Optimizing proton exchange membrane electrolyzers: Enhanced heat and mass transport through innovative submerged jet array design using multi-physics simulation

IF 5 2区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Pub Date : 2025-05-28 DOI:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2025.127289

Riyang Shu , Donglin Cai , Shaofeng Zhong , Zhi Yang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

To address the limitations of conventional straight hollow flow channels (SHFC) in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE), specifically insufficient water supply and nonuniform reactant/thermal distribution, this study proposes an innovative submerged jet flow channel (SJFC) design. A comprehensive non-isothermal two-phase flow numerical model was employed to analyze its performance. The SJFC enhances pressure-driven liquid permeation, elevating the average liquid saturation (s_l) in the anode catalyst layer (ACL) by 6.82 % while improving the distribution uniformity of liquid, temperature, and current density by 16.50 %, 51.37 %, and 5.81 %, respectively. Notably, the SJFC reduces the ACL average temperature by 8.47 K compared to SHFC. Parametric studies reveal that increasing jet inlet velocity (V_jet) from 0 to 0.3 m/s enhances liquid and temperature uniformity by 15.17 % and 22.99 %, respectively. At low current densities, the temperature uniformity is dominated by the temperature difference between jet (T_jet) and mainstream inlets (T_m,inlet). At high current densities (I_flux = 2.8 A/cm²), reducing T_jet from 353.15 K to 313.15 K results in a 62.62 % decrease in temperature uniformity index (U_T) for the counter-flow mode and a 35.18 % decrease for the co-flow mode. T_jet 〈 T_m,inlet enables uniform cooling along the flow channel and exhibits the best temperature uniformity, while T_jet 〉 T_m,inlet exacerbates localized hot spot formation, degrading temperature uniformity. Flow pattern comparisons demonstrate co-flow jets outperform counter-flow in cooling performance at low T_jet and current densities, whereas at high current densities, counter-flow mode is more superior as the largest jet mass is assigned to cool the high-temperature zone near the exit. Compared to SHFC, increasing jet column count enhances liquid and temperature uniformity by up to 7.24 % and 41.85 % due to its disturbance effect. The synergistic effect of column disturbance and jet flow enhances both liquid and temperature uniformity. These findings offer valuable insights for designing novel PEMWE architectures with optimized mass and thermal management.

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优化质子交换膜电解槽：利用多物理场模拟，通过创新的水下射流阵列设计增强热量和质量传递

针对质子交换膜水电解槽（PEMWE）中传统的直空心流道（SHFC）的局限性，特别是供水不足和反应物/热分布不均匀的问题，本研究提出了一种创新的浸没式射流流道（SJFC）设计。采用非等温两相流综合数值模型对其性能进行了分析。SJFC提高了压力驱动的液体渗透率，将阳极催化剂层（ACL）的平均液体饱和度（sl）提高了6.82%，同时将液体、温度和电流密度的分布均匀性分别提高了16.50%、51.37%和5.81%。值得注意的是，与SHFC相比，SJFC使ACL平均温度降低了8.47 K。参数研究表明，当射流入口速度从0增加到0.3 m/s时，液体和温度均匀性分别提高了15.17%和22.99%。在低电流密度下，温度均匀性主要由射流（Tjet）与主流入口（Tm,inlet）之间的温差决定。在高电流密度下（流量= 2.8 A/cm2），将Tjet从353.15 K降低到313.15 K，逆流模式的温度均匀性指数（UT）降低62.62%，共流模式的温度均匀性指数（UT）降低35.18%。Tjet < Tm，进口能够沿流道均匀冷却，温度均匀性最好，而Tjet > Tm，进口加剧了局部热点的形成，降低了温度均匀性。流型比较表明，在低Tjet和电流密度下，共流射流的冷却性能优于逆流射流，而在高电流密度下，逆流射流更优越，因为最大的射流质量用于冷却出口附近的高温区。与SHFC相比，增加射流柱数，由于扰动效应，液体和温度均匀性分别提高了7.24%和41.85%。柱扰和射流的协同作用增强了液体和温度的均匀性。这些发现为设计具有优化质量和热管理的新型PEMWE架构提供了有价值的见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 工程技术-工程：机械

CiteScore

10.30

自引率

13.50%

发文量

1319

审稿时长

41 days

期刊介绍： International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer is the vehicle for the exchange of basic ideas in heat and mass transfer between research workers and engineers throughout the world. It focuses on both analytical and experimental research, with an emphasis on contributions which increase the basic understanding of transfer processes and their application to engineering problems. Topics include: -New methods of measuring and/or correlating transport-property data -Energy engineering -Environmental applications of heat and/or mass transfer