Numerical Study of Microfluidic Fuel Cell Performance
نویسندگان
چکیده
Using COMSOL Multiphysics 3.5, a numerical model has been developed to determine the effect of the channel geometry and electrode configuration on cell performance based on polarization curves. The Butler-Volmer equation was implemented to determine the reaction rates at the electrodes. The Conductive Media DC module is used to model the electric fields within the fuel cell. The concentration distributions of the reactant species are obtained using the Incompressible Navier-Stokes and Convection and Diffusion modules. Solving these equations together predicts the current density for given cell voltage values. The results demonstrate the cell voltage losses due to activation, ohmic and concentration overpotentials. COMSOL Multiphysics was used to test different channel aspect ratios and electrode configurations that led to reduced overpotentials without conducting lengthy and expensive experiments.
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