Gas/liquid slug flow-based thermal management technique for enhanced proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance

IF 4.9 2区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL

International Journal of Thermal Sciences Pub Date : 2025-02-11 DOI:10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2025.109756

Behnam Vojoudi, Ali Ahmadpour, Mohammad Reza Hajmohammadi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The present study numerically investigates the use of gas/liquid slug flows for the thermal management of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Given that a significant portion of the energy produced by PEMFCs is dissipated as heat, effective thermal management is crucial for enhancing their efficiency and operational stability. To address this, a three-dimensional, multi-phase, and non-isothermal model of a PEMFC is developed using OpenFOAM. The governing equations are discretized using the finite volume method, and the volume of fluid method (VOF) is adopted to capture the gas/liquid interface across the cooling channels. The effect of two-phase cooling is examined on the temperature distribution, water content distribution, proton conductivity, and the current density of the PEMFC for different two-phase Reynolds numbers. Moreover, the thermohydraulic performance of the slug flow is evaluated using a well-defined performance evaluation criterion (PEC). The results indicate that two-phase cooling outperforms single-phase cooling of PEMFC, achieving up to

65 %

enhancement in the convective heat transfer coefficient, which leads to a

9.6 %

reduction in the membrane temperature. Additionally, PECs up to 1.4 are reported for the slug flows. These enhancements indicate possible uses in automobile fuel cell systems, portable power sources, and backup power systems. This study may stimulate additional research via experimental endeavors and the investigation of novel cooling methodologies.

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来源期刊

International Journal of Thermal Sciences 工程技术-工程：机械

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

11.10%

发文量

531

审稿时长

55 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Thermal Sciences is a journal devoted to the publication of fundamental studies on the physics of transfer processes in general, with an emphasis on thermal aspects and also applied research on various processes, energy systems and the environment. Articles are published in English and French, and are subject to peer review. The fundamental subjects considered within the scope of the journal are: * Heat and relevant mass transfer at all scales (nano, micro and macro) and in all types of material (heterogeneous, composites, biological,...) and fluid flow * Forced, natural or mixed convection in reactive or non-reactive media * Single or multi–phase fluid flow with or without phase change * Near–and far–field radiative heat transfer * Combined modes of heat transfer in complex systems (for example, plasmas, biological, geological,...) * Multiscale modelling The applied research topics include: * Heat exchangers, heat pipes, cooling processes * Transport phenomena taking place in industrial processes (chemical, food and agricultural, metallurgical, space and aeronautical, automobile industries) * Nano–and micro–technology for energy, space, biosystems and devices * Heat transport analysis in advanced systems * Impact of energy–related processes on environment, and emerging energy systems The study of thermophysical properties of materials and fluids, thermal measurement techniques, inverse methods, and the developments of experimental methods are within the scope of the International Journal of Thermal Sciences which also covers the modelling, and numerical methods applied to thermal transfer.