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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

cellule d'une pile à combustible

English translation:

cell of a fuel cell stack

Added to glossary by Tony M
Apr 10, 2014 14:03
10 yrs ago
French term

cellule d'une pile à combustible

French to English Tech/Engineering Electronics / Elect Eng
patent about an electrochemical system

"On effectue ainsi un pré-reformage du gaz naturel avant son introduction dans les cellules de la pile."

"cells of the fuel cell" doesn't sound too elegant, manifestly. Anyone got any idea what an alternative for "cellule" might be here. Thought of "unit" but not convinced.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 cell of a fuel cell stack
4 cell of a fuel cell
Change log

May 23, 2014 11:09: Tony M Created KOG entry

Discussion

Mpoma (asker) Apr 10, 2014:
apologies sorry, this definitely is a "pile à combustible"... mentioned many times throughout the text. The text also refers to an "empilement", principally "empilement de motifs élémentaires", which I understand to be "repeating patterns" (in fact the term belongs to IT and chemistry ("repeating unit") and is I think used rather confusingly here). I now realise I should have explained more... but assumed people would take it on trust that we are definitely talking about a "pile à combustible".
merlrennes Apr 10, 2014:
Hi Chris, linguistically you are right but in this case it is a fuel-cell. The natural gas will be re-formed to produce hydrogen which is the standard fuel in a fuel cell.
chris collister Apr 10, 2014:
The ST as given is "...dans les cellules de la pile", no mention here of "à combustible", except in the header. Which is correct? Is this, in fact, a fuel cell, or a novel form of electrochemical cell? As Merlrennes points out, a "pile" (in deference to Volta) is a collection of cells, more properly called a battery, and often used incorrectly in vernacular French. Eg a 9V battery is described as a "pile", though it actually contains 6 "cells".//Oops, got that wrong! Single cells (eg AA,AAA) are sold as "piles", and describing a 9V battery as a "pile" is correct! Mea culpa.
philgoddard Apr 10, 2014:
Yes, you're right, Anca. That is confusing matters slightly.
Anca Florescu-Mitchell Apr 10, 2014:
The problem is that the sentence calls for Tony's translation (a fuel cell stack is a formed by individual fuel cells connected in series), while the term in the title calls for merlrennes' translation.
merlrennes Apr 10, 2014:
A collection of cells is a battery but it is not a fuel cell. I hesitate with the word "stack" as the whole sentence talks about the introduction of natural gas into the "cell". There is I think only one cell in a fuel cell. (This answer isn't very elegant either!) A cell in a battery produces a specific voltage that is characteristic of the electrochemical reaction. This is the same for the fuel cell where the voltage generated is characteristic of the electrochemical potential of the redox reaction between the fuel and the oxidant.
philgoddard Apr 10, 2014:
I'd like to see what other people think - this is not my subject area at all.
Mpoma (asker) Apr 10, 2014:
thanks yes, thanks for your suggestion... I just did a google on "cell of a fuel cell" (surrounded by quotes) and there are many hits, but they are all followed by the word "stack". I'm therefore also wondering whether "pile à combustible" should in fact be "fuel cell stack" in this case... Care to submit an answer?
philgoddard Apr 10, 2014:
Or what about "stack"? I know that "cells of a fuel cell" is OK terminology, but if it occurs just once in the text, you could get round the inelegant repetition. Even patents can be elegant :-)
philgoddard Apr 10, 2014:
Isn't a collection of cells called a battery?

Proposed translations

+1
1 hr
Selected

cell of a fuel cell stack

Yes, it should be!

'fuel cell stack' is commonly shortened to 'fuel cell', when it is obvious we are talking about the stack of them; or of course, used without shortening for when we are talking about one individual cell.

But in your specific instance, you have no choice but to use the expression in full.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 heures (2014-04-10 20:32:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Once you have introduced the term, you might conceivably be able to continue just using 'the stack', similar to the FR usage; however, in view of the fact this is a patent, it's probably better to keep it absolutely precise, even at the expense of seeming repetitive.
Peer comment(s):
agree B D Finch
1 hr
Thanks, B! :-)
agree chris collister
5 hrs
Thanks, Chris!
disagree GILLES MEUNIER : J'utiliserais battery pour éviter la répétition de cell
13 hrs
But when we talk about fuel cells in EN, the dedicated term is 'stack' and not 'battery' — slavish avoidance of repetition is not such a stylistic issue in EN as in FR, particularly in legal documents where precision is paramount.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thanks"
19 mins

cell of a fuel cell

This is a patent and therefore they repeat everything n times. It is not elegant but patents are far from elegant. they must however be clear.
The work "cell" here refers to the "cell" of a battery which is a technical term. For example a lead-acid battery has 6 "cells in series, each one delivering a fraction (1/6) of the final voltage.

See for example: http://www.geers.com/blogs/labels/Forensic Engineering.html

"pile à combustible" is of course "fuel cell
Note from asker:
yes, clarity is essential... and in fact I find, on the face of it, "cell of a fuel cell" dodgy to the point of confusion, possibly: it's a sort of recursive phrase which must induce low-level psychosis in the reader. I just did a google on "cell of a fuel cell" and there are many hits, but they are all followed by the word "stack". I'm therefore wondering whether "pile à combustible" should in fact be "fuel cell stack" in this case...
Peer comment(s):
neutral rkillings : In practice, pile à combustible = fuel cell *stack*. Can't get much done with the ~1 volt from a single cell.
15 hrs
neutral GILLES MEUNIER : battery pour éviter la répétition
15 hrs
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