Microfluidic fuel cells (MFCs) are a recent class of membraneless, miniaturized fuel cells in which the two streams of fuel and oxidant flow in parallel in a microchannel without turbulent mixing. Due to their high future potential in several key branches of industry (cell phones, PDAs, clinical diagnostic tests), the optimization and improvement of their performance is currently an important task. One possibility to enhance the energy density and fuel utilization of MFCs in an effective and inexpensive way is the use of 3D flows, in which velocity components perpendicular to the main flow direction are present. Although this concept has been successfully applied in simple configurations, a conclusive analysis that could reveal the full potential of this approach and show the optimized configuration is currently unavailable. The proposed project intends to make use of advanced volumetric microscopic velocimetry methods to systematically examine the response of MFCs to the 3D flow patterns.    «

Microfluidic fuel cells (MFCs) are a recent class of membraneless, miniaturized fuel cells in which the two streams of fuel and oxidant flow in parallel in a microchannel without turbulent mixing. Due to their high future potential in several key branches of industry (cell phones, PDAs, clinical diagnostic tests), the optimization and improvement of their performance is currently an important task. One possibility to enhance the energy density and fuel utilization of MFCs in an effective and ine...    »