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Buie, Cullen R.; Santiago, Juan G.

Two-phase hydrodynamics in a miniature direct methanol fuel cell. (English) Zbl 1176.76002

Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 52, No. 21-22, 5158-5166 (2009).
Summary: We present controlled experiments on a miniature direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) to study the effects of methanol flow rate, current density, and void fraction on pressure drop across the DMFC anode. We also present an experimental technique to measure void fraction, liquid slug length, and velocity of the two-phase slug flow exiting the DMFC. For our channel geometry in which the diameter of the largest inscribed sphere \((a)\) is \(500 \mu \)m, pressure drop scales with the number of gas slugs in the channel, surface tension, and \(a.\) This scaling demonstrates the importance of capillary forces in determining the hydrodynamic characteristics of the DMFC anode. This work is aimed at aiding the design of fuel pumps and anode flow channels for miniature DMFC systems.

Cited in 1 Document

MSC:

76-05 Experimental work for problems pertaining to fluid mechanics
76T10 Liquid-gas two-phase flows, bubbly flows
78A57 Electrochemistry
76D45 Capillarity (surface tension) for incompressible viscous fluids

Keywords:

methanol; fuel cell; two phase; pressure drop; microchannel
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References:

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