CLC number:
On-line Access: 2023-10-18
Received: 2023-02-15
Revision Accepted: 2023-05-15
Crosschecked: 2023-10-19
Cited: 0
Clicked: 759
Jinchi SUN, Xiongwei TIAN, Zhangqing LIU, Jie SUN, Menglian ZHENG. Microfluidic fuel cells integrating slanted groove micro-mixers to terminate growth of depletion boundary layer thickness[J]. Journal of Zhejiang University Science A, 2023, 24(10): 859-874.
@article{title="Microfluidic fuel cells integrating slanted groove micro-mixers to terminate growth of depletion boundary layer thickness",
author="Jinchi SUN, Xiongwei TIAN, Zhangqing LIU, Jie SUN, Menglian ZHENG",
journal="Journal of Zhejiang University Science A",
volume="24",
number="10",
pages="859-874",
year="2023",
publisher="Zhejiang University Press & Springer",
doi="10.1631/jzus.A2300087"
}
%0 Journal Article
%T Microfluidic fuel cells integrating slanted groove micro-mixers to terminate growth of depletion boundary layer thickness
%A Jinchi SUN
%A Xiongwei TIAN
%A Zhangqing LIU
%A Jie SUN
%A Menglian ZHENG
%J Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A
%V 24
%N 10
%P 859-874
%@ 1673-565X
%D 2023
%I Zhejiang University Press & Springer
%DOI 10.1631/jzus.A2300087
TY - JOUR
T1 - Microfluidic fuel cells integrating slanted groove micro-mixers to terminate growth of depletion boundary layer thickness
A1 - Jinchi SUN
A1 - Xiongwei TIAN
A1 - Zhangqing LIU
A1 - Jie SUN
A1 - Menglian ZHENG
J0 - Journal of Zhejiang University Science A
VL - 24
IS - 10
SP - 859
EP - 874
%@ 1673-565X
Y1 - 2023
PB - Zhejiang University Press & Springer
ER -
DOI - 10.1631/jzus.A2300087
Abstract: Because of potential high energy densities, microfluidic fuel cells can serve as micro-scale power sources. Because microfluidic fuel cells typically operate in the co-laminar flow regime to enable a membrane-less design, they generally suffer from severe mass transfer limitations with respect to diffusion transport. To address this issue, a novel channel design that integrates slanted groove micro-mixers on the side walls of the channel is proposed. Numerical modeling on the design of groove micro-mixers and grooveless design demonstrates a mass transfer enhancement that has a 115% higher limiting current density and well-controlled convective mixing between the oxidant and the fuel streams with the use of slanted groove micro-mixers. Moreover, the growth of the thickness of the depletion boundary layer is found to be terminated within approximately 2 mm from the channel entrance, which is distinct from the constantly growing pattern in the grooveless design. In addition, a simplified mass transfer model capable of modeling the mass transfer prFocess with the presence of the transverse secondary flow is developed. Further, a dimensionless correlation is derived to analyze the effects of the design parameters on the limiting current density. The present theoretical study paves the way towards an optimal design of a microfluidic fuel cell integrating groove micro-mixers.
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