The present invention provides fuel cell stacks comprising effective means to maintain the fuel cell stacks at a constant temperature using plates mated to at least one face of the stack and in contact with the edges of the repeat and non-repeat layers while making use of the phase change of working-fluids such as water or water-organic species mixtures for heat transfer. Also provided are processes for maintaining said fuel cell stacks at a constant temperature by adjusting the flow rate and pressure of the cooling fluid so that both liquid and vapor are present at the same time.

A fuel cell mount apparatus includes a plurality of fuel cell stacks, a pipe arrangement, a fluid adjustment part, a pressure detection part, and a control device. The pipe arrangement is individually connected to each of the fuel cell stacks. The fluid adjustment part adjusts a pressure or a flow rate of a fluid which flows through the pipe arrangement. The pressure detection part is disposed on a portion which requires a desired pressure or flow rate of the fluid in the pipe arrangement and detects the pressure of the fluid. The control device controls the fluid adjustment part on the basis of a detection result of the pressure detection part.

A control system and method for preventing a fuel cell from overheating are disclosed. The system includes: a fuel cell that generates electric power through reaction of fuel gas and oxidation gas; a cooling line in which a cooling medium flows and performs heat exchange with the fuel cell; a cooling pump installed on the cooling line and configured to circulate the cooling medium through the cooling line; a cooling controller that controls an operating state of the cooling pump on the basis of the temperature of the fuel cell or the cooling medium; and a power generation controller that limits power generation of the fuel cell on the basis of the operating state of the cooling pump.

A fuel cell including an electrochemical reactor; a cooling circuit; a controller; a coolant circuit; a first temperature sensor; and a second temperature sensor. The cooling circuit includes a cooling pipe, a water pump, a radiator, a heater, and a thermostatic three-way valve. The cooling circuit is configured to cool the electrochemical reactor. The controller is configured to control operations of the electrochemical reactor and the cooling circuit. The cooling pipe includes a first water inlet and a first water outlet; and the coolant circuit is disposed between the first water inlet and the first water outlet. The first temperature sensor is disposed at the first water inlet. The second temperature sensor is disposed at the first water outlet. The first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor are configured to detect and transmit temperature data of a coolant in the cooling pipe to the controller.

A method for controlling a fuel cell that includes an electrochemical reactor; a cooling circuit; a controller; a coolant circuit; a first temperature sensor; and a second temperature sensor. The cooling circuit includes a cooling pipe and is configured to cool the electrochemical reactor; the controller is configured to control operations of the electrochemical reactor and the cooling circuit; the cooling pipe includes a first water inlet and a first water outlet; and the coolant circuit is connected to the first water inlet and the first water outlet. The method includes comparing the first temperature of the coolant at the first water inlet to the second temperature at the first water outlet; and controlling operations of the heater and the electrochemical reactor based on the comparison result.

A fuel cell based power generator includes a fuel cell element, an ambient air path configured to receive ambient air and provide the ambient air across a cathode side of the fuel cell element, receive water from the fuel cell element and provide wet air to the water exchanger element, and a fuel cell cooling mechanism associated with the fuel cell element, separate from the ambient air path and configured to cool the fuel cell element.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for heating a fuel cell module.

A method for controlling a fuel cell that includes an electrochemical reactor; a cooling circuit; a controller; a coolant circuit; a first temperature sensor; and a second temperature sensor. The cooling circuit includes a cooling pipe and is configured to cool the electrochemical reactor; the controller is configured to control operations of the electrochemical reactor and the cooling circuit; the cooling pipe includes a first water inlet and a first water outlet; and the coolant circuit is connected to the first water inlet and the first water outlet. The method includes comparing the first temperature of the coolant at the first water inlet to the second temperature at the first water outlet; and controlling operations of the heater and the electrochemical reactor based on the comparison result.

A temperature control method for a vehicular proton exchange membrane fuel cell system comprises the following steps: detecting a cooling loop inlet temperature of a fuel cell stack by using a temperature sensor, and inputting the temperature into a controller to achieve cooling fan control based on the controller, wherein the cooling fan control comprises fuzzy logic self-adaptive proportional integral control and feedforward compensation control, gain parameters of the proportional integral control are self-adaptively updated by a fuzzy logic algorithm, a load current of the fuel cell serves as disturbance and is used for feedforward compensation, and meanwhile, the opening degree of the fan is determined by the total cooling capacity requirement and the number of cooling fans; and finally, inputting a control signal output by the controller into an actuator of a thermal management subsystem, and conducting cooling inlet temperature control of the fuel cell stack.

A fuel cell cooling system and a control method are provided. The fuel cell cooling system includes a fuel cell module having a fuel cell stack and a first cooling water line through which primary cooling water undergoing heat exchange with the fuel cell stack to adjust a temperature of the fuel cell stack circulates. A cooling module includes a second cooling water line through which secondary cooling water circulates and a cooling tower is configured to adjust a temperature of the secondary cooling water. A heat exchanger is connected between the first cooling water line of the fuel cell module and the second cooling water line of the cooling module for heat exchange. A controller configured to operate the fuel cell module and the cooling module.