Parametric Evaluation of Coolant Channels for Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Based on Multi-Pass Serpentine Flow Field

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) stand out for their exceptional efficiency, high power density, and zero emissions, as they produce merely heat and water as byproducts. Appropriate and robust thermal management is the key to ensuring the maximum efficiency of the fuel cell (FC) as its optimum operating temperature is 70~80 °C. The current study was designed for the parametric evaluation of coolant channels (CCs) based on the multi-pass serpentine flow field (MPSFF) to investigate the relationship between channel geometry and thermal performance in PEM fuel cells, offering novel insights into optimal design configurations for improved thermal management. Six 3D computational models of PEMFCs with varying numbers of coolant channels were created and evaluated using COMSOL 6.2. The acquired results suggested that longer channel lengths with more serpentine turns cause the maximum number of hot spots around turns and offer a maximal pressure drop, whereas increasing the number of channels results in a uniform thermal distribution and leads to a minimal pressure drop. The findings indicate that systematic variations in geometrical configurations of MPSFFs can significantly enhance thermal uniformity and minimize the pressure drop, offering valuable insights for improving the efficiency of PEMFCs.