Numerical Investigation and Optimization of Cooling Flow Field Design for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Jiangnan Song, Ying Huang, Yi Liu, Zongpeng Ma, Lunjun Chen, Taike Li and Xiang Zhang
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Jiangnan Song: School of Mechanical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Ying Huang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Yi Liu: School of Data Science, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Guiyang 550003, China
Zongpeng Ma: School of Mechanical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Lunjun Chen: School of Mechanical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Taike Li: School of Mechanical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Xiang Zhang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: High temperatures and non-uniform temperatures both have a negative bearing on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The temperature of proton exchange membrane fuel cells can be lowered by reasonably distributed cooling channels. The flow field distribution of five different cooling plates is designed, and the temperature uniformity, pressure drop and velocity of each cooling flow field are analyzed by computational fluid dynamics technology. The results show that while the pressure drop is high, the flow channel distribution of a multi-spiral flow field and honeycomb structure flow field contribute more to improving the temperature uniformity. As the coolant is blocked by the uniform plate, it is found that although the flow field channel with a uniform plate has poor performance in terms of temperature uniformity, its heat dissipation capacity is still better than that of the traditional serpentine flow field. The multi-spiral flow field has the strongest ability to maintain the temperature stability in the cooling plate when the heat flux increases. The increase in Reynolds number, although increasing the pressure drop, can reduce the maximum temperature and temperature difference of the flow field, ameliorate the temperature uniformity and improve the heat transfer capacity of the cooling plate.

Keywords: flow field design; structural optimization; honeycomb structure flow field; proton exchange membrane fuel cell; computational fluid dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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