Simulation Research on the Performance of PEMEC with Single Channel Flow Field Established by Orthogonally Sinusoidal Function with Different Amplitudes and Angular Frequencies

Abstract

As one of the main hydrogen production devices, the performance of the proton exchange membrane electrolytic cell (PEMEC) is directly related to the geometric design of the flow channel. In this paper, a new orthogonally sinusoidal channel with periodic fluctuations in both horizontal and vertical planes is proposed. The effects of amplitude and angular frequency in two orthogonally sinusoidal channels with the same or opposite frequency on PEMEC performance are studied by numerical simulation. The results show that the spatial amplitude and angular frequency effectively improve the electrochemical performance and mass transfer performance of PEMEC. Compared with Case 1-1, the polarization performance of Case 7-2 is increased by 16.39% because of the largest spatial amplitude. The oxygen content at 40 mm away from the inlet in the diffusion layer is also decreased by 42.63%. The horizontal angular frequency can increase the hydrogen content by 11.07% at most in Case 5-2. However, the increase in vertical angle frequency will inhibit the oxygen removal on the anode side. The sinusoidal flow channel in orthogonal spaces will provide a particular reference for the design of PEMEC in the future.