JP5261872B2 - Fuel cell evaluation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to evaluation of a fuel cell, and more particularly to a technique for evaluating power generation performance of a fuel cell.

  There is known a fuel cell that converts chemical energy obtained by reacting a fuel gas containing hydrogen with an oxidizing gas containing oxygen into electric energy. The fuel cell is mounted on, for example, a vehicle and is used as a power source for a motor for driving the vehicle.

  The fuel cell is not limited to being mounted on a vehicle, and generates power under various conditions depending on its usage form and usage environment. Therefore, it is desirable to design and manufacture a fuel cell that can maintain stable power generation under various circumstances.

  Therefore, conventionally, various techniques related to evaluation and inspection of fuel cells have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that enables the distribution of generated water accompanying a power generation reaction of a fuel cell to be visually recognized from the outside.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for inspecting and operating the fuel electrode side of a fuel cell in a nitrogen atmosphere to which hydrogen is added. Incidentally, the technique described in Patent Document 2 is a technique for detecting pinholes in a solid electrolyte layer of a cylindrical cell.

  Patent Documents 3 and 4 disclose techniques for inspecting electrical shorts and gas leaks by filling the anode side with hydrogen and filling the cathode side with nitrogen.

JP-A-2005-79076 JP 2000-58095 A JP 2005-44715 A JP 2005-44716 A

  However, conventionally known techniques relating to the evaluation and inspection of fuel cells have not been evaluated or inspected in an actual use environment of the fuel cell, particularly in a disadvantageous situation for power generation.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for evaluating a fuel cell under a disadvantageous condition for power generation.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell evaluation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a fuel cell evaluation system for evaluating a fuel cell, wherein the concentration of a reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell is set to the normal value of the fuel cell. The power generation performance is evaluated by generating the fuel cell at a lower concentration than that during power generation.

  For example, in a fuel cell mounted on a vehicle as a power source for a vehicle drive motor, generated water stays in the cell of the fuel cell due to various traveling patterns of the vehicle, conditions such as stop and parking, or at the time of starting There may be situations that are disadvantageous for power generation, such as the concentration of the reaction gas being lowered. In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the fuel cell can be evaluated under a disadvantageous condition for power generation, for example, by lowering the concentration of the reaction gas than during normal power generation such as when the vehicle is running. Further, since the evaluation can be performed by the fuel cell evaluation system, for example, the trouble of mounting the fuel cell on the vehicle for the evaluation and reproducing the actual driving state can be omitted.

  In a desirable mode, the concentration of the reaction gas is lowered by adding an inert gas to the reaction gas. In a preferred embodiment, the reaction gas is an anode gas containing hydrogen, and by adding nitrogen, which is an inert gas, to the anode gas, the concentration of hydrogen contained in the anode gas is changed stepwise, and each concentration is increased. The power generation performance is evaluated by changing the gas flow rate of the anode gas. In a desirable mode, prior to evaluation of the power generation performance of the fuel cell, the fuel cell is caused to generate power by reducing the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell to be lower than the gas flow rate during normal power generation of the fuel cell. The water is retained in the fuel cell.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell evaluation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a fuel cell evaluation system for evaluating a fuel cell, and the fuel cell is retained after water is retained in the fuel cell. It is characterized by evaluating the power generation performance. In a desirable mode, water is retained in the fuel cell by generating the fuel cell by making the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell smaller than the gas flow rate during normal power generation of the fuel cell. And

  In a preferred aspect of the present invention, for example, by generating a fuel cell by reducing the gas flow rate of the reaction gas compared to normal power generation such as when driving a vehicle, water such as generated water is retained in the fuel cell, The fuel cell can be evaluated under a disadvantageous condition for power generation. Further, since the evaluation can be performed by the fuel cell evaluation system, for example, the trouble of mounting the fuel cell on the vehicle for the evaluation and reproducing the actual driving state can be omitted. Note that moisture may be retained in the fuel cell, for example, by supplying water vapor instead of the reaction gas without generating power in the fuel cell.

  In a desirable mode, in addition to making the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell smaller than that during normal power generation, the temperature of the cooling water for controlling the temperature of the fuel cell is made lower than that during normal power generation, and the fuel The amount of water vapor contained in the reaction gas supplied to the battery is made larger than that during normal power generation, and water is retained in the fuel cell by generating the fuel cell.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell evaluation method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a method in which the concentration of a reaction gas supplied to a fuel cell is set lower than that during normal power generation of the fuel cell. The fuel cell is caused to generate power and the power generation performance is evaluated.

  In order to achieve the above object, the fuel cell evaluation method according to a preferred aspect of the present invention is such that the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell is less than the gas flow rate during normal power generation of the fuel cell. Then, the power generation performance of the fuel cell is evaluated after water is retained in the fuel cell by generating the fuel cell.

  In order to achieve the above object, a method of manufacturing a fuel cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is such that the concentration of the reaction gas supplied to the battery cell stack for evaluation is lower than the concentration during normal power generation. A battery cell stack is generated to evaluate the power generation performance of each battery cell included in the battery cell stack, and a plurality of battery cells with good power generation performance selected thereby are combined to form a battery cell stack for a fuel cell It is characterized by.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fuel cell manufacturing method according to a preferred aspect of the present invention is such that the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the battery cell stack for evaluation is less than the gas flow rate during normal power generation. Then, by causing the battery cell stack to generate electric power, water is retained in the battery cell stack, and then the power generation performance of each battery cell included in the battery cell stack is evaluated. A battery cell stack for a fuel cell is formed by combining a plurality of battery cells.

  According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, for example, the concentration of the reaction gas can be made lower than that during normal power generation, and the fuel cell can be evaluated under a disadvantageous condition for power generation. Also, for example, by reducing the gas flow rate of the reaction gas compared to that during normal power generation, the fuel cell can generate power, and water such as generated water can be retained in the fuel cell, so that the evaluation of the fuel cell can be performed under circumstances that are disadvantageous for power generation. It can be performed.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a fuel cell evaluation system according to the present invention. The evaluation system of FIG. 1 is a system for evaluating the fuel cell 10 and includes an anode gas supply unit 20, a cathode gas supply unit 30, a load 40, and a cell voltage measurement unit 50.

  The fuel cell 10 evaluated by this evaluation system includes a battery cell stack 14 in which a plurality of battery cells 12 that generate power using hydrogen and oxygen are stacked. In the fuel cell 10, a supply path (not shown) for supplying a fuel gas containing hydrogen or air containing oxygen to each battery cell 12 is also provided. The fuel cell 10 supplies the load 40 with electric power obtained by the plurality of battery cells 12 generating electric power.

  Incidentally, when the fuel cell 10 is mounted on a vehicle or the like and used as a power source of a vehicle drive motor, the fuel cell 10 supplies power to an inverter or the like that controls the vehicle drive motor.

  The anode gas supply unit 20 supplies a hydrogen-containing fuel gas (anode gas) to the fuel cell 10, while the cathode gas supply unit 30 supplies oxygen-containing air (cathode gas) to the fuel cell 10. . As a result, the fuel cell 10 supplied with the anode gas and the cathode gas as the reaction gas generates power and supplies power to the load 40.

  The anode gas supply unit 20 can appropriately change the temperature of the anode gas supplied to the fuel cell 10, the amount of water vapor contained in the anode gas, the gas flow rate of the anode gas, the hydrogen concentration contained in the anode gas, and the like. The concentration of hydrogen contained in the anode gas is controlled by the amount of nitrogen contained in the anode gas.

  On the other hand, the cathode gas supply unit 30 can appropriately change the temperature of the cathode gas supplied to the fuel cell 10, the amount of water vapor contained in the cathode gas, the gas flow rate of the cathode gas, and the like. Note that the back pressure of the fuel cell 10 is appropriately controlled, and the pressures of the anode gas and the cathode gas inside the fuel cell 10 are also appropriately changed.

  The cell voltage measurement unit 50 measures the cell voltage of each of the plurality of battery cells 12 in the fuel cell 10. Each battery cell 12 is provided with a mechanism (not shown) for measuring the cell voltage of the battery cell 12 (for example, a cell voltage monitoring connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-352820). The measuring unit 50 measures the cell voltage of each battery cell 12 during power generation.

  The evaluation system of the present embodiment operates the fuel cell 10 under operating conditions according to the inspection. The operating conditions are determined by the load amount, reaction gas temperature, water vapor content of the reaction gas, reaction gas pressure, reaction gas flow rate, cooling water temperature, and the like.

  The load amount is the size of the load 40 of the fuel cell 10 and is defined by the amount of current required by the load 40, for example. The reaction gas temperature is the temperature of the reaction gas (anode gas and cathode gas) supplied to the fuel cell 10. The water vapor content of the reaction gas is the amount of water vapor contained in the reaction gas. The reaction gas pressure is the pressure of the reaction gas in the fuel cell 10. The cooling water temperature is the temperature of the cooling water that controls the temperature of the fuel cell 10. In the present embodiment, these operating conditions are appropriately changed according to the inspection.

  Next, evaluation of the fuel cell by the fuel cell evaluation system of FIG. 1 will be described. For the portions already shown in FIG. 1, the reference numerals in FIG. 1 are also used in the following description.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a fuel cell evaluation method by the evaluation system of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the processing content will be described for each step of the flowchart of FIG.

  In S201, an initial power generation inspection is executed. That is, it is confirmed whether or not there is an initial failure or the like by causing the fuel cell 10 to perform normal power generation. Therefore, in the initial power generation inspection, the fuel cell 10 is caused to generate power under operating conditions assuming a normal power generation state. For example, in the case of the fuel cell 10 mounted on the vehicle as a power source of the vehicle driving motor, the normal operation condition is the normal driving of the vehicle (for example, traveling on a flat general road at several tens of kilometers per hour) The power generation conditions assumed in (1). If the fuel cell 10 is not mounted on a vehicle, normal operating conditions may be defined according to the application. The fuel cell 10 determined to have no initial failure in the initial power generation inspection proceeds to the subsequent inspection.

  In S202, the fuel cell 10 is purged. In other words, moisture accumulated in the battery cell stack 14 of the fuel cell 10, for example, generated water staying in the reaction gas flow path, is purged (displaced) out of the stack. The operating conditions for the purging process are such that the load amount is reduced and the water vapor content of the reaction gas is also reduced as compared to the normal operating conditions. For example, both the load amount and the water vapor content are set to zero. Moreover, you may change other conditions from the normal operation conditions as needed. For example, the reaction gas pressure may be changed to about 50% to 70% of the normal pressure. By performing the purge process, the water content conditions of the plurality of fuel cells 10 can be made uniform when evaluating the plurality of fuel cells 10.

  In S203, a water retention process is performed on the fuel cell 10. That is, moisture is held in the battery cell stack 14 of the fuel cell 10. As a result, the generated water or the like stays in the fuel cell 10 and a situation unfavorable for power generation is reproduced. The operating conditions during the water retention process are such that the load amount is reduced and the gas flow rate is reduced as compared with the normal operating conditions. For example, the gas flow rate is reduced by reducing the load amount to about 10% of the normal load amount. Moreover, you may change other conditions from the normal operation conditions as needed. For example, the cooling water temperature may be lowered to suppress evaporation of water staying in the fuel cell 10. Further, the water vapor content of the reaction gas may be increased, or the reaction gas pressure may be increased.

  Further, the water retention process may be repeated several times. For example, the fuel cell 10 is operated for several tens of minutes depending on the operating conditions during the water retention process described above. Meanwhile, the cooling water temperature may be gradually increased. Then, after the water retention process is performed for several tens of minutes, the power generation of the fuel cell 10 is stopped and left to stand for about several hours. Thereafter, the water retention treatment is further performed for several tens of minutes, and then left for about several hours. Thus, the water content of the fuel cell 10 may be increased by repeating the set of water retention treatment and natural standing several times.

  In S204, a low hydrogen concentration test is performed on the fuel cell 10. In other words, the hydrogen concentration supplied to the fuel cell 10 is set to a lower concentration than the normal hydrogen concentration, and the fuel cell 10 is caused to generate power and inspected under a disadvantageous condition for power generation. The operating conditions for the low hydrogen concentration test are such that the hydrogen concentration contained in the anode gas is reduced as compared with the normal operating conditions. For example, the concentration is changed stepwise within a range of about 50% to 100% of the normal hydrogen concentration. The concentration of hydrogen contained in the anode gas is controlled by the amount of nitrogen contained in the anode gas. The power generation performance is evaluated by changing the gas flow rate of the anode gas for each concentration changed stepwise. If necessary, other conditions may be changed from the normal operating conditions. For example, the load amount may be reduced, or the cooling water temperature or the cooling water flow rate may be reduced.

  In S205, it is determined whether all the battery cells 12 included in the fuel cell 10 are good in the low hydrogen concentration test in S204. Therefore, the low hydrogen concentration test and its determination method executed in S204 and S205 will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the low hydrogen concentration test, and shows a graph of the test result obtained by the low hydrogen concentration test. In the graph shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents the hydrogen concentration contained in the anode gas, and the vertical axis represents the anode gas supply ratio.

  The anode gas supply ratio is a ratio between the total flow rate of the anode gas and the minimum amount of hydrogen. The total anode gas flow rate is the total flow rate of hydrogen, nitrogen, and water (steam) contained in the anode gas supplied to the fuel cell 10. On the other hand, the minimum hydrogen amount is a minimum hydrogen amount that is determined based on the load amount (current value). The anode gas supply ratio is a value obtained by dividing the total flow rate of the anode gas by the minimum hydrogen amount, and is an index value indicating the gas flow rate of the anode gas. That is, when the anode gas supply ratio is large, the gas flow rate of the anode gas is large, and when the anode gas supply ratio is small, the gas flow rate of the anode gas is small.

  In the low hydrogen concentration test (S204 in FIG. 2), the power generation performance is evaluated by changing the concentration of hydrogen contained in the anode gas stepwise and changing the gas flow rate of the anode gas for each concentration. That is, for example, the hydrogen concentration is fixed at 60%, the gas flow rate (anode gas supply ratio) is gradually decreased, and the minimum gas flow rate (anode gas supply ratio) at which the fuel cell 10 can stably generate power is measured. .

  Whether or not the fuel cell 10 is able to generate power stably is determined based on whether or not all the battery cells 12 are generating power satisfactorily (S205 in FIG. 2). Whether or not all the battery cells 12 are good is determined by the voltage of the battery cell 12 having the lowest output voltage among the plurality of battery cells 12 included in the fuel cell 10. That is, it is determined whether or not the lowest voltage (lowest cell voltage) among the voltages of the battery cells 12 measured by the cell voltage measuring unit 50 is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage. The determination condition may be that the minimum cell voltage is maintained at a threshold voltage or higher for a predetermined time.

  In the graph shown in FIG. 3, the inspection results regarding the two fuel cells 10 of the fuel cell A and the fuel cell B are plotted. That is, the values of the minimum gas flow rate (anode gas supply ratio) that can generate power stably at the hydrogen concentrations of 60%, 80%, and 90% are plotted. The smaller the gas flow rate, the more disadvantageous the power generation. Therefore, it can be said that the better the fuel cell 10 can generate power even in a situation that is disadvantageous for power generation, as the plotted inspection result is present in the smaller direction of the vertical axis (anode gas supply ratio). Conversely, it can be said that the fuel cell 10 is more difficult to generate power under disadvantageous conditions as the plotted inspection result is larger in the vertical axis direction.

  Therefore, in order to select a good fuel cell 10, a determination value (broken line) indicating a determination criterion for the low hydrogen concentration test is set in the graph of FIG. In the graph shown in FIG. 3, the fuel cell 10 plotted below the determination value is determined to be good, while the fuel cell 10 plotted above the determination value is determined to be defective.

  In the present embodiment, the test results are plotted for each of the hydrogen concentrations 60%, 80%, and 90% for each fuel cell A and B. Then, even one of the fuel cells 10 plotted above the determination value is determined to be defective. That is, in the graph shown in FIG. 3, since the fuel cell B is plotted below the determination value at all of the hydrogen concentrations of 60%, 80%, and 90%, it is determined that the fuel cell B is a non-defective product that has cleared the determination value. On the other hand, since the fuel cell A is plotted above the determination value at a hydrogen concentration of 60%, it is determined as a defective product. In this way, the non-defective product and the defective product are determined based on the determination value.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the fuel cell 10 for which all the battery cells 12 are determined to have been able to generate power satisfactorily in S205 is regarded as a non-defective product and the inspection is finished. Note that, in the fuel cell 10 determined to be non-defective, water is retained in the fuel cell 10 by the water retention process of S203. For this reason, it is desirable that the purge process is performed by operating the fuel cell 10 determined to be a non-defective product under the same operating conditions as in S202. Furthermore, the power generation operation of the fuel cell 10 may be reconfirmed by performing an initial power generation inspection under the same operating conditions as in S201 after the purge process.

  On the other hand, for the fuel cell 10 that has not been determined to be good in S205, that is, the fuel cell 10 in which the minimum cell voltage is not equal to or higher than the threshold voltage, the process proceeds to S206 to replace the battery cell 12 that is determined to be defective. Is called.

  In S206, the battery cell 12 for which the minimum cell voltage has been measured is to be replaced. In the determination of S205, since the voltage of each battery cell 12 is measured by the cell voltage measuring unit 50, in addition to the battery cell 12 that has reached the lowest cell voltage, the threshold voltage or higher (or the threshold voltage or higher) for a predetermined time. The battery cell 12 that has not been maintained) is determined to be defective and is replaced.

  And the defective battery cell 12 used as the exchange object is replaced | exchanged for the favorable battery cell 12, and the test after S201 is performed again. Since the battery cell 12 to be exchanged has been replaced with a good battery cell 12, in S205 in the re-inspection, it is almost certainly determined that all the battery cells 12 are good. In addition, you may abbreviate | omit the reexamination after S201 after exchanging for the favorable battery cell 12. FIG.

  The good battery cell 12 exchanged in S206 is the good battery cell 12 evaluated in advance by the evaluation system of the present embodiment. That is, each process from S201 to S204 in FIG. 2 is performed on the fuel cell 10 having the battery cell stack 14 for selecting a good battery cell 12 for replacement. Then, the voltage of each battery cell 12 included in the battery cell stack 14 is measured by the low hydrogen concentration test in S204, and the battery cell 12 that is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage (or maintains the threshold voltage or higher for a predetermined time) is a good battery cell. 12 is extracted.

  The battery cell stack 14 for extracting good battery cells 12 has the same structure as the battery cell stack 14 used for the finished product of the fuel cell 10, for example, a battery cell stack in which the same number of battery cells 12 as the finished product are stacked. 14 may be sufficient. However, since the purpose is to extract good battery cells 12, a battery cell stack 14 dedicated to that purpose, for example, a battery cell stack 14 for extracting good products in which the number of battery cells 12 is smaller than that of a finished product is used. May be.

  In S206, the defective battery cell 12 to be replaced may be replaced with a good battery cell 12 in the battery cell stack 14 of the same fuel cell 10. For example, in the fuel cell 10, water or the like tends to accumulate in the battery cell 12 located at the end. For this reason, the battery cell 12 determined to be defective at the end portion is replaced with the battery cell 12 determined to be good at the end portion, and the fuel cell 10 after the replacement is re-inspected, whereby S205 at the time of the re-inspection. Thus, it may be determined that all the battery cells 12 are generating power satisfactorily.

  Thus, the fuel cell 10 determined that all the battery cells 12 have been able to generate power satisfactorily in the re-inspection S205 is regarded as a non-defective product and the inspection is terminated. Even after the re-inspection, since the water is retained in the fuel cell 10 by the water retention process of S203, it is desirable to perform the purge process by operating under the same operating conditions as S202. Furthermore, the power generation operation of the fuel cell 10 may be reconfirmed by performing an initial power generation inspection under the same operating conditions as in S201 after the purge process.

  On the other hand, the fuel cell 10 that has not been determined to be good in the re-inspection S205 may proceed to S206 again and replace the battery cell 12 that is determined to be defective. Alternatively, the entire structure of the fuel cell 10 may be reinspected.

  As described above, in the fuel cell evaluation system of this embodiment, water such as generated water is retained in the fuel cell 10 by the water retention process in S203, and further, the reaction gas of the reaction gas is more than in normal power generation by the low hydrogen concentration test in S204. The concentration of the fuel cell 10 can be evaluated under a disadvantageous condition for power generation by reducing the concentration. Therefore, the fuel cell 10 determined to be good by the evaluation system of the present embodiment or the fuel cell 10 constituted by the battery cell 12 determined to be good can generate power even under a disadvantageous condition for power generation. . Therefore, the evaluation system of this embodiment is effective for the evaluation and manufacture of the anode circulation system fuel cell 10, for example.

  In the anode circulation system fuel cell system, the anode gas (fuel gas containing hydrogen) output from the fuel cell 10 is circulated to the anode electrode side of the fuel cell 10 through the circulation system, and the hydrogen gas serving as the fuel The use efficiency is improved. However, in the anode circulation system fuel cell system, when the fuel cell 10 stops power generation for a long time, impurities such as nitrogen may be mixed into the hydrogen circulation system as time passes after the stop. Therefore, when power generation is started after a long stop, a situation where power generation is performed in a low hydrogen concentration state can be considered. In the fuel cell evaluation system of the present embodiment, the fuel cell 10 that can be operated satisfactorily even in a low hydrogen concentration state is selected, or the battery cell 12 that can be satisfactorily operated even in a low hydrogen concentration state is selected and the fuel cell 10 is used. For example, the fuel cell 10 of the anode circulation system is effective for evaluation and manufacturing.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, embodiment mentioned above is only a mere illustration in all the points, and does not limit the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the water retention process is performed in S203 of FIG. 2 and then the low hydrogen concentration test is performed in S204. However, one of these processes may be omitted. For example, the inspection may be executed at a normal hydrogen concentration while only water retention processing is performed and water remains in the fuel cell 10, or the low hydrogen concentration inspection is performed by omitting the water retention processing. Also good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the voltage value of each battery cell 12 is used in the determination in S205 of FIG. Instead, it may be determined whether or not the battery cell 12 is good based on the water content in each battery cell 12.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a fuel cell evaluation system according to the present invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the evaluation method of the fuel cell by the fuel cell evaluation system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the graph of the test result obtained by a low hydrogen concentration test | inspection.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fuel cell, 12 battery cell, 14 battery cell stack, 20 anode gas supply part, 30 cathode gas supply part, 40 load, 50 cell voltage measurement part.

Claims (9)

A fuel cell evaluation system for evaluating a fuel cell,
Prior to the evaluation of the power generation performance of the fuel cell, the fuel cell generates power by reducing the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell to be lower than the gas flow rate during normal power generation of the fuel cell. Water in the
By generating the fuel cell with the concentration of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell being lower than the concentration at the time of normal power generation of the fuel cell, the power generation performance of the fuel cell can be reduced under a disadvantageous situation compared to the time of normal power generation. evaluate,
A fuel cell evaluation system. The fuel cell evaluation system according to claim 1,
Reducing the concentration of the reaction gas by including an inert gas in the reaction gas;
A fuel cell evaluation system. In the fuel cell evaluation system according to claim 2,
The reaction gas is an anode gas containing hydrogen. By adding nitrogen, which is an inert gas, to the anode gas, the concentration of hydrogen contained in the anode gas is changed stepwise, and the anode gas is changed for each concentration. Evaluate power generation performance by changing the gas flow rate,
A fuel cell evaluation system. A fuel cell evaluation system for evaluating a fuel cell,
Reducing the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell to be lower than the gas flow rate during normal power generation of the fuel cell and causing the fuel cell to generate electricity, thereby retaining water in the fuel cell, Under a disadvantageous situation compared to the time of power generation, and evaluate the power generation performance of the fuel cell under the disadvantageous situation,
A fuel cell evaluation system. In the fuel cell evaluation system according to claim 4 ,
In addition to lowering the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell than during normal power generation, the temperature of the cooling water for controlling the temperature of the fuel cell is made lower than during normal power generation and supplied to the fuel cell. Increasing the amount of water vapor contained in the reaction gas than during normal power generation, causing water to stay in the fuel cell by generating the fuel cell,
A fuel cell evaluation system. A fuel cell evaluation method comprising:
Prior to the evaluation of the power generation performance of the fuel cell, the fuel cell generates power by reducing the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell to be lower than the gas flow rate during normal power generation of the fuel cell. Water in the
By generating the fuel cell with the concentration of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell being lower than the concentration at the time of normal power generation of the fuel cell, the power generation performance of the fuel cell can be reduced under a disadvantageous situation compared to the time of normal power generation. evaluate,
A method for evaluating a fuel cell. A fuel cell evaluation method comprising:
Reducing the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell to be lower than the gas flow rate during normal power generation of the fuel cell to generate power, the water is retained in the fuel cell, and the fuel cell is normally generated. To evaluate the power generation performance of the fuel cell under the disadvantageous situation,
A method for evaluating a fuel cell. A fuel cell manufacturing method comprising:
Prior to evaluating the power generation performance of each battery cell included in the battery cell stack for evaluation, the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the battery cell stack is made smaller than the gas flow rate during normal power generation to Water is retained in the battery cell stack by generating electricity,
By making the concentration of the reaction gas supplied to the battery cell stack for evaluation lower than the concentration at the time of normal power generation and generating the power at the battery cell stack, Evaluate the power generation performance of each battery cell included, and combine a plurality of battery cells with good power generation performance selected thereby to form a battery cell stack for fuel cells,
A method for manufacturing a fuel cell. A fuel cell manufacturing method comprising:
Reducing the gas flow rate of the reaction gas supplied to the battery cell stack for evaluation below the gas flow rate during normal power generation to generate power in the battery cell stack causes water to stay in the battery cell stack, and the battery cell stack. Under the disadvantageous situation compared with normal power generation, and under that disadvantageous situation, evaluate the power generation performance of each battery cell included in the battery cell stack, and select multiple battery cells with good power generation performance. Combine to form a battery cell stack for fuel cells,
A method for manufacturing a fuel cell.

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