Abstract
This study presents an open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack with a passive thermal management system based on micro heat pipe arrays. The system enables self-driven heat recovery and internal heat circulation under low-temperature conditions without relying on external power input or external heat sources. Experiments and modeling were conducted to evaluate its thermal-electrical behavior, dynamic power output, and startup performance. The results show that, at 35 A, the stack with heat replenishment achieved a 6.8% improvement in output performance and a 12.4 °C higher operating temperature compared with the stack without heat replenishment. When the current increased from 30 A to 40 A, the voltage undershoot and recovery amplitude were reduced by 23.4% and 65.6% respectively. The stack temperature increased with the load ramp rate, accompanied by improved transient output performance. The stack with heat replenishment also showed a lower 33.0% temperature difference at 35 A. At an ambient temperature of 0 °C, the output performance at each current level showed an average improvement of 2.4% compared with that of the stack without heat replenishment. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system in improving fuel cell performance and stability under cold conditions while reducing auxiliary energy consumption.
•An open-cathode PEMFC stack is with self-driven heat recovery.•Heat replenishment is driven under low-temperature conditions.•A special energy-saving approach is realized.•Improved thermal-electrical behavior is achieved.•Superior dynamic power output and startup performance is realized.