Two-phase stack cooling system coupled with air conditioning system in fuel cell electric vehicles

Sangwook Lee, Jeong Kuk Hong, Dongkeun Lee, Byeonghyun Kang and Min Soo Kim

Applied Energy, 2024, vol. 372, issue C, No S0306261924011942

Abstract: Effective thermal management is crucial for the performance and safety of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Conventional coolant-based thermal management systems exhibit large temperature gradients within the stack and require high coolant flow rates. A stack cooling method with flow boiling has been suggested to improve thermal uniformity within the stack, but maintaining the appropriate pressure and temperature in the closed-loop system was challenging. In this study, an integrated stack thermal management system was proposed, which employs a stack cooling loop coupled with the air conditioning system. By unifying the refrigerant in stack cooling loop and air conditioning system, the system achieves two-phase cooling and the pressure regulation with charge amount balancing. The operating regime was investigated and the limiting power output was determined, while also suggesting the required charge amount to maintain the pressure in the stack cooling loop. The proposed system effectively maintained the stack temperature below 62 °C, with a maximum temperature difference of <0.7 °C, while conventional systems reached temperatures of up to 88 °C with temperature differences of up to 9.6 °C. This research will contribute to enhanced performance, extended lifetime, and broader adoption of FCEVs.

Keywords: FCEV (fuel cell electric vehicle); Stack thermal management; Flow boiling; Air conditioning system; Temperature uniformity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123811

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