IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v360y2024ics0306261924001491.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of vapor chamber on thermo-electrical characteristics of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Jing
  • Cheng, Xinxuan
  • Zhou, Caiting
  • Gan, Lang
  • Chen, Kang
  • Chen, Chao
  • Jian, Qifei

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells have high energy density, but thermal management problems caused by insufficient heat dissipation during operation seriously threaten their output performance and durability. In this paper, a type of specially designed vapor chamber was developed and integrated into a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack to enhance its thermal performance. A comprehensive study was conducted on the thermal-electrical characteristics of proton exchange membrane fuel cells with vapor chambers under different working conditions. The results indicated that the vapor chamber could conduct heat quickly and evenly, leading to better cooling performance and thermal uniformity of the fuel cell. Compared to the conventional proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack, the stack with the vapor chamber was found to have a 30% decrease in ohmic resistance and a 5.5% increase in output power. In addition, cooling conditions and gravity have been shown to significantly affect the thermal characteristics of fuel cells. The vapor chamber can effectively avoid thermal runaway caused by the rapid increase in heat, thereby making the stack operation safer and more reliable. The related research work has important guiding significance and reference value for the development of a high-efficiency and compact PEMFC thermal management system.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Jing & Cheng, Xinxuan & Zhou, Caiting & Gan, Lang & Chen, Kang & Chen, Chao & Jian, Qifei, 2024. "Effect of vapor chamber on thermo-electrical characteristics of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 360(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:360:y:2024:i:c:s0306261924001491
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.122766
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261924001491
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.122766?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Tolj, Ivan & Penga, Željko & Vukičević, Damir & Barbir, Frano, 2020. "Thermal management of edge-cooled 1 kW portable proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    3. Chen, Qin & Zhang, Guobin & Zhang, Xuzhong & Sun, Cheng & Jiao, Kui & Wang, Yun, 2021. "Thermal management of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: A review of cooling methods, material properties, and durability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    4. Tang, Heng & Tang, Yong & Wan, Zhenping & Li, Jie & Yuan, Wei & Lu, Longsheng & Li, Yong & Tang, Kairui, 2018. "Review of applications and developments of ultra-thin micro heat pipes for electronic cooling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 383-400.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Teresa Donateo, 2024. "Simulation Approaches and Validation Issues for Open-Cathode Fuel Cell Systems in Manned and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-38, February.
    2. Zhang, Yong & He, Shirong & Jiang, Xiaohui & Yang, Xi & Wang, Zhuo & Zhang, Shuanyang & Cao, Jing & Fang, Haoyan & Li, Qiming, 2024. "Full-scale three-dimensional simulation of air cooling metal bipolar plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack considering a non-isothermal multiphase model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    3. Teresa Donateo, 2023. "Semi-Empirical Models for Stack and Balance of Plant in Closed-Cathode Fuel Cell Systems for Aviation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-40, November.
    4. Luo, Lizhong & Huang, Bi & Bai, Xingying & Cheng, Zongyi & Jian, Qifei, 2020. "Temperature uniformity improvement of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack with ultra-thin vapor chambers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    5. Xing, Shuang & Zhao, Chen & Zou, Jiexin & Zaman, Shahid & Yu, Yang & Gong, Hongwei & Wang, Yajun & Chen, Ming & Wang, Min & Lin, Meng & Wang, Haijiang, 2022. "Recent advances in heat and water management of forced-convection open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    6. Ni, Song & Pan, Chin & Hibiki, Takashi & Zhao, Jiyun, 2024. "Applications of nucleate boiling in renewable energy and thermal management and recent advances in modeling——a review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    7. Ahmed Mohmed Dafalla & Lin Wei & Bereket Tsegai Habte & Jian Guo & Fangming Jiang, 2022. "Membrane Electrode Assembly Degradation Modeling of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-26, December.
    8. Chang, Huawei & Cai, Fengyang & Yu, Xianxian & Duan, Chen & Chan, Siew Hwa & Tu, Zhengkai, 2023. "Experimental study on the thermal management of an open-cathode air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack with ultra-thin metal bipolar plates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    9. Ma, Yan & Hu, Fuyuan & Hu, Yunfeng, 2023. "Energy efficiency improvement of intelligent fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicles through an integrated management strategy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    10. Su, Chao & Chen, Zhidong & Wu, Zexuan & Zhang, Jing & Li, Kaiyang & Hao, Junhong & Kong, Yanqiang & Zhang, Naiqiang, 2024. "Experimental and numerical study of thermal coupling on catalyst-coated membrane for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    11. Chen, Ke & Luo, Zongkai & Zou, Guofu & He, Dandi & Xiong, Zhongzhuang & Zhou, Yu & Chen, Ben, 2024. "Multi-objective optimization of gradient gas diffusion layer structures for enhancing proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance based on response surface methodology and non-dominated sorting gen," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    12. Zhao, Lei & Yuan, Hao & Xie, Jiaping & Jiang, Shangfeng & Wei, Xuezhe & Tang, Wei & Ming, Pingwen & Dai, Haifeng, 2023. "Inconsistency evaluation of vehicle-oriented fuel cell stacks based on electrochemical impedance under dynamic operating conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    13. Chu, Tiankuo & Tang, Qianwen & Wang, Qinpu & Wang, Yanbo & Du, Hong & Guo, YuQing & Li, Bing & Yang, Daijun & Ming, Pingwen & Zhang, Cunman, 2023. "Experimental study on the effect of flow channel parameters on the durability of PEMFC stack and analysis of hydrogen crossover mechanism," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    14. Su, Guoqing & Yang, Daijun & Xiao, Qiangfeng & Dai, Haiqin & Zhang, Cunman, 2021. "Effects of vortexes in feed header on air flow distribution of PEMFC stack: CFD simulation and optimization for better uniformity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 498-506.
    15. Wang, Qianqian & Tang, Fumin & Li, Bing & Dai, Haifeng & Zheng, Jim P. & Zhang, Cunman & Ming, Pingwen, 2022. "Investigation of the thermal responses under gas channel and land inside proton exchange membrane fuel cell with assembly pressure," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    16. Chen, Gong & Tang, Yong & Duan, Longhua & Tang, Heng & Zhong, Guisheng & Wan, Zhenping & Zhang, Shiwei & Fu, Ting, 2020. "Thermal performance enhancement of micro-grooved aluminum flat plate heat pipes applied in solar collectors," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 2234-2242.
    17. Xu, Yanyan & Xue, Yanqin & Qi, Hong & Cai, Weihua, 2021. "An updated review on working fluids, operation mechanisms, and applications of pulsating heat pipes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    18. Ma, Haoran & Liu, Junheng & Liang, Wenwen & Li, Jiyu & Zhao, Wenyao & Sun, Ping & Ji, Qian, 2024. "Effects of PEMFC cooling channel insulation coating on heat transfer and electrical discharge characteristics of nanofluid coolants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    19. Jiang, Wei & Zhang, Kai & Huang, Xing & Cai, Zhen & Zheng, Jinjin & Kai, Yue & Zheng, Bailin & Song, Ke, 2024. "Influence of clamping pressure on contact pressure uniformity and electrical output performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PA).
    20. Qin, Siyu & Ji, Ruiyang & Miao, Chengyu & Jin, Liwen & Yang, Chun & Meng, Xiangzhao, 2024. "Review of enhancing boiling and condensation heat transfer: Surface modification," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:360:y:2024:i:c:s0306261924001491. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.