Transient Modeling and PID-Controlled Nanofluid Cooling for Enhanced Thermal Management in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Appropriate thermal management system is important for the lifespan and safety of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). A comprehensive thermal management system for PEMFC was proposed through finite element model (FEM), control optimization and nanofluid cooling. An 0D-3D coupled thermal model for energy balance and local temperature field analysis was established. By coupling internal heat transfer dynamics with Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control logic, the optimal parameter combination was determined as K_p=-1 m/(s⋅K), K_i=-0.1 m/(s²⋅K) and K_d=0 (m/K). Additionally, the nanofluid coolant revealed a concentration-dependent trade-off between enhanced thermal performance and decreased flow performance. In the range of 0-15% of the nanofluid concentration, the Reynolds number and pressure drop increase with the increase of the concentration of the nanofluid, while in the range of 16-20%, the Reynolds number decreases with the increase of the concentration of the nanofluid, except when the Newton concentration is 0%. This shows that there is a nonlinear relationship between nanoparticle load and hydrodynamic behaviour, and optimisation must be carefully considered when designing a cooling system in real life.