A study on performance of different cooling flow fields with parallel channels in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

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Abstract

In polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) more than half of the chemical energy of hydrogen is converted into heat during electricity generation. This heat, If not exhausted properly, impairs the performance and durability of cell. In this paper, several different parallel channel designs are proposed for cooling flow field in PEMFC, and heat transfer in cooling plates is simulated through computational fluid dynamics. The performance of suggested designs are assessed in terms of maximum surface temperature, average surface temperature, temperature uniformity and the pressure drop characteristics. The results indicate that the model with wavy channels, has the least temperature uniformity index, the least maximum surface temperature and the least average surface temperature; therefore in terms of cooling performance, is the best model among the models investigatedin this article; while this proposed model incurs more pressure drop. The model with straight channels with trapezoidal cross section area, has weaker temperature characteristics than the model with wavy channels; while this model incurs less pressure drop. These two models are more suitable for cooling than available models; but for choosing one model between them, a compromise must be made between temperature characteristics and minimum pressure drop.

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Journal of Solid and Fluid Mechanics
Volume 4, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
September and October 2014
Pages 109-121

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