Investigating heat transfer for PEM fuel cell cooling channels

A analysis group on the Division of Power Engineering of the College of Seville and collaborators at AICIA and Harbin Institute of Expertise in China have achieved a greater understanding of the cooling of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) gasoline cell stacks and the connection with the temperature gradients within the membrane.

The investigation was primarily based on the numerical evaluation of the warmth switch for serpentine-type cooling channels in a PEM gasoline cell, assessing the affect of the working circumstances to ascertain a novel correlation for the warmth switch efficiency, i.e., the Nusselt quantity.

Outcomes decided that the coolant mass move and the bipolar plate thermal conductivity offered the next impact on the refrigeration functionality of a PEMFC stack. The findings are published within the journal Power.

Refrigeration of the stacks performs an essential function within the design of PEMFC stacks as a result of correct cooling helps to mitigate the dangers attributable to extreme temperature gradients that result in degradation and detrimental results on the integrity of the membrane. Consequently, refrigeration of the stacks performs a key function within the effectivity and sturdiness of a PEM stack.

The refrigeration functionality of the PEM stack was studied by way of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in a 100 cm² lively space cell with serpentine sort cooling channels, various the coolant sort, the mass move price, the thermal contact resistance, the bipolar plate materials and the design of the cooling channels. A novel warmth switch correlation was proposed with validity for a complete vary of working circumstances.

The primary results of this analysis—a novel correlation for the Nusselt quantity for PEM fuel cell stacks that can be utilized for a variety of working circumstances—will facilitate the cooling system design in a PEM stack, permitting researchers to foresee whether or not designs would ultimately result in degradation, thus contributing to the design of stacks with longer sturdiness and efficiency.