TY - JOUR
T1 - A three-dimensional numerical model of a micro laminar flow fuel cell with a bridge-shaped microchannel cross-section
AU - Lopez-Montesinos, Pedro O.
AU - Desai, Amit V.
AU - Kenis, Paul J.A.
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful for the funding support from the Grainger Program at the University of Illinois, and the National Science Foundation (CAREER grant CTS 05-47617 ). We thank the personnel from the Micro-Nano-Mechanical Systems (MNMS) Cleanroom Laboratory, the Integrated Circuit (IC) Fabrication Laboratory, and the Imaging Technology Group (ITG) at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, for their assistance.
PY - 2014/12/10
Y1 - 2014/12/10
N2 - The operation of a laminar flow fuel cell (LFFC) involves complex interplay between various mass and electrochemical transport processes. Hence, to better design and more accurately predict performance, we developed a fully-coupled 3D numerical model that includes all the transport processes and electrochemical phenomena. Specifically, the model is based on the equations for the mass, momentum, species, and charge balances along with Butler-Volmer equations for electrode kinetics. The developed model was in excellent agreement with experimental data on a micro laminar flow fuel cell (μLFFC) with a bridge-shaped microchannel cross-section. Then, we used the model for a parametric study evaluating the influence of different operational and geometrical parameters (bridge aspect ratio, reactant flow rates, oxidant concentration) on the fuel cell performance (peak power density, fuel crossover, crossover current, power losses). The observed correlations were explained on the basis of mass and electrochemical transport phenomena, e.g., the behavior of the depletion zones at the fuel-oxidant and reactant-electrode interfaces. Based on these results, we recommend further design considerations for LFFCs. Although, the model was specifically developed for a particular μLFFC configuration, the computational model can be used to design and predict behavior of a wide variety of LFFC configurations.
AB - The operation of a laminar flow fuel cell (LFFC) involves complex interplay between various mass and electrochemical transport processes. Hence, to better design and more accurately predict performance, we developed a fully-coupled 3D numerical model that includes all the transport processes and electrochemical phenomena. Specifically, the model is based on the equations for the mass, momentum, species, and charge balances along with Butler-Volmer equations for electrode kinetics. The developed model was in excellent agreement with experimental data on a micro laminar flow fuel cell (μLFFC) with a bridge-shaped microchannel cross-section. Then, we used the model for a parametric study evaluating the influence of different operational and geometrical parameters (bridge aspect ratio, reactant flow rates, oxidant concentration) on the fuel cell performance (peak power density, fuel crossover, crossover current, power losses). The observed correlations were explained on the basis of mass and electrochemical transport phenomena, e.g., the behavior of the depletion zones at the fuel-oxidant and reactant-electrode interfaces. Based on these results, we recommend further design considerations for LFFCs. Although, the model was specifically developed for a particular μLFFC configuration, the computational model can be used to design and predict behavior of a wide variety of LFFC configurations.
KW - COMSOL
KW - Convection-diffusion equations
KW - Electrode kinetics equations
KW - Laminar flow fuel cell
KW - Membraneless fuel cell
KW - Numerical model
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904985710&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84904985710&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.06.127
DO - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.06.127
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84904985710
SN - 0378-7753
VL - 269
SP - 542
EP - 549
JO - Journal of Power Sources
JF - Journal of Power Sources
ER -