Spray cooling for enhancing cooling performance and reducing power consumption of radiator in hydrogen fuel cell system

During the development of hydrogen fuel cell systems, with the augmentation of power, conventional air-cooling systems, which are frequently employed in portable scenarios, encounter difficulties in maintaining the balance between radiator heat dissipation and power consumption. In contrast, liquid-cooling systems are widely adopted in high-power applications. In this regard, aiming to address the heat dissipation problem and make use of the wastewater from the stack tailpipe, a novel spray cooling system integrated with the traditional air-cooling for the radiator of hydrogen fuel cell systems is put forward. Through experimental investigations based on heat transfer theory and the design principles of fuel cell systems, it is discovered that under specific nozzle apertures and spray water pressures, the heat dissipation rate can be enhanced by 40 % and 30 % respectively. With particular radiator internal water flow rates and fan speeds, the heat dissipation rate can be increased by 30 % and 108 % respectively. And the spray angle of 60 ° is the best angle. In contrast to the conventional air-cooling system, the spray-air cooling system exhibits a heat dissipation rate that is approximately 50 % higher. Experimental analyses demonstrate that the new system effectively harnesses water resources and enhances the heat dissipation performance of the radiator, thereby providing a technical reference for the application of spray cooling in the radiators of hydrogen fuel cell systems. • A new spray cooling system for radiator in fuel cell system was proposed. • The experimental bench of spray cooling system was built for verification. • The best parameter range of spray cooling system was determined through experiments. • Compared to traditional air cooling systems, the heat dissipation was improved by 50 %.