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Thermal modelling of the cathode in air-breathing PEM fuel cells

Author

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  • Ismail, M.S.
  • Ingham, D.B.
  • Hughes, K.J.
  • Ma, L.
  • Pourkashanian, M.

Abstract

A thermal two-dimensional model has been built for an air-breathing proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell that has been reported in the literature. The objective of the study is to investigate the thermal situation over the cathode surface of the fuel cell. The Joule heating was found to be significant and therefore it must be incorporated into the model, especially at high current densities. Such incorporation leads to a more accurate estimation of the heat transfer coefficient, which is a major performance indicator for air-breathing PEM fuel cells. The heat transfer coefficient was found to be less sensitive to the entropic heat of the fuel cell; however, this effect cannot be overlooked, especially at low current densities. Finally, the orientation was shown to have a significant effect on the thermal dissipation from the air-breathing PEM fuel cells: the heat is dissipated far more effectively if the fuel cell is oriented vertically or horizontally facing upwards than if it is oriented horizontally facing downwards.

Suggested Citation

  • Ismail, M.S. & Ingham, D.B. & Hughes, K.J. & Ma, L. & Pourkashanian, M., 2013. "Thermal modelling of the cathode in air-breathing PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 529-537.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:111:y:2013:i:c:p:529-537
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.05.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Wu, Qixing & Li, Haiyang & Yuan, Wenxiang & Luo, Zhongkuan & Wang, Fang & Sun, Hongyuan & Zhao, Xuxin & Fu, Huide, 2015. "Performance evaluation of an air-breathing high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 146-152.
    2. Ismail, M.S. & Ingham, D.B. & Hughes, K.J. & Ma, L. & Pourkashanian, M., 2014. "An efficient mathematical model for air-breathing PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 490-503.
    3. Fang, Shuo & Zhang, Yufeng & Ma, Zezhong & Zou, Yuezhang & Liu, Xiaowei, 2016. "Development of a micro direct methanol fuel cell with heat control," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(P1), pages 978-985.
    4. Vasile, Nicolò S. & Doherty, Ronan & Monteverde Videla, Alessandro H.A. & Specchia, Stefania, 2016. "3D multi-physics modeling of a gas diffusion electrode for oxygen reduction reaction for electrochemical energy conversion in PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 435-450.
    5. Lin, Chen & Yan, Xiaohui & Wei, Guanghua & Ke, Changchun & Shen, Shuiyun & Zhang, Junliang, 2019. "Optimization of configurations and cathode operating parameters on liquid-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks by orthogonal method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Calili-Cankir, Fatma & Ismail, Mohammed S. & Ingham, Derek B. & Hughes, Kevin J. & Ma, Lin & Pourkashanian, Mohamed, 2023. "Air-breathing polymer electrolyte fuel cells: A review," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 86-108.
    7. Calili-Cankir, Fatma & Ismail, Mohammed S. & Ingham, Derek B. & Hughes, Kevin J. & Ma, Lin & Pourkashanian, Mohamed, 2022. "Air-breathing versus conventional polymer electrolyte fuel cells: A parametric numerical study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    8. Kurnia, Jundika C. & Chaedir, Benitta A. & Sasmito, Agus P. & Shamim, Tariq, 2021. "Progress on open cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell: Performance, designs, challenges and future directions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    9. Pedro A. Pérez-Guizado & Alba María Fernández-Sotillo & Paloma Ferreira-Aparicio, 2020. "Passive Regulation of the Water Content at the Anode Chamber under Dead-Ended Conditions: Innovative Design of an Air-Breathing Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-11, November.
    10. Baik, Kyung Don & Yang, Seong Ho, 2020. "Development of cathode cooling fins with a multi-hole structure for open-cathode polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    11. Islam, Mohammad Rafiqul & Shabani, Bahman & Rosengarten, Gary, 2016. "Nanofluids to improve the performance of PEM fuel cell cooling systems: A theoretical approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 660-671.
    12. Sasmito, Agus P. & Kurnia, Jundika C. & Shamim, Tariq & Mujumdar, Arun S., 2017. "Optimization of an open-cathode polymer electrolyte fuel cells stack utilizing Taguchi method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1225-1232.
    13. Ling, C.Y. & Cao, H. & Chen, Y. & Han, M. & Birgersson, E., 2016. "Compact open cathode feed system for PEMFCs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 670-675.

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