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Effects of Cooling Passages and Nanofluid Coolant on Thermal Performance of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells
- Source :
- Journal of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage. 16
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- ASME International, 2019.
-
Abstract
- In this research, cooling of polymer membrane fuel cells by nanofluids is numerically studied. Single-phase homogeneous technique is used to evaluate thermophysical properties of the water/Al2O3 nanofluid as a function of temperature and nanoparticle concentration. Four cooling plates together with four various fluids (with different nanoparticle concentrations) are considered for cooling fuel cells. The impact of geometry, Reynolds number, and concentration is investigated on some imperative parameters such as surface temperature uniformity and pressure drop. The results reveal that, among different cooling plates, the multipass serpentine flow field has the best performance. It is also proved that the use of nanofluid, in general, enhances the cooling process and significantly improves those parameters directly affecting the fuel cell performance and efficiency. By increasing the nanoparticle concentration by 0.006, the temperature uniformity index will decrease about 13%, the minimum and maximum temperature difference at the cooling plate surface will decrease about 13%, and the pressure drop will increase about 35%. Nanofluids can improve thermal characteristics of cooling systems and consequently enhance the efficiency and durability of fuel cells.
- Subjects :
- Pressure drop
chemistry.chemical_classification
Materials science
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Mechanical Engineering
05 social sciences
Energy Engineering and Power Technology
Proton exchange membrane fuel cell
Polymer
Electrolyte
01 natural sciences
010406 physical chemistry
0104 chemical sciences
Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Coolant
Membrane
Nanofluid
Chemical engineering
chemistry
Mechanics of Materials
0502 economics and business
Thermal
050207 economics
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 23816910 and 23816872
- Volume :
- 16
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........afb6a1e4d3b4b8a07b5aa0478a2fd057