Investigations of flow field designs in direct methanol fuel cell |
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Authors: | Guo-Bin Jung Cheng-Hsin Tu Pei-Hung Chi Ay Su Fang-Bor Weng Yur-Tsai Lin Yu-Chun Chiang Chi-Yuan Lee Wei-Mon Yan |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Rd., Chung-Li, Taoyuan, 320, Taiwan, Republic of China;(2) Fuel Cell Center, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Rd., Chung-Li, Taoyuan, 320, Taiwan, Republic of China;(3) Department of Mechatronic Engineering, Huafan University, Shih-Ting, Taipei, 223, Taiwan, Republic of China |
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Abstract: | An experimental and simulation research had been performed to investigate the performance as well as the flow distribution
in the cathode flow field in the case of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The gas was well distributed in serpentine flow
field, whereas stagnation of the gas was observed in parallel flow field. These would contribute to the cell performance greatly
due to mass transfer effect when the cells start operating. In addition, the durability test of DMFC was drastically affected
in parallel flow field due to poor ability to drain flooded water produced electrochemically at cathode and crossover from
anode. In addition, pressure drops of different flow fields were also investigated to evaluate their contribution and feasibility
as an economic application for DMFC. DMFC with serpentine flow field featuring higher pressure difference resulted in a larger
parasitic energy demand. However, the optimal flow field designs are needed to balance the performance and pressure loss to
achieve a uniform fluid distribution and simultaneously minimize energy demand for mass transport. Consequently, flow field
with grid pattern appears to be the optimal design for the DMFC cathode. |
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Keywords: | Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) Flow field Stagnation zone Pressure drop |
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