| Physical Information : | 1-Cell Stack | 5-Cell Stack | 10-Cell Stack |
| Height and Width | 86 mm | 86 mm | 86 mm |
| 3.4 inches | 3.4 inches | 3.4 inches | |
| Stack Length "L" | 4.19 cm | 6.4 cm | 8.76 cm |
| 1.65 inches | 2.5 inches | 3.45" inches | |
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How a Fuel Cell Works |
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Protons (from the hydrogen or alcohol in methanol fuel cells) are provided to the anode. The purpose of the anode catalyst is to remove the proton from the molecule and allow it to cross the proton exchange membrane (PEM). Upon reaching the cathode, the proton is given an electron and can subsequently react with oxygen in the air to form water. |
Voltage and Power as Functions of Current |
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The graph to the left is a performance chart for a 5-cell TekStak operated under two conditions: Forced Air and Free Air. The voltage of the stack (left axis) and the power density of the stack (right axis) are shown as a function of the current delivered by the stack. Note that as more current is provided by the fuel cell stack, its output voltage decays. It is the amount of decay which is of interest when determining the performance of the stack. In this example, the passive and forced air stacks show little difference until about 40 mA/cm2 where the passive system becomes starved for oxygen.
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