Improving Fuel Usage in Microchannel Based Fuel Cells

P. Fodor, and J. D'Alessandro
Dept. of Physics
Cleveland State University
Cleveland, OH
Published in 2011

In this work a miniaturized fuel cell design based on microchannels, into which the liquid fuel and oxidizer streams are fed through T shaped connectors, is optimized for improved fuel usage. This particular design exploits the laminar nature of the fluid flow at small Reynolds numbers to keep the fuel and oxidizer confined in the vicinity of the corresponding electrodes without the need of a proton exchange membrane.

Using the COMSOL CFD and Chemical Engineering Module the geometrical parameters of the fuel cell are optimized to ensure maximum fuel utilization.

Download