Multiscale Simulation of the evolution of O2 bubbles

Multiscale Simulation of the evolution of oxygen bubbles in electrolyzers

Motivation:

With the growing need of renewable energy and the goal to achieve climate neutrality, H2 came into focus for future energy systems. H2 can be produced by electrolysis of water. However, the formation of O2 and H2 bubbles during the process as well as the transport of the gas bubbles in the electrolyzer influence the overall efficiency of the devices. This is where the project comes into play. It investigates the optimization of phase separation in PEM electrolysers and is carried out in cooperation with TU Dresden embedded in the OxySep project (overall leader Prof. Kerstin Eckert).

Project leader: Dr.-Ing. Gerd Mutschke

  • Objectives:
    • Development of numerical tools to simulate bubble behaviour in electrochemical environment
    • Investigation of bubble dynamics for different surface structures, material properties and operation conditions
  • Methods
    • Molecular Dynamic Simulation: Wetting dynamics
    • Direct Numerical Simulation: Bubble growth & dynamics with dynamic wetting
  • Project staff: Dr.-Ing. Mengyuan Huang, Yifan Han, Dr.-Ing. Wei Ding
Foto: OxySep - Numerishe Modelle ©Copyright: Mengyuan Huang

OxySep - Numerical models

Source: Huang, Mengyuan

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Publications

  • M. Huang, C. Sun, K. Eckert, X. Zhang, G. Mutschke; Dynamic equilibrium states of electrochemical bubble growth at microelectrodes; Journal of Fluid Mechanics 1011 (2025) A23.
  • M. Xu, M. Huang, Y. Han, X. Yang, G. Mutschke, K. Eckert; Dynamics of air bubbles growing at a microcavity of  functionalized silicon surfaces in an oversaturated solution, J. Coll. Int. Sci. 683 (2025) 879-899.
  • J. Zhang, W. Ding, U. Hampel, How droplets pin on solid surfaces, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 640 (2023) 940-948, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.031. 
  • Y. Ma, M. Huang, G. Mutschke, X. Zhang, Nucleation of surface nanobubbles in electrochemistry: Analysis with nucleation theorem, J. Coll. Int. Sci. 654 (2023) 859-867, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2023.10.102
  • M. Huang, N. Weber, G. Mutschke, A simulation framework for electrochemical processes with electrolyte flow; J. Electrochem. Soc., 170 (2023) 073502, https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ace333
  • Y. Han, A. Bashkatov, K. Eckert, G. Mutschke, Impact of tracer particles on the electrolytic growth of hydrogen bubbles, Phys. Fluids 36 (2024) 012107, https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0175731
  • H. Zhang, Y. Ma, M. Huang, G. Mutschke, X. Zhang, Solutal Marangoni force controls the lateral motion of electrolytic gas gubbles, Soft Matter, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sm01646c

Cooperation partners of the OxySep Project

  • Linde GmbH
  • ITM Linde Electrolysis
  • ITM Power GmbH
  • TU Dresden
  • TU München

Funding:

The OxySep project is funded by the BMBF from 2021-2025 and is embedded in the joint project SineWave of the joint platform H2Giga.