화학공학소재연구정보센터
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.52, No.21-22, 5158-5166, 2009
Two-phase hydrodynamics in a miniature direct methanol fuel cell
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. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.