Abstract: The present invention provides a fuel cell having a first diffusion and a second diffusion media having a membrane electrode assembly disposed therebetween. The first diffusion media includes a first set of material characteristics and the second diffusion media includes a second set of material characteristics. The first set of material characteristics has at least one material characteristic substantially different from those same material characteristics of the second set of material characteristics. The difference in material characteristics provides for enhancing water management across a major face of the second diffusion media.

Abstract: A fuel cell assembly is disclosed that utilizes a water transport structure extending from fuel cell plates of the assembly into fuel cell assembly manifolds, wherein the water transport structure facilitates the transport of liquid water from the fuel cell plates thereby minimizing the accumulation of liquid water and ice in the fuel cell stack.

Abstract: A method including starting a fuel cell stack and generating heat in the fuel cell stack to raise the fuel cell stack temperature above 0° C. for each start to eliminate ice in the fuel cell stack before shutdown.

Abstract: A bipolar plate for a fuel cell is disclosed including a first unipolar plate having an active surface with a plurality of flowfield channels formed therein. The first unipolar plate further includes an inlet header disposed at a first end of the unipolar plate that is in communication with the active surface, and an outlet header disposed at a second end of the unipolar plate having an exhaust opening formed therethrough. A peripheral edge of the exhaust opening is chamfered and is also in communication with the active surface. The chamfered exhaust opening forms a water removal channel in the bipolar plate. A fuel cell stack including the bipolar plate is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method of starting a fuel cell stack in subzero conditions that minimizes start times while avoiding cell reversal by using an iterative model to determine the optimal current density time profile for startup.

Abstract: An evaporator for an HVAC system is disclosed wherein an upstream to downstream airflow is directed through the evaporator for inducing a transfer of thermal energy between the airflow and a fluid circulating in the evaporator. The evaporator includes at least two cores adjacent one to the other. Each of the cores defines a core inlet and a core outlet and the cores are arranged such that the core inlet of the first core is positioned at an opposite end from the inlet of the second core. Correspondingly, the outlet of the first core is positioned at an opposite end from the outlet of the second core. The evaporator inlet is in fluid communication with the first core inlet and the second core inlet and the outlet is in fluid communication with the first core outlet and the second core outlet.

Abstract: An evaporator (10) with opposed pairs of generally vertically oriented flow tube surfaces (14) has corrugated air fins in which the tube surface spacing c, the interior radius r of a crest (20) joining adjacent pairs of fin walls (18), the fin pitch p separating adjacent crests (20), and the length l of louvers (22) cut out of the fin walls (18) bear the following relationship: 0≦r/c≦0.057, 0.89≦l/c≦1.01, and 0.29≦p/c≦0.43. This has been found to substantially improve condensate drainage, while not significantly penalizing heat transfer or air side pressure drop.

Abstract: An evaporator (10) with opposed pairs of generally vertically oriented flow tube surfaces (14) has corrugated air fins in which the tube surface spacing c, the interior radius r of a crest (20) joining adjacent pairs of fin walls (18), the fin pitch p separating adjacent crests (20), and the length l of louvers (22) cut out of the fin walls (18) bear the following relationship: 0≦r/c≦0.057, 0.89≦l/c≦1.01, and 0.29≦p/c≦0.43. This has been found to substantially improve condensate drainage, while not significantly penalizing heat transfer or air side pressure drop.

Abstract: An evaporator used in a vehicle air conditioner has vertical plates with a hybrid corrugated fin between the plates. The leading section of the fin as horizontally oriented corrugations, as is normal, while the trailing section has vertically oriented corrugations. Air passes through louvers in the vertical corrugations, and their vertical orientation aids in water drainage.

Abstract: An evaporator (20) of the stacked plate, straight flow type achieves multi pass flow while locating the inlet (28) and outlet (30) adjacent to one another, without the use of embedded inlet or outlet pipes, and with only two basic plate shapes. A standard plate (32), included in all plate pairs but for the last plate pair at the far end, has a pair of identical protruding cups (34, 36), one of which (34) is open to the flow tube formed by the pair of facing plates, and the other of which, (36) is discrete from both the flow tube and the other cup (34). When stacked and aligned, the main cups (34) make up a header pipe (48) that is open to the flow tubes, one at both the top and bottom. Each header pipe (48) is adjacent to an entirely discrete transfer pipe (50). A next to last special plate (40) has an identical pair of cups (34, 36) at the bottom end, but a single, wider cross over cup (42) at the top end, which is open to the header pipe (48) and transfer pipe (50) a the top side.