Yingli Zhu^1,*, Jiachi Xie¹, Mingwei Zhu¹, Jun Zhang², Miaomiao Li³

Energy Engineering, Vol.121, No.5, pp. 1161-1172, 2024, DOI:10.32604/ee.2024.041205

Abstract The open ratio of a current collector has a great impact on direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) performance. Although a number of studies have investigated the influence of the open ratio of DMFC current collectors, far too little attention has been given to how geometry (including the shape and feature size of the flow field) affects a current collector with an equal open ratio. In this paper, perforated and parallel current collectors with an equal open ratio of 50% and different feature sizes are designed, and the corresponding experimental results are shown to explain the geometry effects on the output… More >

RABIRANJAN MURMU^a,b, DEBASHIS ROY^a, HAREKRUSHNA SUTAR^b

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.40, No.3-4, pp. 125-139, 2023, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2023.40.3-4.1

Abstract A one dimensional isothermal model is proposed by modelling the kinetics of methanol transport at anode flow channel (AFC), membrane and cathode catalyst layer of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). Analytical model is proposed to predict methanol cross-over rate through the electrolyte membrane and cell performance. The model presented in this paper considered methanol diffusion and electrochemical oxidation at the anode and cathode channels. The analytical solution of the proposed model was simulated in a MATLAB environment to obtain the polarization curve and leakage current. The effect of methanol concentration on cell voltage and leakage current is studied. The methanol… More >

RABIRANJAN MURMU^a,b, DEBASHIS ROY^a, HAREKRUSHNA SUTAR^b, PRAGYAN SENAPATI^c, SWETAK ABHISEK MOHAPATRA^b

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.39, No.1-2, pp. 89-109, 2022, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2022.39.1-2.6

Abstract In this work, we have successfully cross-linked the different weight ratio of Chitosan-PVA blend with sulfuric acid. The effect of cross-linker on the properties of blends are studied by using different experimental technique. The cross-linked membrane provides higher ion exchange capacity due to the procurement of extra ionic hooping sites in the membrane. The compatibility of the blends are confirmed from the FTIR and DSC analysis. The crosslinking reaction fastening the phase transition behavior of the blends which reduces the glass transition temperature. The highly compatiblized cross-linked blend provides higher tensile strength and lower modulus at moderate temperature. The significant… More >

Q.X. Wu^a, Y.L. He^b, T.S. Zhao^a,b,*

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 1-14, 2011, DOI:10.5098/hmt.v2.3.2001

Abstract Running direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) with concentrated fuel is desirable to maximize the specific energy of the fuel cell system and to improve the performance by mitigating the water flooding problem associated with diluted methanol operation. This article provides a comprehensive review of recent advances in understanding mass transport phenomena in DMFCs operating with concentrated fuel. The review starts with elaborating the key issues of mass transport of reactants and products associated with highly-concentrated methanol operation, followed by summarizing and discussing past experimental and numerical investigations into the effects of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) design, flow field structure… More >

Zheng Miao^a, Ya-Ling He^a,*, Tian-Shou Zhao^b, Wen-Quan Tao^a

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 1-10, 2011, DOI:10.5098/hmt.v2.1.3001

Abstract A non-isothermal two-phase mass transport model is developed in this paper to investigate the heat generation and transport phenomena in a direct methanol fuel cell with anisotropic gas diffusion layers (GDLs). Thermal contact resistances at the GDL/CL (catalyst layer) and GDL/Rib interfaces, and the deformation of GDLs are considered together with the inherent anisotropy of the GDL. Latent heat effects due to condensation/evaporation of water and methanol between liquid and gas phases are also taken into account. Formulation of the two-phase mass transport across the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is mainly based on the classical multiphase flow theory in the… More >

Jinghui Jiang¹, Yinshi Li^1,2,*, Jiarong Liang¹, Huaxing Xu¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.22, No.3, pp. 159-159, 2019, DOI:10.32604/icces.2019.05378

Abstract Water flooding in the cathode is considered as one of the most important factors that impede the performance of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) during the operation of high current density. Therefore, it is essential to study water management of cathode in DMFC. In this work, a two-dimensional, steady-state, two-phase, mass-transport model of DMFC with micro-porous layer (MPL) was developed considering methanol crossover and water crossover processes. Emphasis is placed on investigating parameter design of cathode to relieve flooding in DMFC, further to improve cell performance. The effects of MPL parameters, including porosity and thickness, on water distribution in cathode… More >