Numerical investigation on the temperature distribution inside the engine compartment of a fuel cell vehicle with nanofluids as coolant

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells have a development prospect to replace the internal combustion engines due to their sustainability and environmental friendliness. However, one of the challenges is the requirement of heat removal from fuel cell engines and keep operation at relatively low temperatures (ie,~60 C-80 C). In the current research, the thermal performance of zinc oxide (ZnO) and boron nitride (BN) nanofluids is investigated by numerical simulation inside the engine compartment for a fuel cell vehicle. The maximum heat transfer rate was obtained by theoretical calculation and onedimensional simulation. The results revealed that the maximum heat transfer rate for ZnO nanofluids and BN nanofluids had increased by 7.6% and 2.0% than 50% water and ethylene glycol (WEG), respectively. Compared to 50% WEG, the energy consumption of the pump and fan could be further reduced with the nanofluids as a coolant. The influence on the temperature field and flow field inside the engine compartment of fuel cell vehicle is revealed with nanofluids by computational fluid dynamic. The results could provide data for the manufacturers to use nanofluids as a coolant to optimize the structure arrangement inside the engine compartment of fuel cell vehicle.

Thermal Behaviour of Hybrid Nanofluids in Water: Bio Glycol Mixture in Cooling Plates of PEMFC

“…The produced heat must be removed from the device, particularly the membrane, to prevent overheating. The new PEMFC requires a temperature range of 60 °C to 80 °C to function optimally [4][5][6]. The PEMFC can work at extremely low temperatures, which is the most important property of these cells since it allows them to give higher power density at these temperatures [7].…”

Al2O3–H2O nanofluids for cooling PEM fuel cells: A critical assessment

“…[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. This area aims to synthesis a cheap, eco-friendly and nontoxic nanofluids with desirable properties such as high thermal conductivity and heat capacity, low viscosity and electrical conductivity, and high density; ii) research focuses on evaluation the employment of nanofluids on the whole thermal management system of PEM fuel cells or its components (i.e., fuel cell stacks, pumps, radiators and fans) [32][33][34]. This area aims to optimise the thermal management system design so that the size and cost of its components can be reduced.…”