Integration of the detailed channel two-phase flow into three-dimensional multi-phase simulation of proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cell

In this study, we proposed a novel method that integrates the detailed channel two-phase flow into the 3D (three-dimensional) multi-phase full-cell model of PEMEC (proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cell), which makes it able to predict the effect of oxygen in anode channel on the transport phenomena in the porous electrode and cell performance. It is found that if neglecting the oxygen in anode channel, the simulation results of parallel and serpentine flow fields using 3D full-cell model will be almost the same, which is contrary to the experimental results. But if we add the oxygen volume fraction distribution at the interface of channel and L/GDL (liquid/gas diffusion layer) into the 3D full-cell model as the boundary condition of oxygen equation solved in the porous electrodes, the simulated polarization curves will fit the experimental data reasonably, indicating that the oxygen in anode channel cannot be neglected. In addition, the channel oxygen plays a vital role in the distributions of oxygen, current density, and temperature in the porous electrodes mainly because it largely hinders the oxygen removal process. Then, we extended it to the integration of modeling the detailed channel two-phase flow by VOF (volume of fluid) method into the 3D multi-phase model of PEMEC. Based on this integration method, the influence of oxygen in anode channel on the transport phenomena and cell performance can be investigated in detail.

Automated summary

This study proposed a novel method that integrates detailed channel two-phase flow into the 3D multi-phase full-cell model of PEMEC to predict the effect of oxygen in anode channel on transport phenomena and cell performance. By adding oxygen volume fraction distribution at the interface of channel and L/GDL into the model, better fitting of simulated polarization curves to experimental data was achieved, indicating the importance of considering oxygen in the anode channel. This integration method allows for detailed investigation of the influence of oxygen in anode channel on transport phenomena and cell performance.