Passive Fuel Cell Surface Power System (PaCeSS)

About this technology

Overview

NASA Johnson Space Center is developing a passive thermal management cooling system for a fuel cell. The cooling system uses a radiator comprising a shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator, and a thermosyphon-based system for heat transport that can eliminate the need of moving parts. Relying upon partial gravity for operation, the innovation, called “PaCeSS” for short, is highly promising for power generation and storage in lunar and planetary surface operations, and may be compelling for terrestrial industries interested in passive thermal management. Current fuel cells require active thermal management components such as pumps to push liquid coolant through a fuel cell stack and electronic control valves to operate radiator panels. These components have moving parts presenting several disadvantages: they limit the operational lifetime and reliability of a fuel cell system, and are a source of parasitic power draw because they consume energy from the fuel cell stack to power their operations. PaCeSS could eliminate the wear-and-tear of moving parts and reduce complexity associated with fuel cell system thermal management. It is a system-level solution that spans heat acquisition, heat transport, and heat rejection by incorporating a two-phase thermosyphon for passively removing heat from a fuel cell stack through a transport path. It then uses an SMA mechanism to actuate a radiator panel that can vary the heat rejection rate into space.