Provided is a fuel cell cooling system including: a heat exchange unit including a radiator dissipating heat contained in a coolant and an evaporator disposed to exchange heat with the radiator and evaporating water using the heat from the radiator to humidify outside air; and an air compressor compressing the outside air passing through the evaporator and supplying the compressed air to a fuel cell stack.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, an oxidant gas supply and discharge system, a coolant circulation system, a compressor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, and a control unit. When a measured atmospheric pressure becomes lower than a predetermined reference atmospheric pressure, the control unit executes temperature and pressure lowering control for controlling the coolant circulation system to lower the temperature of the fuel cell while controlling a pressure-regulating valve to lower a delivery pressure of the compressor.

A bipolar plate for a fuel cell having two profiled separator plates with channels for reaction gases and coolant, wherein the channels for a reaction gas or both reaction gases have a smaller width in an inlet region of the active region than in the remaining sub-region of the active region, wherein the width thereof continuously increases from the beginning to the end of the inlet region. Supports between the channels have a greater width than in the remaining sub-region of the active region, wherein the sum of the width of the channels and the width of the supports is constant, and the width of the channels and the supports is constant in the entire remaining sub-region.

A fuel cell system and method are provided. One or more surfactants are used as a hydrogen carrier and/or coolant for hydrogen fueled proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The surfactant can work as a bubbler to trap hydrogen as fine bubbles with cooling water to feed the fuel cell anode. The water acts as humidification supplier and coolant.

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 system includes a fuel cell stack that receives a fluid, an actuator to increase or decrease a fluid temperature of the fluid, a pipe to facilitate flow of the fluid, and a memory designed to store a model of the fuel cell circuit. The system also includes an ECU that calculates mass flow values of the fluid through the fuel cell stack or the pipe based on a previously-determined mass flow value and the model of the fuel cell circuit. The ECU also calculates a plurality of pressure values corresponding to the fuel cell stack or the pipe based on the plurality of mass flow values and the model, controls the actuator position of the actuator to increase or decrease the fluid temperature based on at least one of the plurality of mass flow values and at least one of the plurality of pressure values.

A system for heating or cooling a fuel cell circuit of a vehicle includes a fuel cell stack, a temperature sensor to detect a fluid temperature of the fluid, a pump to pump the fluid through the fuel cell circuit, and an ECU. The ECU is designed to determine a temperature control signal based on the fluid temperature of the fluid. The ECU is also designed to calculate a desired mass flow rate of the fluid through the fuel cell stack based on the temperature control signal. The ECU is also designed to calculate a desired pump speed of the pump based on the desired mass flow rate of the fluid through the fuel cell stack. The ECU is also designed to control the pump to pump the fluid at the desired pump speed to increase or decrease the fluid temperature of the fluid.

A system includes a fuel cell stack having a plurality of fuel cells and designed to receive a fluid and to heat the fluid. The system also includes an actuator to increase or decrease a fluid temperature of the fluid and an ECU. The ECU can determine a temperature control signal corresponding to a desired temperature of the fluid and perform a feedforward control of the actuator to increase or decrease the fluid temperature towards the desired temperature. The ECU can also determine a temperature difference between the fluid temperature and the desired temperature, and can determine a sensitivity that corresponds a change in a parameter value or the actuator position to a change in the fluid temperature. The ECU can also apply the sensitivity to the temperature difference to determine an error signal, and control the actuator based on the error signal.

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.