1.1 Background Thanks to the breakthroughs in microfabrication technologies, numerous concepts of microsystems including micro aerial vehicles, microbots, and nanosatellites have been proposed. Contrary to ordinary electronic devices, these microsystems perform mechanical work and require the extended operation. As their functions are getting complex and advanced, their energy consumption is al...

For automotive applications, it is necessary to maximize the fuel conversion efficiency of a PEM direct-methanol fuel cell (DMFC) over the broadest possible dynamic range of power. The research reported here critically examines the efficiency of the DMFC stack when operated over a broad power range. This research establishes a basis for a control strategy that simultaneously: optimizes DMFC fue...

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are emerging material class for the past few years due to its tailorability characteristics for various applications. However, the research and development (R&D) of MOFs is still scarce for fuel cell system. This may be due to the several difficulties faced in selecting a good MOFs-based electrolyte, which consequently affects both proton conduction and methanol ...

This paper introduces a micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) with an imbedded self-pumping mechanism to deliver liquid fuel. The fuel is propelled without any power consuming component (e.g., a pump), while removing the CO2 bubbles generated by the fuel-cell electrochemical reaction of the system. Furthermore, the pumping rate is self-regulated by the reaction, i.e., by the load. By eliminat...

one of the most important fuel cells (fcs) is proton exchange membrane fuel cells (pemfcs). the outputvoltage of this fc depends on current loads. this paper tries to introduce, implement and control the voltage ofpemfc, during load variations. the output voltage of fuel cell should be constant during load variation. toachieve this goal, a controller should be designed. here, the lead-lag contr...

it is expected that residential units may replace   traditional heat and power production systems with cogeneration ones. among the different cogeneration systems, fuel cell based systems are a suitable choice due to their high efficiency, high power density, low emission and low noise. in this paper, a cogeneration system based on solid oxide fuel cells is examined. the system, including the f...

This paper presents a silicon-based micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) stack with compact stacked structure and a unique shared anode plate. The μDMFC stack consists of two fuel cells in electrically parallel connection, while the fuel transport is arranged in series. Experimental results show that the μDMFC stack generates a power density of 12.71mW/cm, almost twice as much as that of a s...

Glucose is an ideal fuel for fuel cells because it is abundant in nature, renewable, non-toxic and easy to produce. Glucose fuel cells using enzymes and microbes as the catalysts are limited by their very poor performance and rather short durability. In this work, a direct oxidation glucose fuel cell using an anionexchange membrane and three-dimensional structural Au/Ni foam electrodes is devel...

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are electrochemical devices that show the highest power densities compared to the other type of fuel cell. In this work, nanocomposite membranes used for proton exchange membrane fuel cells as poly(vinyl alcohol)/La2Ce2O7 (PVA-LC) with the aim of increasing the water uptake and proton conductivity. Glutaraldehyde (GA) was used as cross linking agent ...