TY - GEN

T1 - Experimentally Validated Design of an Anode Recirculation Blower for PEM Fuel Cells Under Variable Fluid Composition

AU - Nachtigal, Philipp

AU - Kentschke, Thorge

AU - Seume, Joerg R.

N1 - Funding Information: This paper contains some of the results of the publicly funded project “REZEBT”, which has been supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The project is organized within the framework of the ZIM program.

PY - 2022/10/28

Y1 - 2022/10/28

N2 - This paper focuses on the design, construction and the experimental testing of an anode recirculation blower (ARB) based on a turbo-compressor for PEM-FCs. The blower presented consists of a high-speed centrifugal compressor, driven by a so-called media-gap motor. Additionally it includes a droplet separator to eliminate liquid water from the anode loop. The aerodynamic design is based on 1D-correlations and 3D-numerical CFD simulations. Different gas compositions of hydrogen, nitrogen and water vapor are considered in the design, depending on the operating points of a PEM-FC. The gas composition has a significant influence on the achievable pressure ratio at constant compressor speeds, depending mainly on the specific heat capacity of the gas. Performance maps for different gas compositions are calculated using CFD for the designed ARB. A prototype is built and tested. The results validate the CFD predictions and show that the operating range of a PEM fuel cell can be covered with the present blower. In addition, it could be shown that an enthalpy-based approach using common characteristic numbers of turbomachines, allows converting performance maps - acquired with different gas compositions - into one another. This allows the performance map prediction for different gas compositions based on existing performance maps. This approach is illustrated by numerical and experimental results.

AB - This paper focuses on the design, construction and the experimental testing of an anode recirculation blower (ARB) based on a turbo-compressor for PEM-FCs. The blower presented consists of a high-speed centrifugal compressor, driven by a so-called media-gap motor. Additionally it includes a droplet separator to eliminate liquid water from the anode loop. The aerodynamic design is based on 1D-correlations and 3D-numerical CFD simulations. Different gas compositions of hydrogen, nitrogen and water vapor are considered in the design, depending on the operating points of a PEM-FC. The gas composition has a significant influence on the achievable pressure ratio at constant compressor speeds, depending mainly on the specific heat capacity of the gas. Performance maps for different gas compositions are calculated using CFD for the designed ARB. A prototype is built and tested. The results validate the CFD predictions and show that the operating range of a PEM fuel cell can be covered with the present blower. In addition, it could be shown that an enthalpy-based approach using common characteristic numbers of turbomachines, allows converting performance maps - acquired with different gas compositions - into one another. This allows the performance map prediction for different gas compositions based on existing performance maps. This approach is illustrated by numerical and experimental results.

KW - Droplet

KW - Fuel Cell Applications

KW - Hydrogen

KW - Turbomachinery

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141743320&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1115/GT2022-80525

DO - 10.1115/GT2022-80525

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:85141743320

T3 - Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo

BT - ASME Turbo Expo 2022: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition

PB - American Society of Mechanical Engineers(ASME)

T2 - ASME Turbo Expo 2022: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, GT 2022

Y2 - 13 June 2022 through 17 June 2022

ER -