INDUSTRY

HYDROGEN

Flownex is the software of choice for the design, analysis, and optimization of hydrogen technology. From water electrolysis to transient evaluations of fuel cells, Flownex speeds up the design process and decreases the development cost.

OVERVIEW

With pressure on industries to move to zero emissions, a strong focus has been put on the research and development of hydrogen applications for decarbonization. The European Union and others want to get to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. One way of doing this is to implement technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity. Green Hydrogen, where renewable energy is used to generate hydrogen from water using a process called electrolysis, is one of the main sources of carbon-free energy currently being researched. Both are easily modeled in Flownex, as is the rest of the systems used for hydrogen production, storage, and utilization as power. 

HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS AND SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Flownex is used in the development and analysis of fuel cell systems in industry and academia. Flownex allows for fast transients and the evaluation of system performance with several advantages in simulating fuel cells compared when compared to other conventional simulation software.

Some of those advantages are:

  • Fluid capabilities – Flownex includes compressible gasses, two-phase fluids, mixtures, etc. Custom fluids can be created or imported from NIST.
  • Chemical reaction model for the fuel cell stack.  Custom reactions can be implemented using scripting with languages such as C#, EES, and Python. Integration with other software packages such as Cantera and Matlab and the ability to import reduced order models or ROMS using the Flownex FMI capabilities.
  • Pumps and compressor models – simplified and complex models for pumps and compressors where pump charts and compressor maps can be included.
  • Discretised heat exchange models – finned tube heat exchangers, plate heat exchangers, etc.
  • Typical pressure drop models – pipes, valves, etc.
  • Steady state and transient solver – including an implicit transient solver allowing for large timesteps in long transients.
  • Control models for transient simulations – large library of analogue and digital controls.

PROTON-EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL AIR SIDE

Proper water management systems must be implemented in the proton-exchange membrane fuel cell to ensure optimal performance. This results in several components being added to the air side of the fuel cell, increasing the complexities. Flownex can be used in the design and development process of these complex systems.

Flownex is utilized for:

  • Detailed design of the humidifier in the water management system – scripts to implement water vapor transfer rates, user specified pressure drop components to apply pressure drop curves from literature, etc.
  • Determining the power requirement of the air side compressor.
  • Calculating the heating or cooling needed for the air stream to reach the fuel cell stack temperature.

ELECTROLYSIS OF WATER

The main loop and auxiliaries of a water electrolysis plant are a sensitive integrated system. The plant needs to be precisely controlled as the main driving force is the chemical process of water electrolysis. Also, high temperatures and high pressures further enhance the process but lead to the requirements of increased optimization in the operation of the plant. Flownex can be used for:

  • Plant optimization
  • Analysis of system behavior at critical modes
  • Sensor failure simulation
  • Cooling loops
  • Product design as per customer requirements

Testimonials

“Using the Flownex scripting in conjunction with its thermo-fluid modeling capabilities made it a very valuable application for the problem at hand. In addition, Flownex has an intuitive design facilitating the modeling of large, complex systems.”

– M. Neben
   McPhy Energy Germany
   Research & Development Manager

Partner with PADT and Flownex to Help Build the Hydrogen Economy

The challenges of hydrogen production, storage, and usage as a power source are significant, and facing them requires accurate simulation of the entire system.  Flownex is a proven solution in this space, and PADT has a 20+ year engagement in hydrogen systems. 

If you are ready to make Flownex part of your simulation workflow, reach out today at info@padtinc.com 

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