Bubble-derived contour regeneration of flow channel by in situ tracking for direct methanol fuel cells. (1st February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ke, Yuzhi; Zhang, Baotong; Bai, Yafeng; Yuan, Wei; Li, Jinguang; Liu, Ziang; Su, Xiaoqing; Zhang, Shiwei; Ding, Xinrui; Wan, Zhenping; Tang, Yong; Zhou, Feikun
• Is Part Of: Energy. Volume 264(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02-01
• Subjects: Direct methanol fuel cells -- Bubble-derived flow channel -- Optimization design -- Visualization experiment -- In situ tracking; Power resources -- Periodicals; Power (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Energy consumption -- Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.126167
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-5442

Abstract

Abstract: A bubble-derived concept for contour regeneration of flow channel is developed to address the issues of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) management and reactant homogeneity in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The bubble contour is extracted from the visualization experiment based on the conventional sinusoidal flow channel (SFCH), which is used as a model to design and fabricate the bubble-derived flow channel (BDFCH). The simulation results indicate that this renewed channel shows a lower momentum loss and uniform reactant distribution. Because of the optimized amplitude ( A ) and period ( W ) of BDFCH, the regenerated flow channel displays superior cell performances under various testing conditions. The cell based on the renewed design produces a peak power density of 37.07 mW cm −2 at a flow rate of 1 mL min −1 and a methanol concentration of 6 M. The maximum performance improvement of the BDFCH is 30.8% higher than the SFCH with the combination of A = 0.15 and W = 5. The BDFCH based on the SFCH ( A = 0.1 and W = 5) shows a higher cell performance than the SFCH at 6 M, demonstrating the scalability of BDFCHs. This new concept for precision design and construction of flow channels provides an efficient solution for practical flow field optimization of fuel cells. Highlights: A bubble-derived concept for contour regeneration of flow channel is developed. Two-phase flow mechanism of CO2 bubbles in the flow channel is revealed. The effects of BDFCH for CO2 bubble management and reactant homogeneity in DMFC are analyzed. A DMFC based on an optimized BDFCH with excellent electrochemical performance is provided.