Investigation and evaluation of heat transfer enhancement for PEMFC under high current density based on a multiphase and non-isothermal electrochemical model

Abstract

Heat management plays a vital role in the efficient and stable operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), especially at high current densities, which is directly related to the cooling flow field (CFF). In this paper, a non-isothermal electrochemical model coupled with CFF of PEMFC is developed, and the effects of CFF structures on the water and heat transfer performance enhancement of PEMFC at high current densities are studied. In addition, an Evaluation Criteria is expected to be applied to evaluate the heat transfer capacity of CFFs. The results indicate that high temperatures effectively alleviate PEMFC concentration polarization. Due to the twists and turns design within the channel, the heat transfer capability of the Wave CFF performs well, Nusselt number and field synergy angle values respectively 35.7 % higher and 3.34 % lower than those of Parallel CFF. Additionally, the heat transfer performance factor is used to evaluate the heat transfer capability of different cooling flow field structures. The performance factor of the Wave CFF reaches 1.44 at a coolant temperature difference of 1 K.