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Experimental design and assessment of a novel mixed-cooling proton exchange membrane fuel cells stack for enhanced power generation and thermal management

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Mingguang
  • Quan, Zhenhua
  • Wang, Lincheng
  • Chang, Zejian
  • Zhao, Yaohua
  • Xing, Lei
  • Xuan, Jin

Abstract

In this study, a novel mixed-cooling proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) stack is proposed and fabricated, which has been specially tailored with an efficient mixed cooling pathway. Compared with conventional air-cooled stacks and previous-generation split-cooling stacks equipped with micro heat pipe arrays, the mixed-cooling stack achieves higher load capacity, improved power generation performance, and superior thermal performance. In addition, the mixed-cooling stack is configured with fewer fans, resulting in lower additional power consumption and a more uniform voltage distribution. The experimental results indicate that the load capacity of the mixed-cooling stack is 14.3 % higher than that of the split-cooling stack and shows a 71.4 % increase compared to the ordinary air-cooled PEMFC stack of the same specification. At the same current, the net power output of the mixed-cooling stack is 65.9 W higher than that of the split-cooling stack. When operating at 30 A, the maximum voltage difference for a single cell within the mixed-cooling stack is only 0.100 V, and the voltage uniformity index is 70.2 % lower than that of the split-cooling stack. Furthermore, the temperature uniform index of the mixed-cooling stack is superior to that of the split-cooling stack under identical current conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Mingguang & Quan, Zhenhua & Wang, Lincheng & Chang, Zejian & Zhao, Yaohua & Xing, Lei & Xuan, Jin, 2025. "Experimental design and assessment of a novel mixed-cooling proton exchange membrane fuel cells stack for enhanced power generation and thermal management," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 386(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:386:y:2025:i:c:s0306261925003034
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125573
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    References listed on IDEAS

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