Pressure drop modelling for liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells Part 1.Model development

A pressure drop model is presented for the direct methanol fuel cell, based on the homogeneous two-phase flow theory and mass conservation equation, w hich describes the hydraulic behaviour of an experimental large cell (activ e area 272 cm(2)). The model allows an assessment of the effect of operatin g parameters, e.g. temperature gradient, current density, flow rate and pre ssure on pressure losses in the anode and the cathode side of the cell. It is designed to assist the fuel cell system designer to estimate flow and pu mping requirements, tube sizing and auxiliary equipment and to be used to c alculate flow distribution through fuel cell stack manifolds. (C) 1999 Else vier Science S.A. All rights reserved.