Numerical investigation of nanofluid cooling in a zigzag channel – Application to cooling of the PEM fuel cell

The proper operation of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) requires the thermal management and temperature uniformity to obtain optimal performance. Therefore, the appropriate type of cooling channel and cooling fluid are vital parameters. In order to evaluate these parameters, a numerical study is carried out to investigate the effects of using nanofluid in a single zigzag channel on the thermal management of PEMFCs. Numerical results, as obtained for water/Al۲O۳ mixture, obviously show that the presence of nanoparticle into basefluid offers a remarkable increase of heat transfer coefficient that results in more uniform temperature distribution. However inclusion ofnanoparticles also increases the pressure drop and pumping power. In the present study the effects of Reynolds number ( Re ) and particle volume fractions ( Ф ) on the heat transfer coefficient ( h ), pressure drop ( ∆P ) and uniformity index (UI ) are evaluated. The results show a maximum value ۱۹% increase in average heat transfer coefficient and ۲۳۷% increase in pressure drop for all the considered cases. It is also observed that the uniformity of temperature distribution improves as Re and Ф increase.

کلیدواژه ها:

PEMFC ، heat transfer ، pressure drop ، nanofluid ، zigzag channel