Title: Unsteady three-dimensional multiphase modelling of anode flow distributor in PEM electrolysis cell

Authors: Safiye Nur Özdemir; Imdat Taymaz

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sakarya, 54187, Adapazari, Turkey ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sakarya, 54187, Adapazari, Turkey

Abstract: A polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis cell (PEMEC) is a system in which water is oxidised at an oxygen electrode, producing oxygen gas on the anode electrode and hydrogen gas on the cathode electrode, respectively. In this study, we aim to develop a three-dimensional, unsteady numerical model of the anode flow field plate (AFFP) for the PEMEC system that focuses on two main objectives: the first objective is to characterise the two-phase flow distribution. The second purpose is to change the channels in the AFFP, analyse their effect on pressure drop, velocity, and oxygen gas distribution, and determine the appropriate number of channels. The three-dimensional, single-domain, and isothermal model of an AFFP was applied in the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code; it was well-validated with the experimental results of a PEMEC with a parallel flow field. Numerical results show that the pressure gradient decreases diagonally from the inlet port to the outlet port along with the AFFP. It was recorded that when the number of electrode channels was increased from 4 to 16, the pressure drop decreased by 33% but also increased by approximately 73 Pa when it was increased from 16 to 20.

Keywords: green hydrogen production; PEM electrolysis cell; anode flow field plate; AFFP; computational fluid dynamics; CFD modelling; two-phase flow.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2024.139338

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2024 Vol.24 No.4, pp.240 - 253

Received: 28 Mar 2023
Accepted: 22 Jul 2023
Published online: 01 Jul 2024 *

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