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Towards orientation-independent performance of membraneless microfluidic fuel cell: Understanding the gravity effects

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  • Xuan, Jin
  • Leung, Michael K.H.
  • Leung, Dennis Y.C.
  • Wang, Huizhi

Abstract

This paper reports a theoretical investigation on the orientation-dependence of the performance of membraneless microfluidic fuel cell (MMFC) and the relevant gravity effects. A coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD)/electrochemical model is used for the analysis. The results show that gravity significantly affects the hydrodynamics in the microchannel and consequently reduces the cell performance dramatically with certain orientations. This important phenomenon has been widely ignored in previous works. Parametric analysis offers useful insights for enhancing the MMFC designs that minimize the adverse effects towards a feature of orientation-independence.

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  • Xuan, Jin & Leung, Michael K.H. & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Wang, Huizhi, 2012. "Towards orientation-independent performance of membraneless microfluidic fuel cell: Understanding the gravity effects," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 80-86.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:90:y:2012:i:1:p:80-86
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.04.058
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wang, Yun & Chen, Ken S. & Mishler, Jeffrey & Cho, Sung Chan & Adroher, Xavier Cordobes, 2011. "A review of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: Technology, applications, and needs on fundamental research," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 981-1007, April.
    2. Hsueh, Ching-Yi & Chu, Hsin-Sen & Yan, Wei-Mon & Chen, Chiun-Hsun, 2010. "Transport phenomena and performance of a plate methanol steam micro-reformer with serpentine flow field design," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(10), pages 3137-3147, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Yifei & Leung, Dennis Y.C., 2016. "A circular stacking strategy for microfluidic fuel cells with volatile methanol fuel," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 659-669.
    2. Liu, Shihua & Li, Xiaoyang & Pang, Linjia & Geng, Tie & Guo, Yonggang & Jiang, Lin & Kang, Kejia & Wang, Xinchao & Liu, Zongyao, 2022. "Study on the effect of purging time on the performance of PEMFC with dead-ended anode under gravity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 1141-1151.
    3. Wang, Yifei & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Xuan, Jin & Wang, Huizhi, 2017. "A review on unitized regenerative fuel cell technologies, part B: Unitized regenerative alkaline fuel cell, solid oxide fuel cell, and microfluidic fuel cell," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 775-795.
    4. Zhang, Hao & Xuan, Jin & Xu, Hong & Leung, Michael K.H. & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Zhang, Li & Wang, Huizhi & Wang, Lei, 2013. "Enabling high-concentrated fuel operation of fuel cells with microfluidic principles: A feasibility study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1131-1137.
    5. Xu, Hong & Zhang, Hao & Wang, Huizhi & Leung, Dennis Y.C. & Zhang, Li & Cao, Jun & Jiao, Kui & Xuan, Jin, 2015. "Counter-flow formic acid microfluidic fuel cell with high fuel utilization exceeding 90%," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 930-936.
    6. Sharifi, Farrokh & Ghobadian, Sasan & Cavalcanti, Flavia R. & Hashemi, Nastaran, 2015. "Paper-based devices for energy applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1453-1472.
    7. Chen, Jingxian & Xu, Peihang & Lu, Jie & Ouyang, Tiancheng & Mo, Chunlan, 2021. "A prospective study of anti-vibration mechanism of microfluidic fuel cell via novel two-phase flow model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    8. Jin-Cherng Shyu & Po-Yan Wang & Chien-Liang Lee & Sung-Chun Chang & Tsung-Sheng Sheu & Chun-Hsien Kuo & Kun-Lung Huang & Zi-Yi Yang, 2015. "Fabrication and Test of an Air-Breathing Microfluidic Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Ouyang, Tiancheng & Chen, Jingxian & Liu, Wenjun & Xu, Peihang & Lu, Jie & Zhao, Zhongkai, 2022. "A comprehensive evaluation for microfluidic fuel cells from anti-vibration viewpoint using phase field theory," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 676-693.
    10. Liu, Shihua & Chen, Tao & Zhang, Cheng & Xie, Yi, 2020. "Study on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with dead-ended anode in gravity environment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    11. Hussien, Ahmed A. & Abdullah, Mohd Z. & Al-Nimr, Moh’d A., 2016. "Single-phase heat transfer enhancement in micro/minichannels using nanofluids: Theory and applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 733-755.
    12. Lan, Qiao & Ye, Dingding & Zhu, Xun & Chen, Rong & Liao, Qiang, 2022. "Enhanced gas removal and cell performance of a microfluidic fuel cell by a paper separator embedded in the microchannel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).

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