A review on the approaches applied for cooling fuel cells

Ramezanizadeh, Mahdi; Nazari, Mohammad Alhuyi; Ahmadi, Mohammad Hossein; Chen, Lingen

doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2019.05.032

Cited by 140 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Typical cooling systems can roughly be divided into three categories as sketched in Figure 16a: (1) liquid cooling, (2) indirect cooling and (3) air-cooling. [137] The choice of cooling system largely depends on the power output of the stack: For stacks in the range of 200 W-2 kW air-cooling can be beneficial, whereas for stacks with significantly larger power output liquid cooling is required. [138,139] Thermal management can be probed by accessing the temperature distribution across a stack either experimentally (see section 2) or by modelling.…”

Section: Thermal Management Of Pemfcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature Effects in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

et al. 2020

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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.

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Section: Thermal Management Of Pemfcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature Effects in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

et al. 2020

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“…In order to solve this problem, nanofluids, composed of suspended particles with nanometer dimensions and a base fluid, are suggested [1,2]. Nanofluids have modified thermal features compared with the base liquid owing to the existence of solid nano-sized particles [3][4][5][6][7][8] Thus, in order to increase the heat transfer coefficient, nanofluids' utilization in micro and macro channels has been popular. On the other hand, some effects, like viscous dissipation, that can be neglected in macro-scale problems are of particular importance in smaller scales [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Investigation of Forced Convective Heat Transfer and Performance Evaluation Criterion of Al2O3/Water Nanofluid Flow inside an Axisymmetric Microchannel

et al. 2020

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Al2O3/water nanofluid conjugate heat transfer inside a microchannel is studied numerically. The fluid flow is laminar and a constant heat flux is applied to the axisymmetric microchannel’s outer wall, and the two ends of the microchannel’s wall are considered adiabatic. The problem is inherently three-dimensional, however, in order to reduce the computational cost of the solution, it is rational to consider only a half portion of the axisymmetric microchannel and the domain is revolved through its axis. Hence. the problem is reduced to a two-dimensional domain, leading to less computational grid. At the centerline (r = 0), as the flow is axisymmetric, there is no radial gradient (∂u/∂r = 0, v = 0, ∂T/∂r = 0). The effects of four Reynolds numbers of 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000; particle volume fractions of 0% (pure water), 2%, 4%, and 6%; and nanoparticles diameters in the range of 10 nm, 30 nm, 50 nm, and 70 nm on forced convective heat transfer as well as performance evaluation criterion are studied. The parameter of performance evaluation criterion provides valuable information related to heat transfer augmentation together with pressure losses and pumping power needed in a system. One goal of the study is to address the expense of increased pressure loss for the increment of the heat transfer coefficient. Furthermore, it is shown that, despite the macro-scale problem, in microchannels, the viscous dissipation effect cannot be ignored and is like an energy source in the fluid, affecting temperature distribution as well as the heat transfer coefficient. In fact, it is explained that, in the micro-scale, an increase in inlet velocity leads to more viscous dissipation rates and, as the friction between the wall and fluid is considerable, the temperature of the wall grows more intensely compared with the bulk temperature of the fluid. Consequently, in microchannels, the thermal behavior of the fluid would be totally different from that of the macro-scale.

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“…25,26 For stacks with power outputs below 10 kW, common cooling methods include air cooling, passive cooling, and liquid cooling. 27,28 Liquid cooling is favourable relative to air cooling for high-power applications, when the stack power output exceeds 5 kW. 25,27 While liquid cooling results in a greater heat removal rate, the power required to operate ancillary components can counteract this gain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…27,28 Liquid cooling is favourable relative to air cooling for high-power applications, when the stack power output exceeds 5 kW. 25,27 While liquid cooling results in a greater heat removal rate, the power required to operate ancillary components can counteract this gain. 25 Alternatively, an air-cooling system produces a smaller parasitic power loss, albeit with a lower cooling capacity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal characteristics of an air‐cooled open‐cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack via numerical investigation

et al. 2020

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In light of stricter emissions regulations and depleting fossil fuel reserves, fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are one of the leading alternatives for powering future vehicles. An open-cathode, air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack provides a relatively simple electric generation system for a vehicle in terms of system complexity and number of components. The temperature within a PEMFC stack is critical to its level of performance and the electrochemical efficiency. Previously created computational models to study and predict the stack temperature have been limited in their scale and the inaccurate assumption that temperature is uniform throughout. The present work details the creation of a numerical model to study the temperature distribution of an 80-cell Ballard 1020ACS stack by simulating the cooling airflow across the stack. Using computational fluid dynamics, a steady-state airflow simulation was performed using experimental data to form boundary conditions where possible. Additionally, a parametric study was performed to investigate the effect of the distance between the stack and cooling fan on stack performance. Model validation was performed against published results. The temperature distribution across the stack was identical for the central 70% of the cells, with eccentric temperatures observed at the stack extremities, while the difference between coolant and bipolar plate temperatures was approximately 10 C at the cooling channel outlets. The results of the parametric study showed that the fan-stack distance has a negligible effect on stack performance. The assumptions regarding stack temperature uniformity and measurement were challenged. Lastly, the hypothesis regarding the negligible effect of fan-stack distance on stack performance was confirmed.

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A review on the approaches applied for cooling fuel cells

Cited by 140 publications

References 81 publications

Temperature Effects in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Temperature Effects in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Numerical Investigation of Forced Convective Heat Transfer and Performance Evaluation Criterion of Al2O3/Water Nanofluid Flow inside an Axisymmetric Microchannel

Thermal characteristics of an air‐cooled open‐cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack via numerical investigation

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