Numerical study on the effect of the vane channel parameters on the performance of gas-water separators for a PEMFC system

Abstract

In this study, the effects of vane channel parameters on the flow field and separator performance are investigated based on a vane type gas-water separator for a PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) system. The Eulerian-Eulerian model combines with the Multi-Fluid VOF (volume of fluid) modeling approach is used to comprehensively investigate the gas-liquid two-phase flow field and performance indexes in the separator, and the sensitivity analysis of the structural parameters is carried out. The results show that the pressure drop of the separator gradually increases with the increase of the vane contraction ratio, while the separation efficiency has a tendency to increase and then decrease with the increase of the vane incidence angle. For the separation efficiency, the most beneficial structural variant results in an increase of 11.63%, while for the pressure drop, almost all structural variants result in a reduction of the pressure drop from the standard structure with a maximum reduction of 36.58%. By analyzing the phase distribution, pressure field and velocity distribution of different structures, it can be obtained that the main factors affecting the performance of the separator are the extreme values of tangential velocity inside the separator and the symmetry of velocity distribution in the internal flow field. The results presented in this study can provide a reference for the PEMFC gas-water separator.