Heat Transfer in Fuel Cells

As we have discussed in Chapter 4, the total electrochemical heat generation includes a reversible heat generation component as well as an irreversible heat generation component, and this is expressed as 

The entropy change of the chemical reaction can be estimated directly on the basis of the procedure outlined in Chapter 3 and Section 4.3. Noting that the fuel consumption rate can be expressed in terms of the operating current 

The heat generation and subsequent dissipation result in a temperature distribution within the fuel cell and influence the cell s performance. Heat transfer plays a very important role in the analysis, design, and operation of a fuel cell, and overall thermal management of the fuel cell power generation system. 

In the following section, a brief discussion on the mechanism of heat transfer as applicable to fuel cell is given. 

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The section on basic principles contains background information on fuel cells, including fundamental principles such as electrochemistry, thermodynamics, and kinetics of fuel cell reactions as well as mass and heat transfer in fuel cells. The section on design explores important characteristics associated with various fuel cell components, electrodes, electrocatalysts, and electrolytes, while the section on analysis examines phenomena characterization and modeling both at the component and system levels. 

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