Three-dimensional simulation of a new cooling strategy for proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack using a non-isothermal multiphase model

Oberoi

Intl J of Energy Research

2021

Summary This paper addresses the effects of critical parameters that affect the performance and lifespan of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Amongst all, control of excess water content and dehydration in PEM fuel cells is the major issue under various operating conditions. Therefore, their effects on cathode, anode, gas diffusion layer (GDL), catalyst layer (CL), and flow channels are summarized in the initial part of this paper. Various active cooling strategies such as air cooling, liquid cooling, and phase change method to extract the waste heat from the stack are represented. The lateral part of this paper throws light on the role of heat pipes, working fluid, and the effect of the addition of nanofluid with pertinent filling ratio (FR) in cooling of PEM fuel cells. This work is intended to aid the selection of cooling methods for PEM fuel cells through the consideration of the variety of affecting parameters preceding major expenditure for wide‐scale production. In future, cost comparison associated with the cooling techniques of the fuel cell would be evaluated.

Section: Thermal Management Of Pem Fuel Cells and Gaps In Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing the performance of PEM fuel cells: A review on performance parameters, water management, and cooling techniques

Oberoi

Intl J of Energy Research

2021

“…The authors probed the influence of temperature on oxygen and liquid water content, current density, membrane hydration and performance of a five cell-containing stack. [135] The simulated stack was cooled by a single cooling unit sandwiching the stack from above and below, using water as coolant. Figure 16b shows the temperature distribution in the anode/cathode flow fields, being designed as 7-path serpentine flow with two Uturns.…”

Section: Thermal Management Of Pemfcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature Effects in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

et al. 2020

The behavior of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) strongly depends on the operational temperatures. In mobile applications, for instance in fuel cell electric vehicles, PEMFC stacks are often subjected to temperatures as low as −20 °C, especially during cold start periods, and to temperatures up to 120 °C during regular operation. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of temperature on the performance and degradation of hydrogen fuel cells to ensure a stable system operation. To get a comprehensive understanding of the temperature effects in PEMFCs, this manuscript addresses and summarizes in‐ situ and ex‐ situ investigations of fuel cells operated at different temperatures. Initially, different measurement techniques for thermal monitoring are presented. Afterwards, the temperature effects related to the degradation and performance of main membrane electrode assembly components, namely gas diffusion layers, proton exchange membranes and catalyst layers, are analyzed.

Sci. China Technol. Sci.

“…Air cooling is utilized in applications that require low power but high gravimetric specific power such as unmanned aerial vehicle, since air-cooled PEMFCs are smaller, lighter, and more compact relative to water-cooled ones [26,27]. Water cooling is preferred in heavy power applications such as the automotive industry and stationary power generation due to its high heat removal rate [28][29][30]. The power density of the PEMFC system keeps growing; for instance, the corresponding value for fuel cell vehicles increases from 1.6 to 5.4 kW L −1 over the past decade.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of phase-change cooling strategy in proton exchange membrane fuel cells: A numerical study

Yan

Peng

Shen

et al. 2021

Thermal management is considered a critical issue in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), since it not only influences the cell performance but also impacts PEMFC's reliability and durability. With the ever-increasing power density of PEMFC, traditional cooling approaches including air cooling and water cooling become difficult to meet the demand for highpower heat dissipation. Therefore, phase-change cooling is proposed for fuel cell application in this work, and the potential advantages are discussed and demonstrated via a mathematical model incorporating phase-change heat transfer. The thermal management performance is evaluated by temperature uniformity, maximum temperature difference, and the cooling capacity to compare the difference between phase-change cooling and traditional methods, which demonstrates that phase-change cooling owns a greatly improved thermal management performance. In addition, a simple method to broaden the operating temperature of phase-change cooling based on one certain coolant is offered, which is pressurizing in the coolant channel to regulate the boiling temperature that could further improve the application feasibility of phase-change cooling strategy in fuel cells.