Inventors:
Constantinos Minas - Slingerland NY, US
George Allen - Albany NY, US
John E. Meschter - New York NY, US
Amit Chaugule - Guilderland NY, US
James K. Prueitt - Ballston Lake NY, US
Assignee:
MTI MICROFUEL CELLS INC. - Albany NY
International Classification:
H01M 2/00, B21D 53/02
Abstract:
A heat spreader assembly that provides electrical, thermal and structural functions to the fuel cell. The heat spreader assembly comprises two bulk composite material layers, and a heat spreader element. The heat spreader element includes a copper layer sandwiched between two stainless steel layers. The stainless steel layers are bonded to the bulk composite layers by a conductive thermal set adhesive. The lamination applied to the stainless steel layers enables heat and electricity to flow from the cathode while maintaining low resistance among other layers of the fuel cell. The copper layer diffuses heat across the layer and functions as cathode current collector for a fuel cell. The bulk composite material layers function as a cold side of an enthalpy exchanger system and a cathode flow field. Further the composite material includes flow channels formed throughout the material to evenly distribute incoming air over the enthalpy exchanger membrane and to the cathode of the MEA.