Comprehensive review of serpentine flow fields for effective thermal management of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Abstract

Besides the fact that the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) have become the industrial norm of today, the thermal management in PEMFCs is still challenging. Therefore, the present study delves deep understanding of the issue of thermal management and summarizes the relevant research studies that evaluate the efficiency of serpentine flow fields (SFFs) to other flow configurations for thermal management in PEMFCs. The current research explores the variety of aspects of SFFs i.e., temperature uniformity, cooling efficiency, pressure drop, and overall thermal performance to guide future design optimizations and practical implementations of SFFs. The study in hand also discusses developments in SFFs such as., Multi-Pass Serpentine Flow Fields (MPSFFs) and new hybrid designs that include a combination of traditional serpentine and other flow patterns to decrease pressure drop and increase net performance. The findings of various studies show that serpentine flow fields outperform alternative designs in coolant distribution, heat transfer efficiency, and operating temperature stability. Based on the findings, the present study recommends future research options, highlighting the need to include economic and environmental concerns in flow field (FF) design, as well as investigating the use of developing materials and technologies to improve PEMFC performance.

Keywords

• PEMFC
• Thermal management
• Heat transport
• Cooling plate
• Bipolar plate
• Serpentine flow field