Topology optimization of flow and heat transfer in coolant channels considering porous multi-heat source

Heat generation in catalyst layer is usually transferred into the bipolar plates of coolant channels through the porous skeleton of gas diffusion layer. In this work, topology optimization of flow and heat transfer in coolant channels considering porous multi-heat source in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is proposed to achieve a high cooling capacity. The proposed method simultaneously considers the coupling of coolant channel morphology and heat source distributions. The collaborative topology optimization algorithm employs a density-based approach for coolant channel optimization and a component-based approach for heat source distribution optimization. The effects of coolant inlet flow velocity and heat source intensity on the cooling performance are investigated. Results show that with an inlet velocity of 0.005–0.03 m/s, the maximum temperature in the topology optimization structure can reduce by 3.32–4.56 K for the case of uniform heat source, and 2.25–3.12 K for the case of non-uniform heat source compared to the initial channel structure with uniform heat source, respectively. The dense area heat sources tending to accumulate more near the coolant inlet is identified. The above findings can provide a guidance for the design of a well cooling channel in PEMFC.