Experimental study on temperature characteristics of an air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the temperature characteristics of an air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack. The temperature information of the stack is obtained by 60 thermocouples and a thermal imaging camera. The experimental results show that the average temperature change rate is only related to the step size of the current change, regardless of the step increases or decreases. And the average temperature of in-planes and through-planes is increased linearly with the increase of current. The temperature distribution is also discussed. As the current increases, the temperature difference on the outer surface of the stack increases from 5.2 °C to 12.9 °C. The temperature distribution of cells in the stack is affected by the flow of cooling air and uneven water distribution. The law of temperature uniformity with current variation can be described by a quadratic polynomial. And the performance of cells has an important influence on the temperature distribution. This study can provide reference for the development of thermal management strategies for hydrogen-air proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks in application.