Effect of Inlet Flow Rate on the Electrolytic Performance of a Water Electrolytic Cell Under Microgravity Conditions

Abstract

The study developed a two-dimensional nonisothermal two-phase flow model and investigated the gas–liquid phase distribution and temperature variations in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolytic cell under microgravity conditions at different inlet flow rates. The impact of microgravity and terrestrial conditions on water electrolytic cells was directly compared. The results indicate that the water electrolytic cell demonstrates effective operation only when the voltage exceeds 1.7 V in a microgravity environment. Furthermore, an increase in inlet flow rate is conducive to electrochemical reactions, resulting in higher average hydrogen concentration, average hydrogen flow rate, and average current density. Under microgravity conditions, the absence of gravity results in lower average hydrogen concentration, flow rate, and current density compared to terrestrial conditions. Furthermore, an increase in inlet flow rate leads to a greater disparity in the performance of the electrolytic cell between microgravity and terrestrial conditions.