Analysis of cooling and heating characteristics of thermal management system for fuel cell bus

Vehicle thermal management system (VTMS) is an important part of the safe operation of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). In this work, an integrated thermal management system was proposed for a fuel cell bus, with 80 kW fuel cell and 105 kWh battery. Liquid cooling is adopted for fuel cell, battery and motor. The model of VTMS was based on AMESim software. Two modes, including cooling and heating, were simulated for VTMS under different ambient conditions. The simulation is performed under a modified New European Driving Cycle (MNEDC), in which the running time is 1180 s and the distance is 10437 m. Results show that the VTMS could fulfill the temperature requirement for both modes. In cooling mode, ambient temperature of 34 degrees C, 37 degrees C and 40 degrees C are considered. The equivalent hydrogen consumption (EHC) is 505.68 g, 522.93 g and 539.48 g respectively. In heating mode, the ambient temperature is set to be -10 degrees C, -5 degrees C, 0 degrees C, and the corresponding EHC is 840.16 g, 783.64 g and 707.53 g, respectively. Besides, EHC at different heating target temperature for the fuel cell and battery was investigated. Results show that reducing the target heating temperature of fuel cell by 10 degrees C consumes less hydrogen than reducing the target heating temperature of battery by 5 degrees C. It is hoped that the results of this work will play a positive role in extending driving range.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.