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Enhancing the Specific Power of a PEM Fuel Cell Powered UAV with a Novel Bean-Shaped Flow Field

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  • Somayeh Toghyani

    (Institute of Energy and Process Systems Engineering, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
    Cluster of Excellence SE2A—Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany)

  • Seyed Ali Atyabi

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran)

  • Xin Gao

    (Institute of Energy and Process Systems Engineering, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
    Cluster of Excellence SE2A—Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany)

Abstract

One of the marketing challenges of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for various applications is enhancing flight durability. Due to the superior characteristics of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), they have the potential to reach a longer flight time and higher payload. In this regard, a numerical assessment of a UAV air-cooled PEMFC is carried out using a three-dimensional (3-D), multiphase, and non-isothermal model on three flow fields, i.e., unblocked bean-shaped, blocked bean-shaped, and parallel. Then, the results of single-cell modeling are generalized to the PEMFC stack to provide the power of 2.5 kW for a UAV. The obtained results indicate that the strategy of rising air stoichiometry for cooling performs well in the unblocked bean-shaped design, and the maximum temperature along the channel length reaches 331.5 K at the air stoichiometric of 30. Further, it is found that the best performance of a 2.5 kW PEMFC stack is attained by the bean-shaped design without blockage, of which its volume and mass power density are 1.1 kW L −1 and 0.2 kW kg −1 , respectively. It is 9.4% lighter and 6.9% more compact than the parallel flow field. Therefore, the unblocked bean-shaped design can be a good option for aerial applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Somayeh Toghyani & Seyed Ali Atyabi & Xin Gao, 2021. "Enhancing the Specific Power of a PEM Fuel Cell Powered UAV with a Novel Bean-Shaped Flow Field," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:9:p:2494-:d:544434
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Atyabi, Seyed Ali & Afshari, Ebrahim & Zohravi, Elnaz & Udemu, Chinonyelum M., 2021. "Three-dimensional simulation of different flow fields of proton exchange membrane fuel cell using a multi-phase coupled model with cooling channel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    2. Atyabi, Seyed Ali & Afshari, Ebrahim & Shakarami, Negar, 2023. "Three-dimensional multiphase modeling of the performance of an open-cathode PEM fuel cell with additional cooling channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    3. Ming Peng & Enci Dong & Li Chen & Yu Wang & Wen-Quan Tao, 2022. "Effects of Cathode Gas Diffusion Layer Configuration on the Performance of Open Cathode Air-Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Zhou, Kehan & Liu, Zhiwei & Zhang, Xin & Liu, Hang & Meng, Nan & Huang, Jianmei & Qi, Mingjing & Song, Xizhen & Yan, Xiaojun, 2022. "A kW-level integrated propulsion system for UAV powered by PEMFC with inclined cathode flow structure design," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).

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