IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v188y2017icp431-443.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dynamic relationship between the CO2 gas bubble behavior and the pressure drop characteristics in the anode flow field of an active liquid-feed direct methanol fuel cell

Author

Listed:
  • Yuan, Wei
  • Wang, Aoyu
  • Ye, Guangzhao
  • Pan, Baoyou
  • Tang, Kairui
  • Chen, Haimu

Abstract

Gas management is one of the bottlenecks hindering the development of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). This work investigates the effects of anode serpentine flow field design on the cell performance, gas bubble behavior and pressure drop characteristics of an active liquid-feed DMFC. Three types of flow field setup based on the traditional right-angle serpentine flow field (RASFF), rounded-corner serpentine flow field (RCSFF), and step-wise broadening serpentine flow field (SBSFF) are tested. The results show that the fillet corner of the RCSFF and broadening channels of the SBSFF contribute to the CO2 emission and uniform distribution of reactants, respectively. The use of RCSFF and SBSFF yields a higher cell performance than that of RASFF under most of our testing conditions. There exists a strong relationship between the gas bubble behavior and the pressure drop characteristics. Gas slugs are conducive to reducing the pressure drop between the inlet and outlet on the anode side, whereas gas bubbles are counterproductive. The results also indicate that with increasing current density, the gas slugs gradually play a dominant role instead of gas bubbles in each flow field but the opposite is true when the methanol feed rate increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuan, Wei & Wang, Aoyu & Ye, Guangzhao & Pan, Baoyou & Tang, Kairui & Chen, Haimu, 2017. "Dynamic relationship between the CO2 gas bubble behavior and the pressure drop characteristics in the anode flow field of an active liquid-feed direct methanol fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 431-443.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:188:y:2017:i:c:p:431-443
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.12.040
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261916318049
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.12.040?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Achmad, F. & Kamarudin, S.K. & Daud, W.R.W. & Majlan, E.H., 2011. "Passive direct methanol fuel cells for portable electronic devices," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(5), pages 1681-1689, May.
    2. Wang, Zhigang & Zhang, Xuelin & Nie, Li & Zhang, Yufeng & Liu, Xiaowei, 2014. "Elimination of water flooding of cathode current collector of micro passive direct methanol fuel cell by superhydrophilic surface treatment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 107-112.
    3. Hsieh, Shou-Shing & Ho, Chin-Chu & Hung, Ling-Ching, 2016. "Performance tests of a double-passive μDMFC stack with parallel/dendrite flow field," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 28-37.
    4. Wang, Junye, 2015. "Theory and practice of flow field designs for fuel cell scaling-up: A critical review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 640-663.
    5. Yuan, Wei & Tang, Yong & Wang, Qinghui & Wan, Zhenping, 2011. "Dominance evaluation of structural factors in a passive air-breathing direct methanol fuel cell based on orthogonal array analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(5), pages 1671-1680, May.
    6. Calabriso, Andrea & Borello, Domenico & Romano, Giovanni Paolo & Cedola, Luca & Del Zotto, Luca & Santori, Simone Giovanni, 2017. "Bubbly flow mapping in the anode channel of a direct methanol fuel cell via PIV investigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1245-1255.
    7. Yuan, Zhenyu & Yang, Jie & Ye, Ning & Li, Zipeng & Sun, Yuge & Shen, Hongyuan, 2015. "Analysis of the capillary-force-based μDMFC (micro direct methanol fuel cell) supplied with pure methanol," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 858-863.
    8. Yuan, Zhenyu & Yang, Jie & Li, Zipeng & Sun, Yuge & Ye, Ning & Shen, Hongyuan, 2015. "Analysis of CO2 transmission in a micro direct methanol fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 496-502.
    9. Yuan, Wei & Wang, Aoyu & Yan, Zhiguo & Tan, Zhenhao & Tang, Yong & Xia, Hongrong, 2016. "Visualization of two-phase flow and temperature characteristics of an active liquid-feed direct methanol fuel cell with diverse flow fields," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 85-98.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. AlSayed, Ahmed & Fergala, Ahmed & Khattab, Saif & ElSharkawy, Adham & Eldyasti, Ahmed, 2018. "Optimization of methane bio-hydroxylation using waste activated sludge mixed culture of type I methanotrophs as biocatalyst," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 755-763.
    2. Li, Yang & Zhang, Xuelin & Yuan, Weijian & Zhang, Yufeng & Liu, Xiaowei, 2018. "A novel CO2 gas removal design for a micro passive direct methanol fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 599-607.
    3. Margherita Bulgarini & Augusto Della Torre & Andrea Baricci & Amedeo Grimaldi & Luca Marocco & Riccardo Mereu & Gianluca Montenegro & Angelo Onorati, 2024. "Computational Fluid Dynamic Investigation of Local Flow-Field Conditions in Lab Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells to Identify Degradation Stressors and Performance Enhancers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Michaela Roschger & Sigrid Wolf & Kurt Mayer & Matthias Singer & Viktor Hacker, 2022. "Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell: Effect of the Anode Flow Field Design and the Setup Parameters on Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Yang, Qinwen & Xiao, Gang & Li, Lexi & Che, Mengjie & Hu, Xu-Qu & Meng, Min, 2021. "Collaborative design of multi-type parameters for design and operational stage matching in fuel cells," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 1101-1110.
    6. Wang, Aoyu & Yuan, Wei & Huang, Shimin & Tang, Yong & Chen, Yu, 2017. "Structural effects of expanded metal mesh used as a flow field for a passive direct methanol fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 184-194.
    7. Huo, Sen & Cooper, Nathanial James & Smith, Travis Lee & Park, Jae Wan & Jiao, Kui, 2017. "Experimental investigation on PEM fuel cell cold start behavior containing porous metal foam as cathode flow distributor," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 101-114.
    8. Lan, Qiao & Ye, Dingding & Zhu, Xun & Chen, Rong & Liao, Qiang, 2022. "Enhanced gas removal and cell performance of a microfluidic fuel cell by a paper separator embedded in the microchannel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuan, Wei & Wang, Aoyu & Yan, Zhiguo & Tan, Zhenhao & Tang, Yong & Xia, Hongrong, 2016. "Visualization of two-phase flow and temperature characteristics of an active liquid-feed direct methanol fuel cell with diverse flow fields," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 85-98.
    2. Wang, Aoyu & Yuan, Wei & Huang, Shimin & Tang, Yong & Chen, Yu, 2017. "Structural effects of expanded metal mesh used as a flow field for a passive direct methanol fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 184-194.
    3. Ke, Yuzhi & Zhang, Baotong & Bai, Yafeng & Yuan, Wei & Li, Jinguang & Liu, Ziang & Su, Xiaoqing & Zhang, Shiwei & Ding, Xinrui & Wan, Zhenping & Tang, Yong & Zhou, Feikun, 2023. "Bubble-derived contour regeneration of flow channel by in situ tracking for direct methanol fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    4. Chen, Qing-Yun & Fu, Rong & Fang, Xiao-Wen & Cai, Wen-Fang & Wang, Yun-Hai & Cheng, Shao-An, 2015. "Cr-methanol fuel cell for efficient Cr(VI) removal and high power production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 31-35.
    5. Chen, Xueye & Li, Tiechuan & Shen, Jienan & Hu, Zengliang, 2017. "From structures, packaging to application: A system-level review for micro direct methanol fuel cell," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 669-678.
    6. Kim, Joon-Hee & Yang, Min-Jee & Park, Jun-Young, 2014. "Improvement on performance and efficiency of direct methanol fuel cells using hydrocarbon-based membrane electrode assembly," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 95-102.
    7. Yang, Qinwen & Xiao, Gang & Li, Lexi & Che, Mengjie & Hu, Xu-Qu & Meng, Min, 2021. "Collaborative design of multi-type parameters for design and operational stage matching in fuel cells," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 1101-1110.
    8. Calabriso, Andrea & Borello, Domenico & Romano, Giovanni Paolo & Cedola, Luca & Del Zotto, Luca & Santori, Simone Giovanni, 2017. "Bubbly flow mapping in the anode channel of a direct methanol fuel cell via PIV investigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1245-1255.
    9. Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali & Allagui, Anis & Sayed, Enas Taha & El Haj Assad, M. & Said, Zafar & Elsaid, Khaled, 2019. "Comparative analysis of liquid versus vapor-feed passive direct methanol fuel cells," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 563-584.
    10. Michaela Roschger & Sigrid Wolf & Kurt Mayer & Matthias Singer & Viktor Hacker, 2022. "Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell: Effect of the Anode Flow Field Design and the Setup Parameters on Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, October.
    11. Jiang, Jinghui & Li, Yinshi & Liang, Jiarong & Yang, Weiwei & Li, Xianglin, 2019. "Modeling of high-efficient direct methanol fuel cells with order-structured catalyst layer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Li, Yang & Zhang, Xuelin & Yuan, Weijian & Zhang, Yufeng & Liu, Xiaowei, 2018. "A novel CO2 gas removal design for a micro passive direct methanol fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 599-607.
    13. Ismail, M.S. & Ingham, D.B. & Hughes, K.J. & Ma, L. & Pourkashanian, M., 2013. "Thermal modelling of the cathode in air-breathing PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 529-537.
    14. Ismail, M.S. & Ingham, D.B. & Hughes, K.J. & Ma, L. & Pourkashanian, M., 2014. "An efficient mathematical model for air-breathing PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 490-503.
    15. Liu, Guicheng & Li, Xinyang & Wang, Hui & Liu, Xiuying & Chen, Ming & Woo, Jae Young & Kim, Ji Young & Wang, Xindong & Lee, Joong Kee, 2017. "Design of 3-electrode system for in situ monitoring direct methanol fuel cells during long-time running test at high temperature," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 163-168.
    16. Najmi, Aezid-Ul-Hassan & Anyanwu, Ikechukwu S. & Xie, Xu & Liu, Zhi & Jiao, Kui, 2021. "Experimental investigation and optimization of proton exchange membrane fuel cell using different flow fields," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    17. Yuan, Wei & Tang, Yong & Yang, Xiaojun & Wan, Zhenping, 2012. "Porous metal materials for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 309-329.
    18. Yuan, Zhenyu & Zhang, Yufeng & Fu, Wenting & Li, Zipeng & Liu, Xiaowei, 2013. "Investigation of a small-volume direct methanol fuel cell stack for portable applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 462-467.
    19. Li, Wenkai & Zhang, Qinglei & Wang, Chao & Yan, Xiaohui & Shen, Shuiyun & Xia, Guofeng & Zhu, Fengjuan & Zhang, Junliang, 2017. "Experimental and numerical analysis of a three-dimensional flow field for PEMFCs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 278-288.
    20. An, Myung-Gi & Mehmood, Asad & Ha, Heung Yong, 2014. "Sensor-less control of the methanol concentration of direct methanol fuel cells at varying ambient temperatures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 104-111.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:188:y:2017:i:c:p:431-443. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.