Coupling Global Parameters and Local Flow Optimization of a Pulsed Ejector for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), as an important utilization of hydrogen energy, contribute to the sustainable development of global energy. Pulsed ejectors have a high potential for improving the hydrogen utilization of PEMFCs in the full operating range by circulating unconsumed hydrogen. In this study, a pulsed ejector applied to a 120 kW fuel cell was designed, and the flow characteristics were analysed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Based on the data from the CFD model, the global optimization of the ejector was carried out using the Gaussian process regression (GPR) surrogate model and the grey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm. The local structure was then further optimized using an adjoint method coupling streamlining modification that takes into account the local flow characteristics. The CFD results showed that, under a fixed structure, increasing the pressure difference between the secondary flow and the ejector outlet would promote boundary layer separation, shorten the shockwave chain length, change the effective flow area of the secondary flow, and lower the entrainment ratio (ER). The analytical results from the GPR model indicated significant interactions among the structural parameters. The globally optimized ejector using GPR and GWO improved the hydrogen entrainment ratio from 1.42 to 3.12 at the design point. Furthermore, the results of streamlining local optimization show that the entrainment ratio increased by 1.67% at the design point and increased by up to 3.99% over the full operating range compared to the optimized ejector by global optimization.