Experimental comparative analysis of an air-breath direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) using serpentine and spiral flow fields

Abstract

In the present study, an experimental comparative analysis of Air Breathe Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) was conducted using two different flow field patterns, namely spiral and serpentine. The impact of flow field plates on cell performance, CO2 gas bubble behavior and pressure drop was examined at various mass flow rates and current densities. The experiments were conducted with the same hydraulic diameter and channel length for both flow field patterns, varying mass flow rates from 0.25 to 4 ml/min, and exploring reactant concentrations ranging from 0.25 M to 4 M. From the results it is observed that, for both the flow field patterns, pressure drop increases and CO2 bubble formation decreases with increase in mass flow rate. It is also observed that, under identical operating conditions, the serpentine flow field exhibits higher values for both pressure drop and peak power density compared to the spiral flow configuration. The study reveals that, the serpentine flow appears more efficient in terms of peak power density, while the spiral flow outperforms in terms of minimizing pressure drop under the specified operating condition.