The shape of gas flow field determines the distribution of reactive gas and the drainage performance so it has a significant impact on cold start performance. This work designs three novel cathode flow fields of stacks through variable cross-section design to improve drainage, which are the single variable section serpentine flow field, the variable section interdigitate flow field and the variable section parallel flow field. The cold start characteristics and internal behavior of diverse novel stack flow fields are investigated by segmented cell technology. The results show that stack with the single variable section serpentine flow field realizes the fastest cold start when the temperature is below −5 °C. However, the variable section interdigitate flow field displays the shortest cold start time when the temperature is above −5 °C. The evolution of the current density distribution of the single cell in different position of the same stack is inconsistent during cold start. The key regions with strong electrochemical performance of different stack flow fields are found. The performance degradation of the stack with the single variable section serpentine flow field is the lowest when start fails. This work can supply experimental support for the selection of flow fields for cold start.

气流场的形状决定了反应气体的分布和排水性能，因此对冷启动性能有重大影响。这项工作通过可变截面设计来设计三个新颖的电池堆阴极流场，以改善排水性能，它们是单个可变截面蛇形流场，可变截面指形流场和可变截面平行流场。通过分段电池技术研究了各种新颖的堆栈流场的冷启动特性和内部行为。结果表明，当温度低于-5°C时，具有单个可变截面蛇形流场的烟囱实现了最快的冷启动。但是，当温度高于-5°C时，可变截面叉指式流场显示的冷启动时间最短。在冷启动期间，单个电池在同一堆电池不同位置的电流密度分布的变化是不一致的。发现了在不同烟囱流场中具有较强电化学性能的关键区域。当启动失败时，具有单个可变截面蛇形流场的堆栈的性能降级最低。这项工作可以为冷启动流场的选择提供实验支持。