Observation of CO2 bubble and water drop behavior at the flow field with current distribution measurement in a direct methanol fuel cell
CO2 bubbling on the anode and water drop behavior on the cathode at the flow field of a direct methanol fuel cell were observed by in-situ visualization method. A single cell, with an active area of 3 cm x 3cm, was fabricated with transparent windows made of polycarbonate at each side of the cell. The flow field on each side of the electrode was of single serpentine type. The CO2 bubble and water drop at each flow field showed different behavior at different operating conditions of current density, reactant flow rate, and cell temperature. The CO2 bubbling at the anode side became more vigorous with increase of current density. Channel clogging due to water droplet and froth formation along the cathode flow field became severe when the air stoichiometric ratio was low and when it was operated at near room temperature. Observation of the two-phase flows at each flow field was also combined with measurement of current density distribution to understand the relationship between two-phase flow behavior and electrical performance throughout the whole area of each electrode. The current density distribution profiles were examined in various operating conditions.
Direct methanol fuel cell flow visualization bubble water drop current distribution
Sang Min Park Won Hi Hong Doohwan Jung Sang-Kyung Kim Donghyun Peck
Dept.of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Y Dept.of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Y Advanced Fuel Cell Research Center, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Yuseong, Daejeon, Korea
国际会议
The 5th International Conference on Separation Science and Technology(第五届国际分离科学与技术会议)
北京
英文
2007-10-14（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）