Phase change material for thermal management of high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells in electric vehicle

Abstract

The current work examines the possibility of reducing the radiator size in high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell vehicles by incorporating phase change material. Using pinch analysis optimisation, the research demonstrates that the radiator area in a Toyota Mirai car can be reduced by 4.7 times with the integration of D-mannitol (melting point 170°C) phase change material. The required quantity of D-mannitol accounts for only 0.62% of the vehicle’s curb mass. Additionally, the work investigates the impact of operating temperature on radiator size, revealing that lower coolant inlet temperatures increase the minimum radiator area needed for sufficient heat dissipation. A 40°C increase in the inlet coolant temperature results in a 44% reduction in the radiator area. Consequently, a vehicle powered by low-temperature fuel cells (60−80°C) versus high-temperature fuel cells (120−180°C), under the same driving conditions, would require minimum radiator areas of 1.07 m² and 0.26 m², respectively. These results are expected to aid in the development of techno-economically feasible cooling systems in fuel cell vehicles.