The present disclosure provides for fuel cell systems, assemblies and methods. More particularly, the present disclosure provides for emergency power fuel cell systems, assemblies and methods (e.g., for aircraft or the like), with the fuel cells having indirect evaporative cooling. The present disclosure provides that a liquid-air heat exchanger that exchanges heat carried by hot coolant from a fuel cell with ambient air can be replaced by a heat exchanger that transfers heat from the fuel cell to grey water (e.g., grey water that is stored on an airplane or the like) that is allowed to evaporate. As such, this substantially eliminates the coolant fans, and can result in a smaller and/or lighter heat exchanger.

Turbine engine systems include a core assembly having a compressor section, a burner section, and a turbine section arranged along a shaft, with a core flow path through the turbine engine such that exhaust from the burner section passes through the turbine section and exits through a nozzle. A core condenser is arranged downstream of the turbine section and upstream of the nozzle and configured to condense water from the core flow path. A fuel cell is operably connected to the core assembly. A fuel source is configured to supply a fuel to each of the burner section for combustion and the fuel cell for reaction to generate electricity. At least one electric motor is operably coupled to the core assembly and configured to impart power to a portion of the core assembly and the fuel cell is configured to supply electrical power to the at least one electric motor.

An evaporative cooling type fuel cell system and a cooling control method for the same are provided. The fuel cell system includes a stack that generates electric power by reacting hydrogen as fuel with air as an oxidant. The method includes adjusting an operation pressure of the stack based on a current operation temperature of the stack and adjusting the amount of water supplied to the stack from a water reservoir based on the current operation temperature. The water is supplied to a cathode of the stack. Thus, a compact-simplified fuel cell system is provided, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and weight.

A fuel cell air management system includes a compressor receiving ambient air at a compressor inlet and supplying compressed air at a compressor outlet. A mechanical power transmission is connected to an electric machine. The mechanical power transmission is operatively connected to the compressor. An expander is operatively connected to the mechanical power transmission. A recuperator is connected to the compressor outlet. The recuperator includes a recuperator inlet and a recuperator outlet. An intercooler is coupled to the recuperator outlet. A fuel cell stack is connected to an intercooler outlet. The fuel cell stack includes a fuel cell outlet connected to the recuperator and the recuperator includes an exhaust connected to the expander. A water separator is connected to an outlet of the expander. The water separator is coupled to a pump metering a specified dose of water to a specified location selected from the compressor inlet, the compressor outlet, the recuperator outlet or combinations thereof.

A cooling subsystem of a fuel cell assembly that employs the Rankine cycle to use the potential energy of a thermally pressurized fluid to generate electrical power. Waste heat from a fuel cell stack is transferred to working fluid in a heat exchanger. The working fluid in the condensed phase is pressurized, evaporated in a boiler or evaporator, and then fed to an expansion turbine which in turn provides rotary motion to an electric generator to generate useful electrical power. The fluid leaves the turbine as a lower pressured vapor, and is then condensed back to a fluid and pumped back to the evaporator to repeat the process.

A temperature control system is disclosed for solid oxide cells, a cell including a fuel side, an oxygen rich side, and an electrolyte element, and the system including a repetitious unit structure for the solid oxide cells. The system includes a fuel flow field plate structure for fuel, an oxidant flow field plate structure for oxidant, electric contacting structures for the fuel and the oxidant and a temperature control fluid structure located in the flow field plate separately between the fuel flow field plate structure and the oxidant flow field plate structure. The temperature control system includes sealing structures to prevent leakages, and controls operation temperature in the solid oxide cells.

In accordance with at least one aspect of this disclosure, an emergency power unit for an aircraft includes, a fuel cell system configured to generate power using a fuel and an oxidant. A thermal management system is in thermal communication with the fuel cell system to divert heat from the fuel cell system to the thermal management system.

A heat transfer system includes a fuel cell module that produces heat and water, and a thermal energy storage module that stores the heat produced by the fuel cell module. The thermal energy storage module includes a phase-change material. A conduit couples the fuel cell module to the thermal energy storage module. The conduit is oriented to channel the water produced by the fuel cell module through the thermal energy storage module.

An exhaust system is provided for a device having at least one fuel cell. The exhaust system includes at least one exhaust duct for transporting anode-side and/or cathode-side exhaust gas of the fuel cell, at least one air inlet for supplying air, at least one air feeding device for feeding in the supplied air, at least one heat exchanger for heating up the supplied air, a mixing region for mixing exhaust gas of the fuel cell transported by way of the exhaust duct with the supplied air and forming a mixed exhaust gas, and a mixed exhaust gas outlet for carrying the mixed exhaust gas away from the exhaust system.

The disclosure relates to a system for the treatment of water formed during an operation of at least one fuel cell of a vehicle, having a cavity, a condenser and an underbody-side system outer wall, and is designed to bound an underbody of the vehicle, wherein the condenser is arranged between the cavity and the underbody-side system outer wall, wherein the cavity is connected via an inlet to the at least one fuel cell, wherein, when the vehicle is in motion, the condenser is acted upon by air of an airflow and is cooled, wherein the condenser is designed to cool water which, originating from the at least one fuel cell, flows into the cavity.