Pressure drop modelling for liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells Part II. Model based parametric analysis

A pressure drop model for the direct methanol fuel cell (DFMC), described in Part 1 of this contribution, based on the homogeneous two-phase flow theory and mass conservation equation, which describes the hydraulic behaviour of a large (272 cm(2)) cell, is used in a parametric analysis. The model allows assessment of the effect of operating parameters (temperature gradient, current density, flow bed design, fuel and oxidant flow rates and pressure) on the pressure losses at the anode and cathode side of the cell. The model is applied to an existing flow bed design, based on a plate heat exchanger, used in current fuel cell scale up studies. The role of the flow bed design is examined by presenting the pressure drop contributions for each of the three sections that comprise the flow bed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.