Analysis of phase change material thermal effects in large-scale proton-exchange membrane fuel cell based on open-source computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

• A proton-exchange membrane fuel cell is thermally analyzed. • The latent heat of phase change material is used for thermal management. • A 3D transient model is developed in OpenFOAM for corresponding simulations. • Phase change materials can cool the system for more than 120 s. • The effect of heat flux distribution and coolant flow direction is evaluated. In recent years, solid–liquid phase change materials (PCM) have been used in various applications for thermal management. However, PCM thermal effects on proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) have not been investigated. In this study, the effects of PCMs on the thermal management of a PEMFC are evaluated using a novel 3D model based on an open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. In addition, metallic bipolar plates have been considered for this study. The results indicate that when the cooling system is turned off, PCMs can have a good cooling effect for more than 120 s. It is also observed that the temperature of the PCM-equipped model is uniform, contrary to the non-PCM model. Two types of boundary conditions, uniform and non-uniform heat flux, have been considered for this study. The results suggest that if PCM is embedded in anode section, non-uniform heat flux distribution leads to better thermal performance, whereas if PCM embedded in cathode section or in non-PCM design, it is the opposite. Moreover, it is figured out if PCM is located in cathode section, co-direction flows of coolant and reactants lead to lower thermal performance, while it is contrary for other designs. It is also demonstrated that the PCM can store a significant amount of waste heat.