting the protector. The bracket has a cable support portion, and the cable support portion is configured to support the cable. A displaceable distance of the cable between the connector and the cable support portion is less than a length of the insertion portion.

A system for operating a fuel cell includes a controller configured to derive an output limit value of the fuel cell through an interval average value corresponding to an average of output values of the fuel cell for a designated time and a cumulative average value corresponding to an average of the output values of the fuel cell until the current point in time after starting to operate the fuel cell, and to control operation of the fuel cell based on the derived output limit value.

Methods and systems are provided for a cooling system for a vehicle having a fuel cell system. The cooling system comprises a first cooling circuit configured to cool a first set of vehicle components and a second cooling circuit configured to cool a second set of vehicle components. The fuel cell system is distributed between the first set of vehicle components and the second set of vehicle components.