A Novel Ejector with Water-Separator Function for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System Based on a Transient 3D Model
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 3
Abstract
The design and optimization of the hydrogen circulation system can improve the hydrogen utilization rate and overall system efficiency of the fuel cell system. The ejector and water separator are important parts of the design for the ejector-driven hydrogen circulation system. In this study, a novel ejector with water separation functionality is proposed based on a three-dimensional fluid transient simulation, which integrates the ejection and water separation functions in the traditional anode hydrogen circulation system. The separation efficiency of the novel ejector reaches 70.07% and 72.59% under low and high power, respectively, and the deviation is only about 3.47%. In addition, the entrainment ratios of 30 kW, 40 kW, and 50 kW have been improved by 12.54%, 8.04%, and 9.53%, respectively, through further optimization of the new ejector. The new ejector greatly simplifies the system structure while maintaining the original performance, which is innovative and beneficial to improving the power and energy density of the system.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research work is jointly funded by the National Key Research and Development Program (No. 2021YFB2500505) and the Distinguished Young Scholar Foundation of Hunan Province (No. 2022JJ10009). The authors are grateful to the reviewers and editors for their careful review of the manuscript and for the many constructive comments and suggestions for improvement.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 3 • June 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 14, 2022
Accepted: Feb 5, 2023
Published online: Apr 11, 2023
Published in print: Jun 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Sep 11, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Chemical compounds
- Chemical elements
- Chemicals
- Chemistry
- Continuum mechanics
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Energy efficiency
- Energy engineering
- Energy sources (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Environmental engineering
- Hydrogen
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrologic properties
- Hydrology
- Models (by type)
- Renewable energy
- Solid mechanics
- Steam power
- Structural engineering
- Structural systems
- Three-dimensional models
- Transient response
- Water and water resources
- Water circulation
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Cited by
- Yusong He, Liang Hao, Minli Bai, Pore-Scale Simulation of Tortuosity in the Catalyst Layer of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Journal of Energy Engineering, 10.1061/JLEED9.EYENG-5363, 150, 4, (2024).