Patent ID: 8906570

Claim:
A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell stack having a first end, a second end, and a plurality of fuel cells, the fuel cell stack including an anode supply manifold and an anode exhaust manifold; a first valve disposed at the first end of the fuel cell stack, the first valve in direct fluid communication with the anode supply manifold, wherein the first valve includes an inlet for receiving a fluid from the anode supply manifold and an outlet for exhausting a fluid from the anode supply manifold; an anode inlet conduit disposed at the second end of the fuel cell stack, the anode inlet conduit providing fluid communication between the anode supply manifold and a source of hydrogen, wherein the first valve is spaced from the anode inlet conduit; a first sensor for measuring a first fluid pressure at the inlet of the first valve and a second sensor for measuring a second fluid pressure at the outlet of the first valve, wherein the first sensor generates a first sensor signal representing the first pressure measurement and the second sensor generates a second sensor signal representing the second pressure measurement; and a processor for receiving the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal, analyzing the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal, and determining a composition of a fluid in the fuel cell system based upon the analysis of the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal.