| Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) present some unique features such as having liquid fuel, quick refueling process, compact design and high energy density. These characteristics make them incredibly suitable as a promising power source for portable electronic applications, such as cell phones or laptop computers. Despite of these positive aspects, the commercial development of DMFCs has nevertheless been hindered by some important issues such as, carbon dioxide formation at the anode compartment and, methanol crossover through the membrane.;Many researchers have tried to model the two-phase flow behavior inside the DMFC anode compartment using the "homogenous flow modelling" approach, which has proven to be inaccurate specially when dealing with DMFC stacks. On the other hand, several strategies to prevent methanol crossover have been suggested in the literature, including the use of a flowing electrolyte between the DMFC anode and cathode compartments. Preliminary tests on flowing electrolyte direct methanol fuel cells (FE-DMFCs) have shown promising results; however, further investigation should be carried out on the stack level.;In the first part of this study, a quasi two-dimensional numerical model was developed, to predict the two-phase flow behavior within the DMFC anode compartment, both in single cell and stack levels. Various types of flow modelling approaches and void fraction correlations were utilized to estimate the pressure drop across the anode compartment. It was found that the "separated flow modelling" approach, as well as CISE correlation for void fraction (developed at the CISE labs in Milan), yield the best results. In the second part, a five-cell FE-DMFC stack unit with a parallel serpentine flow bed design and U-type manifold configuration, was developed and tested at various operating conditions. It was found that, the flowing electrolyte effectively reduced methanol crossover and, improved the stack performance. |
