Numerical simulation of the effects of operating parameters on the electrical performance of DEFC

摘要

The sintered body of tubular cathode for Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell(DEFC) is prepared by the gelcasting process using a certain proportion of graphite powder and mesocarbon microbead(MCMB). The electrical performance under different air flow rates, operating temperature, porosity of cathode diffusion layer, inlet pressure and different thickness of catalyst layer are analyzed by the combination of experimental and numerical simulation method. The results show that the increase of diffusion layer porosity, inlet pressure, thickness of catalyst layer and operating temperature are benefit for the improvement of the cell performance. Moreover, the electrical performance is improved when the air flow rate is 100 mL/min.