Numerical study on thermal performance of non-uniform flow channel designs for cooling plates of PEM fuel cells

Due to the limited cooling capacity of air, large-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stacks are generally cooled by liquid cooling where liquid water is circulated through the flow channels of cooling plates. Effective cooling is essential for the stability, durability, and performance of PEM fuel cells. In this study, cooling plates with conventional straight channel and novel non-uniform flow channel designs are investigated and analyzed by using a three-dimensional model. The simulated results are presented in terms of pressure drop, average temperature, maximum temperature, temperature difference between the maximum temperature and minimum temperature, and the temperature uniformity index. In addition, the effects of heat flux and inlet Reynolds number on the cooling performance are studied. It is concluded that the cooling performance is significantly improved as the novel flow channel designs are applied.