Numerical predictions of a PEM fuel cell performance enhancement by a rectangular cylinder installed transversely in the flow channel

This paper numerically investigates the installation of the transverse rectangular cylinder along the gas diffusion layer (GDL) in the flow channel for the cell performance enhancement of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The effects of the blockage at various gap sizes and the width of the cylinder on the cell performance enhancement have been studied with changing the gap ratios λ = 0.05–0.3, for the same cylinder) and the width-to-height ratios (WR = 0.66–1.66, for the same cylinder height and gap ratio). The results show that the transverse installation of a rectangular cylinder in the fuel flow channel effectively enhances the cell performance of a PEMFC. In addition, the influence of the width of the cylinder on the cell performance is obvious, and the best cell performance enhancement occurs at the gap ratio 0.2 among the gap ratios of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3.     

Effects of internal flow modification on the cell performance enhancement of a PEM fuel cell

This study presents a numerical investigation on the cell performance enhancement of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) using the finite element method (FEM). The cell performance enhancement in this study has been accomplished by the transverse installation of a baffle plate and a rectangular block for the modification of flow pattern in the flow channel of the fuel cell. The baffle plates (various gap ratios, λ = 0.005–10) and the rectangular block (constant gap ratio, λ = 0.2) are installed along the same gas diffusion layer (GDL) in the channel at constant Reynolds number for the purpose of investigating the cell performance. The results show that the transverse installation of a baffle plate and a rectangular block in the fuel flow channel can effectively enhance the local cell performance of a PEMFC. Besides, the effect of a rectangular block on the overall cell performance is more obvious than a baffle plate.     

Non-isothermal transport phenomenon and cell performance of a cathodic PEM fuel cell with a baffle plate in a tapered channel

This study uses a projection finite element analysis with an element-by-element preconditioned conjugate gradient method to investigate the non-isothermal tapered flow channel installed with a baffle plate for enhancing cell performance in the cathodic side of a PEMFC. The parameters studies including tapered ratio (0.25 ∼ 1.0) and gap ratio (0.005 ∼ 0.2) on the cell performance have been explored in detail. The results indicate that the stronger composite effect of tapered flow channel and baffle blockage provides a better convection heat transfer performance and a higher fuel flow velocity and thus enhances the cell performance.     

Numerical investigation on the characteristics of mass transport and performance of PEMFC with baffle plates installed in the flow channel

A 3D numerical model of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with the installation of baffle plates is developed. The majority of the conservation equations and physical parameters are implemented through the user defined functions (UDFs) in the FLUENT software. The characteristics of mass transport and performance of PEMFC are investigated. The results reveal that the baffle plate can enhance the mass transport efficiency and the performance of PEMFC. The baffle plate installed in the PEMFC flow channel increases the local gas velocity, which can promote the reactant gas transport and the liquid water removal in the porous electrode. As a result, the reactant gas concentration is larger in the porous electrode, which enhances the fuel cell performance for decreasing the over-potential of concentration. The fuel cell output power increases with the blockage ratio of the baffle plate. Considering the extra pumping power resulted from pressure loss caused by the baffle plate, the fuel cell with the blockage ratio of 0.8 is found to perform best in terms of the fuel cell net power generation. The fuel cell performance increases first with the baffle plate number, due to the better reactant distribution and water management, but decreases when the baffle plate number is too large, due to the excessive blockage for the reactant gas transport to the channel downstream. The PEMFC investigated with 5 baffle plates in the channel is found to be optimal. A channel design to achieve gradually increasing blockage ratios is also proposed, which exhibits better cell performance than the design with even blockage ratios.     

Influence of sloping baffle plates on the mass transport and performance of PEMFC

Sloping baffle plates are installed numerically in the flow channel of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) to promote the mass transport in the porous electrode and the fuel cell performance. The sloping angle of baffle plate on the mass transport and performance of PEMFC are investigated and optimized. The numerical results show that the sloping angle of baffle plate influences the velocity distribution, flow resistance in the flow channel, and the intensity of mass transport between the channel and porous electrode. Larger sloping angle increases the velocity in the vertical direction which brings stronger squeeze effect between the channel and porous electrode, but it also reduces the squeeze area and increases the flow resistance. An optimization for the sloping angle of baffle plate is carried out. The baffle plate with the sloping angle of 45° shows the best performance in PEMFC net power considering the pumping power caused by the pressure loss. The effect of the baffle plate number is also investigated and optimized. The fuel cell current density increases with the baffle plate number, but the increment rate is decreased. The pumping power increases almost linearly with the baffle plate number. The PEMFC with six sloping baffle plates installed in the channel is found to be optimal in terms of the net power.     

Heat transfer in channel flow around a rectangular cylinder

Heat transfer and flow visualization experiments have been made in a channel with a rectangular cylindrical section having various width-to-height ratios. Vortices were observed to shed periodically from the cylinder and then reattach to the channel wall. This reattachment of the vortices induces a periodic fluctuation in heat flux at the wall and enhances the heat transfer in the downstream region of the cylinder. The streamwise position of the maximum Nusselt number moves downstream with decreasing width-to-height ratio, b/h, of the cylinder. When b/h = 2.0, however, the heat flux periodicity disappears because the wake narrows intermittently owing to reattachment of the separated flows to the upper and lower surfaces of the cylinder. © 1998 Scripta Technica. Heat Trans Jpn Res, 27(1): 84–97, 1998     

Laminar periodic flow and heat transfer in a rectangular channel with triangular wavy baffles

This paper presents a numerical analysis of laminar periodic flow and heat transfer in a rectangular constant temperature-surfaced channel with triangular wavy baffles (TWBs).The TWBs were mounted on the opposite walls of the rectangular channel with inline arrangements.The TWBs are placed on the upper and lower walls with attack angle 45?.The numerical is performed with three dif-ferent baffle height ratios (BR=b/H=0.05 0.3) at constant pitch ratio (PR) of 1.0 for the range 100 ≤ Re ≤ 1000.The computational results are shown in the topology of flow and heat transfer.It is found that the heat transfer in the channel with the TWB is more effective than that without baffle.The in-crease in the blockage ratio,BR leads to a considerable increase in the Nusselt number and friction factor.The results indicate that at low BR,a fluid flow is significantly disturbed resulting in inefficient heat transfer.As BR increases,both heat transfer rate in terms of Nusselt number and pressure drop in terms of friction factor increase.Over the range examined,the maximum Nu/Nu0 of 7.3 and f/f0 of 126 are both found with the use of the baffles with BR=0.30 at Re=1000.In addition,the flow structure and temperature field in the channel with TWBs are also reported.     

Performance investigation of flat-plate CLPHP with pure and binary working fluids for PEMFC cooling

While proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) generates electricity, about half of the energy is converted into heat. According to structural characteristics and heat dissipation requirements of PEMFC, a flat-plate micro closed-loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) cooling method is designed. The flat-plate CLPHP is an aluminum alloy plate with a thickness of 2.4 mm, and the inside is a 2.3 mm × 1.4 mm rectangular flow channel, which transfers heat mainly through the internal working fluid's vapor-liquid phase change and forced convection. The experiment tested the heat transfer performance and the internal pressure of pure working fluids methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, deionized water, and methanol-deionized water with different mass ratios. By comparison, it is found that the binary working medium methanol-deionized water with a mass ratio of 5:1 has the best startup performance, lower internal pressure, and less temperature fluctuation, which has great potential in the application of PEMFC. Through the dimensionless number correlation analysis of the internal working fluid's thermophysical parameters, a CLPHP heat flux prediction equation with an average deviation of 15.0% is fitted.     

The effect of triangular shutter type flow deflector perforated baffle plate on the thermofluid performance of a heat exchanger

The study aimed to investigate the heat transfer (HT) properties of a tubular heat exchanger (HX) by using innovative baffle plate arrangements. The newly designed baffle plate was circular with triangular openings and adjustable triangular flow deflectors. These deflectors were strategically placed at the inlet of the HX to create a swirling flow downstream. Three baffle plates were installed along the flow direction with different length-to-diameter ratios (pitch ratios) to assess their impact on HT, pressure drop, and thermal enhancement factor. The study compared these results with a smooth channel under varying Reynolds numbers (16,500–29,500). The findings revealed that both the pitch ratio (0.6–1.2) and the inclination angle of the deflectors (30⁰–50⁰) significantly affected the HX's performance. Notably, the baffle plate with a deflector inclination angle of 30° and a pitch ratio of 1 showed a remarkable average improvement of 36.5% compared to other angles and ratios.     

Dynamics and heat transfer in a quasi-two-dimensional MHD flow past a circular cylinder in a duct at high Hartmann number

The fluid flow and heat transfer of a liquid metal past a circular cylinder in a rectangular duct (width-to-height aspect ratio of 2) under a strong transverse magnetic field is studied numerically using a quasi-two-dimensional model. Transition from steady to unsteady flow regimes is determined as a function of Hartmann number and blockage ratio, as are Strouhal number, and the heat transfer from the heated wall to the fluid. Downstream cross-stream mixing induced by the cylinder wake was found to increase heat transfer by more than a factor of two in some cases.     

Experimental and numerical study on heat transfer enhancement in a channel with Z-shaped baffles

The influence of baffle turbulators on heat transfer augmentation in a rectangular channel has been investigated experimentally and numerically. In the experiment, the baffles are placed in a zigzag shape (Z-shaped baffle) aligned in series on the isothermal-fluxed top wall, similar to the absorber plate of a solar air heater channel. The aim at using the Z-baffles is to create co-rotating vortex flows having a significant influence on the flow turbulence intensity leading to higher heat transfer enhancement in the tested channel. Effects of the Z-baffle height and pitch spacing length are examined to find the optimum thermal performance for the Reynolds number from 4400 to 20,400. The Z-baffles inclined to 45° relative to the main flow direction are characterized at three baffle- to channel-height ratios (e/H = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) and baffle pitch ratios (P/H = 1.5, 2 and 3). The experimental results show a significant effect of the presence of the Z-baffle on the heat transfer rate and friction loss over the smooth channel with no baffle. The Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal performance enhancement factor for the in-phase 45° Z-baffles are found to be considerably higher than those for the out-phase 45° Z-baffle at a similar operating condition. The in-phase 45° Z-baffle with larger e/H provides higher heat transfer and friction loss than the one with smaller e/H while the shorter pitch length yields the higher Nu, f and TEF than the larger one. The numerical work is also conducted to investigate the flow friction and heat transfer behaviors in the channel mounted with the 45° Z-baffles, and the numerical results are found in good agreement with experimental data.     

A Numerical Study for Heat Transfer Characteristics of a Micro Combustor by Large Eddy Simulation

The characteristics of heat transfer in confined multiple jet flows of a micro can combustor is investigated by means of large eddy simulation (LES). The micro combustor can be employed for a hybrid system, which consists of a micro gas turbine and a solid oxide fuel cell. In the present study, the focus is brought into heat transfer, which has a great effect on combustion stability as heat loss to the outside of combustor. The study is made for the three cases of different baffle plate configurations with changing the velocity ratio between fuel and oxidant jets. Downstream of the baffle plate, the flow recirculation regions appear and they can affect the enhancement of the turbulent heat transfer to the wall. In particular, the near-wall flow recirculation region formed between the oxidant jet and the combustor wall plays an important role for wall heat transfer. We study the turbulent thermal fields and conjugate heat transfer which show peculiar characteristics corresponding to the three different baffle plate shapes and different velocity ratios.     

Numerical study of optimized three-dimension novel Key-shaped flow field design for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Key-shaped three-dimension (3D) flow field channel is designed to improve the performance and mass transfer of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). This study comprehensively analyses the impacts on the performance and mass transfer of the flow channel from multiple dimensions such as the size, shape, and placement of the blocks. In comparison with the conventional straight single flow field channel, the new channel with rectangular blocks can effectively improve performance by 30%. Semi-elliptical and quarter-elliptical blocks are designed to make forced convection and increase the diffusion area of oxygen. The results indicate that the flow velocity in the Z-axis direction can be increased to 0.08–0.2 m/s due to the narrow space formed by variable cross-sections. In conclusion, the Key-shaped design has a potential to improve the performance of mass transfer in the cathode channel, providing a new strategy for the development of flow field design in PEMFC field.     

Numerical investigation of innovative 3D cathode flow channel in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Two kinds of innovative 3‐dimensional (3D) proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) cathode flow channel designs were proposed to improve the water removal on the surface of gas diffusion layer and enhance mass transfer between flow channel and gas diffusion layer. A validated 2‐phase volume of fluid model was used to investigate different water removal behaviors in flow channel. The optimal length of water baffle and other parameters of the proposed designs were determined. A validated 3D PEMFC performance model was adopted to assess the new designs. The results suggest that these 2 designs can improve PEMFC performance as to 9% when operating at the high current density because of the significant enhancement of mass transfer induced by air baffles.     

Heat transfer in rectangular channels with transverse and V-shaped broken ribs

Repeated ribs are used on heat exchange surfaces to promote turbulence and enhance convective heat transfer. Applications include fuel rods of gas-cooled nuclear reactors, inside cavities of turbine blades, and internal surfaces of pipes used in heat exchangers. Despite the great number of literature papers, only few experimental data concern detailed distribution of the heat transfer coefficient in channels with rib turbulators. This issue was tackled by means of the steady-state liquid crystal thermography: a pre-packaged liquid crystal film was glued onto the heated surface, and the colour map was taken by a video camera at the steady state of a given experiment. After calibration tests to assess the colour-temperature relationship had been performed, local heat transfer coefficients were obtained by applying custom-made software to process the digitised colour images. Liquid crystal thermography was applied to the study of heat transfer from a rectangular channel (width-to-height ratio equal to five) having one surface heated at uniform heat flux and roughened by repeated ribs. The ribs, having rectangular or square sections, were deployed transverse to the main direction of flow or V-shaped with an angle of 45 or 60 deg relative to flow direction. The effect of continuous and broken ribs was also considered. Local heat transfer coefficients were obtained at various Reynolds numbers, within the turbulent flow regime. Area-averaged data were calculated in order to compare the overall performance of the tested ribbed surfaces and to evaluate the degree of heat transfer enhancement induced by the ribs with respect to the smooth channel.     

Forced convection of flow past two tandem rectangular cylinders in a channel

This work performed the first numerical investigation on the forced convection of flow past two tandem rectangular cylinders in a channel at Re?=?100. The aspect ratio (AR) and gap ratio (GR) of the two cylinders are chosen at AR?=?1(1)4 and GR?=?1(1)8, respectively. The objective of the present work is to explore the effects of AR and GR on the characteristic flow and heat transfer quantities for the rectangular geometry that has not been studied before. The effects of the two parameters are presented by the instantaneous flow pattern, characteristic aerodynamic and heat transfer quantities, local heat transfer rate, flow patterns in the gap and near wake, and temperature distribution on the channel walls. Both time-averaged and fluctuating quantities are analyzed and presented. Numerical results reveal that for cylinders of all ARs, there are two flow regimes categorized based on the GR: the steady flow regime at GR?≤?3, where the gap flow is steady, and the unsteady flow regime at GR?≥?4. The characteristic aerodynamic and heat transfer quantities abruptly change as the flow transits from steady to unsteady regime especially for the downstream cylinder. The time-averaged and maximum fluctuating local heat transfer rate for the upstream cylinder almost does not vary with the GR, whereas they substantially vary for the downstream cylinder. The AR affects the magnitude of the quantities but not their variation trends. For flows in the unsteady regime, the recovery of the wake flow after the downstream cylinder is much more rapidly than those of steady flows due to the acceleration arising from the instability brought by the incoming shedding vortices. The violent shedding also effectively enhances heat transfer and increases the temperature of the channel walls.     

Comparative Study of Thermal Performance of Parallel Plate and Rectangular Microchannel Counter Flow Heat Exchangers

This paper is aimed at comprehensive investigations of the thermal performance of parallel plate and rectangular microchannel counter flow heat exchangers based on axial conduction, number of transfer units, and non-dimensional power density. The geometrical parameters of the two configurations are optimized for a given heat transfer rate, effectiveness, and pressure drop. A reduced order model of rectangular micro channel counter flow heat exchanger is developed in which it is transformed into a hydrodynamically and thermally equivalent parallel plate micro heat exchanger. To improve the accuracy of the model, correction factors obtained from detailed computational fluid dynamics model are introduced. Various factors affecting the dimensionless power density of both the counter flow micro heat exchangers are studied. It is found that the axial conduction plays an important role on the performance of rectangular channel counter flow micro heat exchanger. In the limiting case where the channel aspect ratio tends to zero, the dimensionless power density of rectangular channel is found to approach that of a parallel plate counter flow micro heat exchanger.     

Thermal and Hydrodynamic Performances of Chaotic Mini-Channel: Application to the Fuel Cell Cooling

Currently, heat exchangers allowing the thermal management of low-temperature fuel cells (PEMFC) are integrated in the bipolar plates and are constituted of a network of straight channels. The flow regime is laminar and thus unfavorable to intense convective heat transfer. In order to increase the power density of the fuel cells, the use of chaotic geometries in the cooling system is envisaged to promote high convective heat transfer. In the present study, several chaotic three-dimensional mini-channels of rectangular cross-section (2 millimeters × 1 millimeter) are evaluated in terms of heat transfer efficiency, mixing properties, and pressure losses. Their performances are compared both to those of the straight channel geometry currently used in the cooling systems of the PEMFC and those of a square-wave mixer. Two Reynolds numbers are considered: 100 and 200. It is shown that a 3-D chaotic channel geometry significantly improves convective heat transfer over that of regular straight or square-wave mixer channels. Of all the geometries studied, one induces higher heat transfer intensification (mean Nusselt number equal to 20) with a strong pressure loss. With an alternative geometry, a better compromise between heat transfer and pressure loss is obtained. However, all of the chaotic geometries present similar mixing rate for the two Reynolds numbers studied.     

Numerical study of a three-dimensional forced laminar flow in a channel equipped with a perforated baffle

The present work concerns a numerical study of a three-dimensional laminar flow in forced convection crossing a rectangular channel provided with a baffle attached on its lower wall. The conservation equations for mass, momentum, and energy are solved by the finite volume method based on the SIMPLE algorithm for pressure–velocity coupling scheme. The effect of the insertion of a perforated baffle at different perforation volumes was analyzed. The results presented show the temperature and velocity contours obtained for two different planes (XY and XZ) passing through the center of the baffle. The average friction coefficient, the average Nusselt number and the heat flux are presented for different perforation volumes of the baffle and for different Reynolds numbers. The study shows that although the solid baffle improves heat transfer, the use of a perforated baffle attached to the same position, further enhances heat transfer (from 0.03% to 14.52%), which provides, economically, a very good material reduction (from 5.18% to 82.96%) and mechanically, less flow resistance and therefore better performance.     

The effects of buoyancy on the performance of a PEM fuel cell with a wave-like gas flow channel design by numerical investigation

This study performs numerical simulations to investigate the effects of buoyancy on the gas flow characteristics, temperature distribution, electrochemical reaction efficiency and electrical performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with a novel wave-like gas flow channel design. In general, the simulation results show that compared to the straight geometry of a conventional gas flow channel, the wave-like configuration enhances the transport through the porous layer and improves the temperature distribution within the channel. As a result, the PEMFC has an improved fuel utilization efficiency and an enhanced heat transfer performance. It is found that the buoyancy effect increases the velocity of the reactant fuel gases in both the vertical and the horizontal directions. This increases the rate at which the oxygen gas is consumed in the fuel cell but improves the electrical performance of the PEMFC. The results show that compared to the conventional straight gas flow channel, the wave-like gas flow channel increases the output voltage and improves the maximum power density by approximately 39.5%.