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 fuel cell system includes fuel cell modules connected in parallel and each including fuel cell stacks connected in series. A tester includes: an output power acquirer that acquires an output power value for each fuel cell stack; a deterioration estimator that estimates a degree of future deterioration for each fuel cell stack; and a future output power estimator that estimates, for each fuel cell stack, a future output power value, which is a value of power that is likely to be outputted after a specific period of time has passed, based on the degree of future deterioration estimated by the deterioration estimator. The fuel cell stack combining method includes determining combinations of the fuel cell stacks based on differences in the output power value between the fuel cell stacks and differences in the future output power value between the fuel cell stacks.

A modeling method for designing a flow field of a fuel cell including a membrane electrode assembly including a catalyst layer and an electrolyte membrane, a gas diffusion layer, a flow field, and a bipolar plate includes modeling using a numerical model derived from a governing equation including a mass conservation equation of species, a fluid momentum in a porous media, and a modified Butler-Volmer's equation and outputting an oxygen diffusion characteristic in a catalyst layer from the modeling result.

The accelerated lifetime test device for a redox flow battery according to the present invention includes a test cell including a separator configured to exchange ions contained in an electrolyte, first and second manifolds disposed on both side surfaces of the separator and having openings through which the electrolyte flows, a cathode disposed on an outer side surface of the first manifold, an anode disposed on an outer side surface of the second manifold, and first and second end plates respectively disposed on outer side surfaces of the cathode and the anode, a rotator configured to uniformly disperse the electrolyte included in the test cell by rotating the test cell and a tester connected to each of the cathode and the anode of the test cell and configured to test performance of the test cell.

A method for characterizing the catalyst structure in a fuel cell, and in particular the transmission X-ray absorption measurements (XAS), in which a novel fuel cell design is used. The fuel cell comprises a first (planar) electrode having a first catalyst, a second (planar) electrode having a second catalyst, and an electrolyte membrane disposed between the electrodes and having a layer thickness l.sub.m, wherein the first electrode comprises at least one catalyst-free circular region having a radius R1.sup.max. Contrary to what has been customary until now, the second electrode of the fuel cell according to the invention likewise comprises a catalyst-free circular region having a radius R.sub.2<R.sub.1.sup.max. Advantageously, 0.5 l.sub.m≦[R.sub.1.sup.max−R.sub.2]≦2 l.sub.m applies. Simulations prove that during these examinations, which capture only a narrow catalyst-containing sample ring, the local current density across the surface can be kept essentially constant, and therefore the captured catalyst particles are considerably more representative of the entire catalyst layer than in previously examinations using fuel cells in which the sample used has a completely circular measurement geometry.

Provided is a flight path calculating method for high altitude long endurance of an unmanned aerial vehicle based on regenerative fuel cells and solar cells according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a modeling step, a simulation step, and an analyzing step, and may be configured in a program form executed by an arithmetic processing means including a computer. a flight path searching method and a flight path searching apparatus for performing continuous flight path re-searching on the basis of information measured in real time during a flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the stratosphere to change a flight path so that the unmanned aerial vehicle may permanently perform long endurance in the stratosphere is provided.

One embodiment provides a method for predicting maintenance of a redox flow battery, the method including: receiving, from a plurality of sensors, data regarding characteristics of the redox flow battery; weighting, using a processor, each of the characteristics to form an estimated state parameter for the redox flow battery; and determining, using the processor, a maintenance action for the redox flow battery using the estimated state parameter. Other aspects are described and claimed.

A system for estimating purge of a fuel cell includes the fuel cell for generating power by receiving hydrogen at an anode side, and receiving oxygen at a cathode side, a recirculation line connected with the anode side of the fuel cell, and in which gas containing hydrogen therein is circulated, a purge valve positioned in the recirculation line, and for discharging the gas in the recirculation line to outside as the purge valve is opened, a differential pressure calculator for calculating a differential pressure between a front end and a rear end of the purge valve, a speed estimator for estimating a current gas diffusion speed in the recirculation line, and a purge amount estimator for estimating the amount of purge through the purge valve by using the differential pressure calculated by the differential pressure calculator and the gas diffusion speed estimated by the speed estimator.

An online observation method of an anode nitrogen concentration for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell is disclosed. Firstly, a dynamic model of anode nitrogen concentration is established based on a gas transmembrane penetration model and an anode material conservation model of a fuel cell, and then an average voltage degradation value between a nitrogen partial pressure and an average monolithic cell voltage is obtained as online feedback information, an online observer of anode nitrogen concentration is established based on the dynamic model of anode nitrogen concentration and the online feedback information, and the anode nitrogen concentration of the fuel cell is obtained by the online observer. The new method solves the problem of online observation of anode nitrogen concentration during the operation of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell engine system under dynamic conditions.

Provided are batteries and fuel cells incorporating a stripline detector for use in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The stripline batteries and fuel cells can be used for in situ NMR measurement of battery or fuel cell chemistry. Also provided are methods for measuring in situ battery and fuel cell NMR using the stripline batteries and fuel cells of the invention.