Abstract
Portable electronic devices such as notebook computers, PDAs, cellular phones, etc., are being widely used, and they increasingly need cheap, efficient, and lightweight power sources. Fuel cells have been proposed as possible power sources to address issues that involve energy production and the environment. In particular, a small type of fuel-cell system is known to be suitable for portable electronic devices. The development of micro fuel cell systems can be achieved by the application of microchannel technology. In this study, the conventional method of chemical etching and the mechanical machining method of micro end milling were used for the microfabrication of microchannel for fuel cell separators. The two methods were compared in terms of their performance in the fabrication with regards to dimensional errors, flatness, straightness, and surface roughness. Following microchannel fabrication, the powder blasting technique is introduced to improve the coating performance of the catalyst on the surface of the microchannel. Experimental results show that end milling can remarkably increase the fabrication performance and that surface treatment by powder blasting can improve the performance of catalyst coating.
Highlights
Portable electronic devices such as notebook computers, PDAs, cellular phones, camcorders, etc., are being widely used, and they increasingly need cheap, efficient, and lightweight power sources
Fuel cells have been proposed as a possible power source to address issues that involve energy production and the environment
The development of micro fuel cell systems can be achieved by the application of microchannel technology
Summary
Portable electronic devices such as notebook computers, PDAs, cellular phones, camcorders, etc., are being widely used, and they increasingly need cheap, efficient, and lightweight power sources. The development of micro fuel cell systems can be achieved by the application of microchannel technology. Many researchers are currently developing microchannel heat-exchangers, reactors, and separators as components for compact hydrogen generators for fuel cells. They are trying to develop low-cost materials and methods of fabrication for fuel cells. Chemical etching or mechanical micromachining that uses ultra-high-precision machine tools have been attempted for the fabrication of micro fuel cells [2,3]. The conventional method of chemical etching and the mechanical machining method of micro endmilling were used for the microfabrication of microchannels for a fuel cell separator, which is a key part of small fuel cells. The powder blasting technique, which is a sort of mechanical etching, was introduced to improve the coating efficiency of the catalyst on the surface of the microchannel that was fabricated by etching or micro endmilling
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